Chapter Text

THE HEROES OF TOMORROW

JAMES ROGERS AKA CAPTAIN AMERICA

FRANCIS BARTON AKA HAWKEYE

AZARI MUNROE/AZARI T'CHALLA AKA BLACK PANTHER

HENRY PYM JR. AKA THE WASP

PRINCESS TORUNN THORSDOTTIR 

2010 Year Zero

NICE, FRANCE - APRIL 19, 14:16 CEST - TWO YEARS SINCE ULTRON'S DEFEAT

“I don’t know what’s worse. The fact that this is the seventh straight mission we’re going shorthanded. Or the fact that I haven’t restocked on arrows since the mission in Bordeaux.” Francis sighed and tinkered with his arrows. The worst thing was he barely had any trick arrows either. He’d have to make every last one count. 

“How many do you have?” James asked. He watched outside through the windows of the quinjet patiently. The beautiful coastline of Nice was in view. France was truly a beautiful country that had been affected deeply by Ultron. He truly did a number on the world. The entirety of the Western Hemisphere and Europe fell to Ultron. Europe didn’t get it nearly as bad as North America. But it didn’t change the fact that his reach was seemingly everywhere . It was annoying and tiresome.

“25 arrows. 24 really when you consider one is a grapple.” Francis told James.

“You’ll be fine.” James told his friend/rival and got up from his seat grabbing the cracked vibranium shield, and strapping it to his back. Then he configured his wrist shield making sure it was active as well, both would be necessary. If this was going to be anything like the Bordeaux mission, this was going to be a long fight that slogged on.

“I’ll be fine?” Francis asked incredulously. “If you haven’t noticed Rogers, I don’t possess your ability to jump out of moving planes and survive like it’s nothing. Or lift 800 pounds over my head. My arrows are all I got.”

“You’ll be fine.” James said once again confidently. “Barton we faced down Ultron and back then all you had were arrows made with the Scavengers at half the quality. Now with the stuff you’ve engineered in the lab, 25 Arrows will be enough. We’ve got this.”

“Always the unwavering optimist.” Francis sighed but allowed a smirk to come on his face “Whatever you're the boss. I guess if we die everyone will know it was your fault.”

James rolled his eyes at Francis' antics and turned to his other teammate. “Pym status?”

“A few minutes from the dropzone Cap’n!” Pym exclaimed from the cockpit. “I suggest you and Barton get ready. I’m going to fly the ship over the French Rivera Coastline, you two enter the city and I’ll do my best to land the plane and join you.”

“Perfect.” James commented, he quickly grabbed his brown utility belt and clipped it around his waist, and the handgun holsters clipped from his chest to his back like suspenders. All of this over his black and red jacket he had worn and subtly upgraded over the years. He had taken a lot of inspiration seeing his father in action with old WW2 footage and pictures. “And the Killstick Pym?”

“The Killstick is going to work. Promise.” Pym insisted, he sounded a little annoyed at the insinuation that his little creation wasn’t going to work...again.

“Oh yeah.” Francis rolled his eyes and put on his purple and yellow jacket over his black spandex suit. He quickly attached his quiver to his back and collapsed his bow. It was mission time “I remember the last time you told us the Killstick would work. Had Rogers and I fighting for a whole nother hour while you tried to fix the thing.”

“That was one time.” Pym complained. “I forgot to give it juice from the last time It was used, it was properly energized this time so we should be fine.”

James took out the small USB looking device from his utility belt and eyed it precariously. It had been their biggest asset in the fight against the remaining Ultron bots. Pym, Stark, and Banner had managed to make a Killstick. One that when plugged into the information centres Ultron placed in every city he conquered, would reverse or reroute his bots “brainwaves”forcing them to shut down, and self-destruct. Without it things could get overwhelming. Especially when they were as shorthanded as they were now.

“I trust Pym.” James said as he tucked the device away in his pouch. “We’ll be fine.”

“I trust the little guy as well.” Barton defended himself, “I’m just saying If I find myself back to back with you surrounded by a dozen Ultron robots again...I’m not going to be happy.”

“2 minutes till dropzone.” Pym announced.

“Alright Hawkeye. Remember, we are going for the tallest building here. You can’t miss it. The La Prefecture. It’s 17 stories high and probably a fortress. We want to clear civilians as far as we can from the building before we take it. It’s in the heart of the city so you can bet there are going to be people out.”

“It’d be easier if they stayed in their houses. I don’t understand why they think it’s a good idea to come out. They're just hurting themselves.” Barton spoke just a tinge annoyed.

“They’ve heard about the revolutions in the rest of France and they just can’t resist. They know it's inevitable that we're going to come for them. They have hope now. It’s a good thing the people aren’t scared.” James observed.

“Hitting the dropzone.” Pym called from the cockpit, “Ready for me to open the hatch?”

“Open the hatch Pym.” James commanded, they were still over fifty feet in the air but the jump was nothing for the son of Captain America and Black Widow. He got his last piece of his outfit on a little military style helmet with an A on it, with goggles to boot, just like the one his father wore. You could take the A for America, or Avenger, he didn’t care, he just wanted the people of France to look at him and understand he was here to help.

“Do your best to catch up with us Pym!” James yelled over the noise, he nodded at Francis before jumping out of the plane and falling through the air, he dove face first to gather speed before bracing for impact, diving legs first into the water, and swimming for the shoreline.

“Show off!” Francis yelled and shook his head with a grin. He waited for Pym to get way closer to the water before calmly jumping off as well and swimming to the shoreline. Part one of the liberation efforts were already in beautiful effect.

“Jocasta, find me a good place over the water to land this thing!” Pym told the AI system.

James swam to the coastline of Nice and waited for Francis pulling him in over the edge before they wordlessly, stealthily started their infiltration of the city. Robot Ultron warriors flew over the city patrolling the people and making sure no one did anything they didn’t like. Which most of the time was basically anything other than breathing.

“You take the high ground.” James commanded there were a ton of perches up top of the city, with many buildings. The only problem for Francis would be getting up there without any Robots noticing.

“It’s risky...” Francis thought it over, but then started scaling the building anyway.

“I’ll cover you.” James assured him, he waited patiently by the building, and waited for Hawkeye to get to the top. Once Hawkeye got there he caught the eye of the two bots surrounding the area, they had no time to even think about shooting him, as James whirled his energy shield through the both of them and continued charging into the city. FERMER LE CHEMIN, TOUT LE MONDE RETOURNE, RESTE A L'INTÉRIEUR.” (CLEAR THE WAY. EVERYONE GET BACK, STAY INSIDE.) He yelled as loud as possible.

Robots were swarming to his position; he threw another energy shield crashing through three ultron bots and grabbed his real one blocking the immediate gunfire that came his way. He had to get to the stronghold, but it wasn’t going to be too easy on his own. Without Pym’s coverfire he’d have a hard time getting there and limiting casualties.

James ran and rammed right through two robots using his exceptional strength to just power through them. Another robot behind him shot their laser, but quickly an Arrow was sent straight through its head exploding the robot with ease.

James dodged another beam of energy, jumped off the neighbouring car in the street and shot towards the robot spinning before sending an energy shield right through it. At the very least right now, they were still pushing and making good time too.

“GAHH!” James yelled in pain from getting singed by lasers, turning around there were a couple of Ultron ships flying over the city. This would have been a cakewalk with Torunn. Instead James created a large energy shield, and quickly deflected the gunfire, it ricocheted hitting buildings causing debris to fall everywhere.

Ultron bots fell from the ships quickly surrounding James, he needed to act quickly. He threw his shield at the firsts’ minigun, stopping it before it got a chance to shoot him. He dug into his gun holster and pulled out his small energy pistol, taking aim with perfect precision targeting the other’s guns, shooting them out before they got a chance to hit him.

“Cap, they are targeting Civilians!” James heard Francis call in his comm set. “Down east about a mile out!”

“I’ll try to get there. I need cover!” James grunted as he took a punch from the Ultron bot, he flipped out and away before sending his shield flying, and it ricocheted around four drones before they exploded into a heap of scrap metal.

James was about to hit the next bot when a blast of yellow energy destroyed the bot. “Ask and you shall receive Mr. America!” Pym yelled ecstatically, “I’ve got your back Cap! Go!”

James nodded at Pym and ran into a full sprint toward the east part of the city. This was where he was trying to explain to Tony a motorcycle would be huge.

Still James was faster than the average human, He was supposed to be the peak of human ability, and right now he was doing a good job of showing it running past 30 miles per hour with ease. The  young hero followed the screams of the innocent. Too many times since Ultron’s demise had he heard those cries and he would be damned if he didn’t stop it this time.

He hurled his shield at the group of robots crowding and chasing the civilians, not letting them move. It seemed the longer they went around Europe the smarter the bots got. “Come on, you don’t want to fight them, fight me!” James demanded catching his shield and using it as a battering ram into the next robots.

“Merci monsieur, merci, merci.” A blonde woman blubbered as she ran away with her child.

“Alright, the Ultron Revolution in France ends today.” James grinned at the robots in front of him. There were around seven of Ultron's weaker lookalike bots. And one tanker with miniguns. He just needed enough time to make sure the families left the area.

Unfortunately the bots didn’t think that way and quickly tried to open fire on the families James dove for a man and a little boy, pushing them out of the way before activating his Energy Shield crouching around the family and making it huge protecting them from any cover fire.

He pulled out his energy pistol while holding up his shield and shot around it, hitting one of the bots with perfect accuracy, taking out its guns, before he shot another again. Then he took his second shield and sent it straight through the flying robot and immediately started running and pushed forward with his shield right through the bot in front of him.

“Prends ton fils et cours.” (Take your son and run) James told the man, to which he nodded and ran off quickly

James touched his comm trying to get in touch with the rest of the team. “Barton, Pym. I wanna make a run at the information centre.” 

“Whaddya need Cap?” Pym grunted as he lasered down another robot.

“Barton I want you to keep tailing me from up high, you and I will try and end this. Pym, I want a distraction. Preferably something big. Get the bots focused on you while Barton and I try to hit the killswitch. Try and get out by the coastline.”

“Got it Cap. One large distraction, coming right up!” Pym exclaimed. He zapped a few robots getting their attention while he was small before dragging them closer to the water and the coastline, he turned into Giant-Man and began to cause an absolute fuss crushing a good amount of robots.

“Alright Hawkeye, now’s our chance.” Cap called and moved toward the command centre. The building was not far at all, only a block or two away, but he needed high ground if they were going to bust through one of the large windows.

James took a look at the neighbouring apartment building, and started climbing up the apartment’s balcony, to the top of the building where Francis was already waiting for him. “Alright, how do you want to do this Cap?”

“On the 36th floor the command centre for the bots is there. Shoot your grapple as a tether at the window and will bust through.”

“The 36 floor is too far for the grapple. Best I could do is 27th. Maybe." Hawkeye said honestly. 

“Well then it’s going to have to be good enough. How many arrows do you have?”

“Twelve.” 

“Okay, do it.” and on his command Francis quickly shot his grapple. James hooked himself onto Francis' line, and jumped first as Francis wouldn’t have the strength to bust through the window. He dashed down feet out ready to power through and face a barrage of robots.  The enemy did not disappoint.

As James flew through the window he contorted his body to avoid getting hit with a laser to his face, he then rolled on the ground taking his shield and throwing it right through the first robot he saw.

He pulled out his pistol, destroying the next two robots clearing the room he entered, and waving Hawkeye to come in as the coast was clear.

Hawkeye quickly shot his line forward, basically flying through the air until he jumped through the window. “We're not going to have much time. The moment we leave this room we are going to be swarmed by bots.” Francis grumbled.

“That’s why we need to get the Killstick to the command centre. The faster we get there the less of a beating we will have to take from this hunk of scrap.” James said with determination. “You ready?”

“Let’s do it.” Hawkeye nodded.

James nodded back and got his shield from his back, he placed it in front of him and ran to the door crashing right through it.

He flattened a robot but wasted no time looking for the stairs, finding it, and waving Hawkeye along, making sure his teammate was right behind him. They charged up the stairs and Hawkeye fired two arrows taking out the bots two floors ahead of them before Cap even saw them.

They kept running up the stairs and another swarm of bots were coming to their location. James threw his shield at the group before jumping and running on the wall, avoiding a laser, before jumping back toward his ricocheting shield and calmly continuing their advance to the control room.

Turrets came out from the ceiling which James shot with his pistol, and Hawkeye quickly fired off an explosive arrow at the group of Ultron bots blocking the next stairwell, allowing them to keep running towards their target.

“Only 5 more floors!” James yelled through the action, he shot through two more robots and used his energy shield to block the rain of bullets that came down on them, deflecting some of them into the robots, using their own weapons against them and advancing to the next floor with ease.

4 more floors. James thought and hurled his energy shield through the next group of bots, and jumpkicked through the door continuing their sprint to their destination. 

3 more floors. As he threw his shield off the ground causing it to hit the wall before decapitating 2 bots, he didn’t even have to think about the next pair as two arrows lodged in each of their guns, blowing them up completely. 

2 more floors. He hadn’t even kicked down the door yet and the bots already shot through for the first time halting their assault. Hawkeye shot another explosive arrow and took out a bot creating enough space for James to push forward. Blocking more bullets with his shield before hurling it at the wall making it zig zag and hit the rest of the bots in the room before returning to him.

“Okay, that doesn’t obey the laws of physics at all.” Hawkeye called from behind.

“Just one more floor!” James called back to him, this was the final stretch. James busted into the final room and they were met once again by tens of bots. Cap immediately extended his energy shield saving Francis and him from becoming swiss cheese “We need to get to the panel in the middle!” James grunted.

“I’m down to my last two arrows.” Hawkeye checked his quiver, “Both are basic.”

“Take my gun.” James commanded, Francis quickly took the pistol from James' pouch and put it on his belt “Give me some cover and I’ll handle the rest.”

Francis nodded and quickly shot his two arrows, taking out one of the bots, before grabbing the pistol and taking perfect aim with that as well. James pushed forward and threw his regular shield at one of the bots, but it was shot away, so he jumped up and threw his energy shield which sliced the robot in half. 

He grabbed his regular shield and covered himself while Hawkeye took out another bot with ease. James used the shield to deflect the laser back at the other bots, bisecting it, and creating his entrance towards the computer. He dashed towards the computer pulling out the Killstick while deflecting from some bullets, he shoulder barged into the last robot on his way to the command centre before jamming the Killstick into the control centre.

Initiating sequence ... 1 minute till self-destruct.

“Come on!” James yelled and grabbed Hawkeye’s arm running towards their 27th floor exit. 

“Pym, we could use some help,” James tapped his comm as they ran towards their escape route. “Pym?”

“Where do you need me?” Pym asked,  by the sounds in the background it was clear the large boy was on the move.

“29th floor, I’m going to make our exit, prepare to catch us through the window.” James demanded

“What happened to the 27t-

“We're not going to make the 27th!” James quickly cut him off. “Just be there.” James hopped off another wall, and ran through the door they blasted open when the building started exploding from the leftover bots that were in the building.

“Where’s Pym?” Francis yelled. “We're not going to make the jump without Pym!”

“Don’t worry!” James yelled back. The building shook and the wall beside them exploded, but James batted away the debris and gained speed as they got close to the glass once again. 30th floor, it would have to do.

He braced for impact as he crashed through the window and was waving wildly through the air, Hawkeye quickly jumped right after him.

“Pym!?!?!” Hawkeye screamed confusedly. “PYM!?!?!?”

The Giant-Man came from the other side of the building and made a diving effort to catch James and Francis in his hand. Saving them from going splat.

James sighed in relief, thankfully Pym caught them in time. “Cutting it close there Pym.”

“Understatement of the year.” Francis breathed taking large gasps of air, He laid on his back panting trying to catch his breath. “Trying to get me killed Mr. America?”

“Relax, I knew Pym would make it in time.” James waved him off.

“Whatever I’m just saying I’m never jumping off a building with you again unless Torunn is around. At least then I know I won’t die by going splat . Though I could also die from a lack of weapons since you sent us out here shorthanded.” Francis ranted.

“Stop whining we won.” James muttered. “I’ve never led us wrong before have I? I’m not going to suddenly get bad at my job.”

“I’m just saying that-

“Boys.” Tony’s voice rang through the comms, “Shut it down. Do some damage control and head back to the Quinjet. You just finished liberating a nation. Stop fighting.”

“Yes sir.” James sighed and got off on Pym’s oversized hand. He looked around and the city was still in relatively good shape, They managed to stay out of the way of the civilians and large buildings. It would be a shame if they ruined it more than the Ultron bots already had.

“Sorry.” Francis muttered in his commlink to Tony. He got up as well, moving from Pym allowing the boy to go back to regular size. The three took that moment to collect themselves, before finishing the job. Moving debris and making sure that any injured were taken to the hospitals.

They gave directions, helped put out small fires, and best of all relayed the message that everything was going to be okay. Ultron couldn’t hurt them anymore.

It was about 45 minutes later they were finally done with the work. James wiped grime and soot from his chin and let out a sigh, this was tiresome, even for the Super Soldier. He watched slowly as a little blonde girl came up to him seemingly dragging her mother towards the Heroes of Tomorrow.

“Plus d’Ultron?” (No more Ultron?) “She asked hesitantly, James smiled and kneeled down to her level and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.“Plus d’Ultron. Il est parti maintenant tu es en sécurité.” (No more Ultron. He’s gone now, you’re safe.)

The young girl smiled and hugged James tightly. “Merci beaucoup capitaine!” (Thank you very much Captain!)

James couldn’t help the smile that came across his face either and he hugged her back “De rien.” (You're very welcome.)

Francis and Pym couldn’t contain the smiles on their faces no matter how long it was taking, liberating a city, an entire country, the feeling would never get old. Seeing the joy on peoples faces, just knowing that they don’t have to worry about Ultron anymore was great.

James pulled away from the young girl and stood up dusting himself off. “Time to go team. We have a bit of a journey getting back home.”

“Aye, aye Captain.” Pym saluted jokingly, and Francis just nodded still with a smile on his face. He had been one of these people, desperately hoping someone was going to save them. Especially after his father died. Being able to help and save these people now. It meant something different.

They walked back towards the coastline, still helping a little along the way and amassing a large following while they did it. It seemed everyone in Nice wanted to make sure they got to see their liberators off.

“Jocasta please uncloak the Quinjet.” Pym called and soon enough the Quinjet caused a lot of talk and laughter around their crowd.

Before they boarded the Quinjet James turned to them one last time and began to speak. “La revolution Ultron est terminee!”  (The Ultron Revolution is over!) He yelled triumphantly to which the crowd roared back happily. “Rentrez chez vous dans vos enfants et vos conjoints dans vos bras. Surtout gardez la tête haute. Le travail n’est pas terminé. Restez les uns avec les autres continuez à donner un coup de main. Nous traverser cela plus fort que jamais, ensemble!” (Go home, hug your kids and hug your spouses. Most importantly keep your chin up. The work is not done. Stick with each other, continue to lend a helping hand. We will get through this stronger than ever, together!)

The people cheered once more at James' inspiring little speech and shouted their name as they boarded the quinjet. “Merci Avengers!” some called, tears present in their eyes

“Je vous remercie!” Others called with pure joy radiating off of them.

Francis, James, and Pym waved from the windows at their adoring fans as they took off back to the arctic. When they were out of sight they all collapsed down into their seats.

“Jocasta, autopilot.” Pym sighed tiredly, that was 7 French cities in 72 hours. With just the three of them. It was a big task, and he was wary when James insisted they could do it, but he hadn’t been wrong yet.

“What’s next Tony?” James sighed, took his shield from his back, proceeded to crack his back, pulled off his gloves, and his helmet but was just too lazy to do anything else. He sat back and closed his eyes. He couldn’t lie either. This had been tiring.

Tony’s laughter rumbled through the system. “You guys are done for the night. Relax, I'm going to remote pilot the ship from here. You kids should get some rest.”

“Are Torunn and Azari back?” James asked tiredly.

“Azari yes, Torunn no. She might be back around the time you guys come though.” Tony answered.

“Alright then boss man.” Francis took off his quiver and put his bow to the side. “I am definitely taking a rest, and the next time James wants us to do this shorthanded, I am definitely saying no.”

“That’s alright.” Tony laughed. “You guys earned it, Banner and I are working on something, I’ll call you later if you're still asleep when it’s time to land. Tony out.”

And with that the three heroes surrendered to sleep, dreaming of a better tomorrow.

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME - UTC 22:18

“Landing in 3 minutes.” Tony’s voice called throughout the quinjet.

His voice quickly shook the three boys out of their sleep. It wasn’t often they got to sleep this long, it was nice, even if it was in the quinjet.

“Finally.” Francis stood with a yawn, “Only took seven hours .” He strapped his quiver back on and grabbed his bow, he couldn’t wait to sleep in a real bed. Maybe even grab some late night grub.

Pym rubbed his eyes and stretched as well, “Oh man you guys think Torunn is back?” he asked quietly.

“Who knows Pym.” Francis sighed, “Seems like everytime she goes to Asgard now, she takes a little longer to get back. Won't be too long before she’s not coming back at all.” And Francis wished he was mostly joking when he said that, but it truly did seem to be the case.

“Can you relax? Torunn isn’t staying in Asgard.” James said annoyedly. He moved from his seat as well, getting up and strapping his shield to his back, his helmet was also loose as well the strap laid around his neck and it rested on his back. He gripped his hands back and forth, just a little tense from all the fighting recently, and maybe because he was a little anxious to see Torunn.

“Whatever you say Cap’n .” Francis said lazily, James rolled his eyes annoyed to admit that Francis was actually getting under his skin. It wasn’t even a big deal.

“Dropdown sequence initiating. Successful dropdown in 10..9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1..Dropdown complete. Welcome home boys.” Tony said happily through the sound system. “The Scavengers are awaiting your arrival outside and are ready to escort you to the compound.”

“Alright Tony.” James responded, “Come on guys.”  He called and opened the hatch to the Quinjet.

As they exited the Quinjet the Scavengers were lined up on each side of the entryway. The Scavengers themselves had gone through many upgrades over the years. They went from wearing pieces of Ultron tech over their heads to wearing actual navy blue, utilitarian style suits, based on Kevlar-based ballistic components. Fire resistant, blast resistant, they had patches that had an S on them which stood for Scavengers. They were outfitted with energy blasters, EMPs, Incapacitating Cartridge Emitting Railguns. Or ICERS for short. Freeze Guns, Energy Shields. Whatever they needed to get the job done. They were now as close to a legitimate Black Ops unit America had seen in nearly 15 years. 

“Captain.” One spoke.

“Cap’n.” Another gave his respect.

“Cap.” another addressed.

“Mr. America.” The voices grew louder as they exited the Quinjet.

“Captain.” Another repeated.

James let out a small breath and nodded at all the Scavengers as they walked by. It felt natural leading his friends, but being so looked up to by the Scavengers, the idea that he was always supposed to have a plan to save them and save the day? It was stressful. He was a 16 year old kid, what had he done to deserve to be called ‘Captain’ by grown men and women? To be treated with such respect...It was uncanny.

“Oh come on guys, don’t tell me you forgot about Ol Hawkeye?” Francis called out as they walked by. “Seriously I mean, I used to lead as well!”

That brought a few laughs from the Scavengers, and some greetings of “Hey Hawkeye.” or “Relax Barton. Or “Just showing our respects, Hawkeye.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Francis muttered with a smirk. Soon enough they finally passed all of the Scavengers but one diligently followed them.

“What’s the word Agent Johnson?” James asked. Agent Daisy Johnson. One of the few Scavengers that were actually under 18, around they’re age. She had quickly risen up the rankings, demolishing her training and showing that she was clearly one of the smartest Scavengers out there.

“Not much Captain.” Daisy began. “Like Mr. Stark told you Black Panther has come back from his scouting missions in the Middle East and the Savage Lands. You probably want to hear it from him but from what I’ve heard Tony has sanctioned the Savage Lands assignment. You should be good to go.”

“Good, any time frame when we can head out? I’d like to know s-

“With all due respect Captain.” Daisy said honestly. “You just got back from a long mission in Europe. You should take a break. You’ve earned it.”

“Someone gets it.” Hawkeye muttered.

“We’ll consider it.” James sighed, at this point he just wanted to get the debrief over with. “Any news on the efforts in Virginia?”

“Revival efforts have been good. It’s starting to look more like the city they talked about 15 years ago, but it’s still going to be sometime.” Daisy relayed.

“And...New York?” James asked slowly.

A sigh escaped Daisy’s lips, she seemed hesitant to say anything. “You...you should talk to Stark and Banner.”

James nodded, “That will be all then.” He dismissed her. Daisy nodded and left them, leaving the three to enter the compound on their own. That wasn’t the greatest news. New York City wasn’t getting better. And it felt like there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“Relax James. We're going to fix everything. Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Pym told his friend.

James didn’t say anything, just scanned his hand on the door waiting for clearance to enter. Access Granted, Rogers, James. Welcome. Barton, Francis. Welcome. Pym, Henry. Welcome.

The compound was an expansion of their base in the Biodome. After the Iron Avengers smashed through and destroyed a lot of their things with Ultron, when they got back Tony decided it was a good time for upgrades. Especially now that he could do a lot more without Ultron looming over his head. 

The team was only bound to get older and the bungalows were pretty small, so Tony scrapped them and created enough space to place the compound. A large building that was good for residence, conferencing, multiple workshops and labs, lounges, kitchen, offices, gym, shooting range, rehabilitation room, Hangar, Storage, anything the team needed resided in this building. And this was just mainly for the Avengers.

There had been a somewhat smaller facility built that just held rooms for the entirety of the Scavengers who wanted to stay here. Some said no, because who wanted to live in the fucking Arctic Circle. Others said no because they were done fighting. And some said yes because the fight wasn’t done yet, and sure Ultron was gone but the world wasn’t the same. Not yet and until it was how could they stop fighting?

One reason was valid however. They were working on a way to get people from the Arctic to other cities faster. It was a tall task that they didn’t really have time for. Sometimes it felt like they didn’t have time for anything.

“Hey FRIDAY?” Pym called out invoking the AI’s name. Soon enough she showed up in her holographic form, a short redheaded woman with a bright smile. “How can I help you Henry?”

“Where’s Azari?” Pym asked.

“Azari has just left Tony’s lab and is heading for the conference room. It seems Tony and Dr. Banner will be joining him shortly.”

“Thanks FRI.” Pym called to the AI who disappeared with a smile. “Come on guys let’s go.”

“Oh man Pym.” Francis yawned. “We just saved a whole country in like 3 days. Can we get a break, for at least, like, 5 seconds?”

“After we talk to Azari. It’s best we sleep on whatever he has to tell us. While we're all still in mission mode anyway.” James said before following Pym down the long corridor.

“Mission mode? I left mission mode 8 hours ago.” Francis muttered but followed anyway, Pym scanned his hand and they entered the room where Azari was sitting in his designated seat drumming his fingers against the table, he got up and smiled however when he saw his friends.

“Pym, James, Francis. I assume the France mission was successful?” He greeted his friends with a smile.

“As successful as a shorthanded liberation could be.” James sighed. “Finished 7 cities in 72 hours.”

“Sorry. But you're going to be happy when I tell you my scouting mission was successful. Savage Lands are basically a wash. And a couple Scavengers and I checked out Canada they’re doing just fine. The rebuild is truly on.”

“So we can finally go to the Savage Lands?” Pym beamed. “Finally it’s not like we’ve been prepping this mission for 2 years or anything.”

“Yeah well let’s relax. We still need to talk it through.” A new voice entered the conversation. Tony came in with Jocasta who was holding boxes of food that seemed to be Mexican. Banner walked in after them both. They quickly took their seats at the conference table while Jocasta handed them their well earned meals.

“Oh thanks Jocasta. Do I ever tell you you're the best?” Francis smiled as he took a whiff of his food.

“Yes, and everytime it is true.” The AI smiled cockily.

“Thank you Jocasta.” James nodded at the robot woman, but he was still focused on the two empty seats at the conference table.

Suddenly everyone jumped back a little as Vision came phasing through the ground and took his seat at the conference table.

“I will never get used to that.” Francis decided. “Never.”

Tony laughed and called out to the advanced robot. “Hey Vision, would it kill you to use the door next time?”

“I very well could, but then we wouldn’t get to see Hawkeye’s priceless reaction.” Vision decided.

“Great, I swear everyone has it out for me.” Francis said through mouthfuls of rice. 

“Except me.”  Jocasta said.

“Except you.” Francis agreed.

“Alright well...nearly everyone is here.” Tony started talking again. “I know Torunn is missing, but it’s late and you four need rest.” 

To say the team was disappointed was an understatement. Torunn was their family. They stuck together through everything, but it seemed with every passing day, Asgard was becoming her focus.

“Sounds good.” Azari spoke up for the four of them. But for James it was anything but good. They were short as it was, and it was undeniable that Torunn was their powerhouse. Without her they were not the same team.

Banner wasted no time however in diverting their minds to the next problem. “The Savage Lands were one of the few places that were untouched by Ultron’s rule. However after we defeated Ultron Tony didn't think it was necessary to go check it out. As it was dangerous and you were all too young.”

“Allegedly.” Azari pointed out with a laugh. In his mind, they could have done it. What were a couple of monsters going to do to them when they just took out Ultron?

“Allegedly.” Bruce rolled his eyes in mock annoyance, he had really come close to these kids. He felt like they knew him better than anyone else in his previous life. “Regardless, it's now become a necessity. It will come to no surprise to you all that we are stretched thin…”

“Understatement.” James chimed in. “There are 8 of us with powers. 7 when you realize that Tony can’t go out in the suit because he’s a hazard.”

“Ouch kid.” Tony smirked but it lacked the usual playfulness, as this was a conversation that kept coming up between them, “But you realize we have the Iron Legion.”

“The Iron Legion can’t cut it. ” James insisted tiredly. “People see those robots, and they freak Tony. 15 years ago maybe people associated robots with Tony Stark: The Invincible Iron Man. Now? All they see is the robot tyrant who killed millions. People rather work on their own then take help from the bots. And that's why we just cleaned out 7 cities by ourselves in 72 hours.”

“He’s right Tony.” Francis said seriously. “Those people were fine when they saw us. Then they saw the Legion and they’d just...like James said freak. I mean grown men screaming and crying, children bawling their eyes out crying for their parents. Unless you can show them there is a person in there, they don’t want to see it.”

“Yes, that’s why you're going to the Savage Land.” Banner steered the conversation back. “We realize that as strong as Ultron was, it'd be hard for him to legitimately take out every single hero. Now some have been confirmed, but still…Everyone? We don’t believe that to be the case. We believe some went into hiding. Ultron didn’t take the entirety of Europe until 2 years ago, and even then he had just barely done it before you stopped him. The chances that heroes left the USA and resumed their new lives in Asia, Europe, Africa, places that Ultron didn’t take are high.”

“Begs the question, why we haven’t heard from anyone. In the past 2 years not a single hero has been heard from. Not one.” Azari added.

“That is true. But some people probably don’t want to be found.” Tony told them.

“That and the fact that even though we stopped Ultron, we were 13 years too late. Most of America is a shithole. We live in the Arctic Circle for pete's sake!” Francis fumed.

“Well we think we’ve got our first track on a hero.” Bruce continued and pulled up a file on the screen. It was a man with a bit of an unruly haircut. His black hair was in the duck’s tail style. With a big beard alongside his face. He was a short man in a yellow and blue costume, and he had a lopsided grin on his face. The feature that made him stand out? The three claws protruding from each of his hands.

“James Howlett. Though he preferred Logan, and when he was working, The Wolverine.” Bruce explained “A formidable opponent even for the Hulk. His bones are coated in the strongest metal on earth, Adamantium. It can cut through everything, except Adamantium and Vibranium.”

“And he’s a mutant, like Azari.” Pym added.

“Correct, his mutations gave him those claws. And quite possibly the most potent healing factor the world has ever seen, there hasn’t been a thing he hasn’t shown he couldn’t regenerate from.”

“And he was one of the X-Men right?” Francis asked.

“Yes.” Tony answered.

“Still don’t understand why those punks didn’t try and stop Ultron. Maybe if they did we wouldn’t have to find this Logan guy.” Francis muttered angrily.

“Any specific reason we're going for this one?” James asked.

“We're looking for Logan because we believe he knows where the other X-Men are. And if he can find the X-Men, we're hoping they would come and join the cause. Help the fight.” Tony jumped in.

“Opposed to them just not doing it now?” James questioned. “So what happens if we don’t find Logan? That’s a deadend. Or what happens if we find him, and he has no clue where the X-Men are. His file here says he has the tendency to be a loner. There’s a good chance he hasn’t seen em in years. Better yet, what if we find the X-Men. And we tell them about the defeat of Ultron, ask for help in rebuilding and they say no? What do we do then? Because all of that seems more likely than the X-Men jumping out to save us.”

“Young James has a point.” Vision conceded.

“James, it's one of the best leads we’ve had in years.” Tony sighed, rubbing his forehead. James could almost be too passionate at times.

“We need to stop chasing leads. If it’s going to take us two years to find one X-Men we shouldn’t look for them anyway. We need more superheroes. We need our own way of identifying people with powers. How is it that we haven’t seen a new mutant in ages?  You told me that the Mutant population had been on a steady rise since they had been found. It should be higher than ever right now. Instead we’re starved to find one hero. Out in the Savage Lands .” James ranted angrily.

“Calm down James.” Azari told his friend. “They are doing their best.”

“It’s not so easy to just calm down!” James said through gritted teeth. But the focus was no longer on that, but the large rainbow coloured light that flashed outside of the building lightly causing the ground to shake, By now everyone knew what it was.

“Torunn!” Pym shouted with excitement. Sure enough even from inside the Compound they could see the Asgardian girl. She had started flying, and she’d be there in any second.

The whole group had got up to meet her at the door and right when she got there, Pym was the first to engulf her in a hug. “Torunn, your home.”

She smiled and embraced her little ‘brother’ “I’m happy to see you too Pym.” Next was Azari who laughed happily as he embraced his older sister. Then Francis came and gave a hug to his old fling, and lastly was James. “James, you’ve got taller. Almost as tall as me yet!” Torunn teased.

“Hi Torunn.” James mumbled, but he couldn’t deny he was happy to see her. But he still couldn’t shake that feeling of mission mode. So he quickly went to his seat and waited for Torunn to do the same. James continued his spiel while Torunn was briefed by Vision.

“Look Tony, Bruce, I know we're doing our best. All I’m saying is we need something that’s...concrete. Where spread thin. Desperately thin. The Scavengers are best when together not apart. The Avengers are effective but anytime now we're gonna suffer from burnout. We’ve still got 30% of Europe waiting for our help. Central and South America are still waiting on relief efforts. Even Canada, while doing better than the rest, is struggling. And then there is our own struggle.”

“Look, I understand James. But the way to find Mutants before was using Cerebro. A helmet created by Charles Xavier that could identify Mutants. Unfortunately you need to be a telepath to use that. We’ve got something cooking and we're hoping it will work but right now this is the best we can do.”

James simply pursed his lips but didn’t say anything, because It sucked but it was true. There wasn’t anything they could do but they wanted to help.

“How fast can we get Mission prep done?” James eventually asked.

“Depending on how tired you guys are. We can send you off in 3 days. It’s not a large mission. And it shouldn’t take more than 24 hours.”

“Alright, meeting adjourned?” Azari asked.

“No,” Tony said, a tad hesitant to tell the team more bad news. “There’s one last thing...Vision has been scouting on the lookout as you know in various countries. And by the looks of it we might have a problem. There have been talks of wanting to move in for America by countries in Asia. Mainly Madripoor, as they feel America is ripe for the taking.”

“You can’t be serious.” Francis deadpanned.

“What!?!?” Pym yelled confused.

“Really?” Azari questioned.

“I can’t believe it!” Torunn yelled angrily. “How come?”

“Because people will always want power, and they see a chance to grab one of the most profitable countries in the world. Even when we're like this.”

“They realize if it weren’t for us, they were next on Ultron’s hit list?” James questioned angrily, how could they add this over everything they were already going through.

“Yeah, and they’ll say thanks by being good dictators.” Banner spat angrily.

“It’s all speculative talk right now. They know we’ve still got some heroes, and we won’t go down easy, but they understand that is a once in a lifetime chance.” Tony explained. 

“Hitting your enemy when they're already down, cowards move.” Torunn said angrily.

“Surely other countries wouldn’t let it happen.” Azari reasoned.

“No one knows what to do with us right now.” Tony explained. “This type of domination. Was unprecedented. And yeah we’ve done our best to help, but no one wants to get into another war. The feeling seems to be: If someone wants to take America, let them try it....It can’t be as bad as Ultron.”

BANG! James slammed the table. “This can’t happen. Look, America is a mess but this is avoidable. Look, we need a man in charge...or a woman.” James corrected after seeing Torunn’s glare, “We need someone who will speak up for us, or we're screwed. We need our President, our government, unfortunately it’s been in shambles for a while. But this, this is where Tony you take control.”

“Wha-what?” Tony sputtered.

“Yes Tony, think about it. Who saved everyone from Ultron, who is basically keeping America afloat with his technology? Who is sending relief not just to different parts of the US, but the Americas, and Europe too! Only you are doing it Tony. You can be the face of the US and shut this all down.”

“I also created Ultron.” Tony counters.

“No one knows that. We have to do what’s in our best interests.” James insisted.

“Let’s not rush anything, okay?” Tony asked firmly. “We told you about this because you're the Avengers now, this is stuff unfortunately you have to deal with. One at a time. If you're going to be freaking out then next time Banner and I will know not to tell you anything. I want your focus on the Savage Land mission alright? Get some rest, we can talk more later. But for now it’s late and I think you’ve done more than enough for today.” Tony announced.

His word was basically gospel around these parts, so slowly and hesitantly they all got up to leave the conference room. James with a lot of thoughts on his mind. A hand landed on his shoulder and he turned to see Torunn.

“Relax James. We will figure this out, like we always do.”

James sighed and nodded, but as he entered his quarters he couldn’t help but think one thing. Things just got messy for the Heroes of Tomorrow didn’t they?

Chapter Text

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME - April 22, 7:00 UTC

“You’ve all read the Mission report?” Tony asked the group, to which the five of them nodded. 72 hours to rest and recover for the four that went on missions. And then they were back at it. To James it was even too long.

“James relay it to me.” Tony demanded of his team leader. If he was going to be sending kids all across the damn world, he was going to make sure they were prepared for it.

“The Avengers will be headed for the Savage Lands. The trip will be made by Quinjet and should take around 2 hours. The Team’s mission? Find Ka-Zar, proclaimed King of the Savage Lands. Shanna the She Devil, proclaimed Queen of the Savage Lands, as well as the mutant known as Wolverine. Our main objective will be to extract information from Wolverine about the X-Men; the idea is that he knows their whereabouts, and that he can point us in the right direction. With a little luck, he might even want to help us.” James took his time to explain.

“How do you plan on coordinating the Mission Captain?” Vision asked the young leader of the Avengers.

“We stick together, stay tight, watch each other’s backs. There are many different colonies in the Savage Land, an approximate of over fifty different human subspecies alone. If we want to find Logan we will need to find the more advanced races who might be willing to help us. Most tribes of the Savage Land however don’t really care for outsiders, and are generally hostile. Ka-Zar and Shanna are who we should be targeting to find. Unfortunately they are also harder to track as the self-appointed ‘kings and queens’ of the Savage Land, they are almost always on the move.” James relayed the information plainly.

“Roles on the mission?” Banner asked offhandedly.

“I am the field commander, Francis is second in command. Torunn is our powerhouse, while Pym and Azari will be our main stealth factors.”

“Good.” Tony nodded his head in approval. “You're ready.”

“Of course we were ready. James never messes up the mission. Now can we leave?” Francis said impatiently.

“Of course. We want you focused on the Savage Land mission, but we just wanted to let you know that as of this moment...we have no plans on this...supposed takeover, and no new possible intelligence.” Tony admitted.

The Avengers nodded somewhat solemnly, but tried to focus on the mission. They had more important things to think about at the moment.

“Alright Tony.” James spoke. “We’ll be heading out then. Hopefully we can come back, and resolve this issue soon.”

The team left towards the hangar being greeted by the early morning Scavengers mostly eating breakfast in the cafeteria and enjoying some general camaraderie. But all of them had time to wish them good luck on the mission. These guys were there Heroes.

“Strap in.” Pym called from the cockpit, the seats immediately rising from the ground and the team sat in getting ready for their flight.

“God I hate early morning missions.” Francis complained and rubbed his eyes in his seat across from Azari.

“Why?” The young panther asked, “You prefer the late night?”

“Of course, night missions are so much better, darker, less tired…” He trailed off.

“Maybe.” James said from his seat across from Torunn. “But don’t late night missions just turn into early morning missions? And as an Archer, isn’t broad daylight better so you can see?”

“Point.” Francis admitted. “But I wouldn’t be able to call myself Hawkeye if I couldn’t shoot in the dark could I? Plus there’s infrared, nightvision, and all that good tech stuff that I never had before. I’m fine. It just feels more natural at night.” Francis admitted.

“Taking off.” Pym called from the cockpit. It was always interesting that the youngest of them all was by far the best flier of them all. He had picked it up with ease. 

“Guys, I’m worried.” Torunn broke the silence. “How can those people actually try to take over the country...I mean it’s...so unethical...And cowardly!” She angrily spat.

“Yeah well, not everyone follows the same rules, beautiful.” Francis explained.

“Still she is right.” Azari spoke up. “Why would the Island of Madripoor think they could take out the USA, even in our state?”

“Madripoor is an Island with a population of 1,055,000. And they want to invade us...Something doesn’t really add up.” Pym added to Azari’s point.

“Unless they have something.” James decided. “Some secret weapon, or...super powers. 15 years ago no one would dare try this. Because before you even got to the Army. S.H.I.E.L.D, the FBI, CIA, SWORD, D.I.S, would have got to you first. That’s without bringing in the superpowered population, you’d basically be slaughtering your people. But now? It seems to be just us. And even we are going to struggle against nuclear warheads, and what? Maybe a couple hundred supers?”

“Asia hadn’t been touched by Ultron, scouted for sure...but still they got nothing...If people were escaping, why wouldn’t some end up there?” Francis added on

“Prior to Ultron, Madripoor was ruled by a woman who went by Madame Viper.” Azari provided. “I don’t think they would be too pressed about super powered people joining.”

“And Viper is Hydra.” James scowled, That organization had given his family so many problems in the last century. “But I thought no one had seen her in years?”

“That’s true, but it shows Madripoor isn’t the most stable place when it comes to world leaders.” Pym added.

“So would it be possible that heroes are in Madripoor, if so why help them take us down? What is there to gain?” Torunn asked.

“I’m thinking people closer to the villain variety, beautiful.” Francis explained to Torunn. “We know that Ultron viewed all super powered people as a threat. So I don’t think he’d let them survive.”

“Unless they struck a deal.” James countered. “Let them live, and they’d stay out of his way. But he’s gone now which means…”

“Free real estate.” Azari finished for him. “That would make sense.”

“It could.” Pym decided, but he didn’t think it was that simple. “But then we have to ask ourselves, why now? Why not last month, or last year, better yet why not right after we announced we took him down. Why over two years since his defeat?”

“Pym, If a robot that seemingly killed the Avengers, and built his own palace over the city he basically bombed to ashes. The same robot that seemed to have conquered every other hero, and the entirety of the western hemisphere, who just finished his conquering of Europe, would you want to be the idiot who couldn’t wait and believed the dumb kids who said he was dead? To be the guy he finds in his Citadel when he comes back? After 13 years of World domination, and a group of kids stopped him?” James put it into perspective.

“Fair point.” He conceded. “Some people wanted proof, so they waited. And the time of planning to take over America probably takes time.”

“So we know why then. We need to stop them.” Torunn demanded.

“Still.” Francis began, “This is all baseless speculation. There is no guarantee any of this is true. We need answers and if we're going to do that we're probably going to need to go to the source.”

“Yes.” Azari sighed. “Knowing Tony and Bruce however, they’ll hold it off for a month or two because they think we need a break.”

“And because they’re busy.” Pym insisted. “Look, you guys don’t work with Tony and Bruce like I do. When we are not on missions I’m with them in labs, basically everyday. Tony and Bruce are doing their best to figure out how to undo Ultra City, they’re doing their best to make sure Central America doesn’t starve to death without any crops. They're doing their best to make sure schools in every state are up and running, because someone needs to make sure we have a next generation. They don’t just push missions back to make life harder for us. They are doing their best guys.”

“We know Pym.” Torunn sighed. “Sometimes it just feels like they are in our way. Even though this wouldn’t be possible without them.”

“The worst thing is that Tony and Bruce aren’t getting any younger. I speculate that Bruce will be fine, being the Hulk and all, he will probably live longer...But Tony…” Pym trailed off.

“We will deal with that when the time comes.” Azari spoke up, breaking the silence. “As much as I hate to say it, it will be inevitable. All we can do is make sure we're prepared when the time comes. And focus on the now.”

“Agreed.” James immediately decided. “That’s why from here on out we need to focus on the Savage Land mission. I know we didn’t just have the easiest talk, But I need you guys focused and sharp for this mission. It’s not going to be a cakewalk, because this is of dire consequence. We need this lead to pan out. Can we do that?”

“Ay ay. Cap’n!” Pym beamed from the front of the plane.

“Verily James, we will succeed on this mission!” Torunn cheered, sword thrust into the air.

“You can count on me.” Azari said with a smile.

“You know we will do our best Mr. America. Lead us into battle!” Francis joked.

James smiled “Alright then...Avengers on 3...1...2..3…

“AVENGERS!” The group called out and pushed on closer to the Savage Land, still closer than ever, and ready to do anything to win. Whatever it takes. 

HEROES OF TOMORROW 

“Oh man, it smells terrible!” Francis complained as he jumped out of the Quinjet. He stretched his legs and observed the area. Trees and grass did not have the right to smell this horrible. “Biodome doesn’t smell half this bad.”

“Yeah, well the things in the Biodome aren’t real. It’s all artificial.” Azari explained. “Plus...I don’t think anyone in the Biodome leaves their...messes around.”

There was a faint smell of manure going around, and it was also very musky. But to James they had arguably been through worse, and a little smell couldn’t derail them from the mission.

“Stay sharp people.” James commanded. “Let’s achieve our objective and get out of here. I don’t think any of us want to stay here too long.”

They all nodded and set focus on their goal. James took the lead and started trekking through the dense forestry. Shield at the ready if it would be needed. The Savage Land really was something, a large forest in the heart of Antarctica. It was improbable. A place that had terraformed for centuries creating tons of new subspecies. Dangerous species.

“It is rather beautiful though.” Torunn decided as they walked through the unknown wildlife.

“SQWAAA.” A group of large red birds crowed over their heads as they flew over to their destination.

“Yeah if you can get over the crude smell, weird ass alien-birds, and the freaking volcanoes everywhere. This place might as well be a prehistoric museum. How is any of this shit even possible?” Francis wondered.

“Terraforming, and some clear tampering. From what Tony and Bruce told me, there had been a lot of experimenting going on here. There are so many weird things in this place.” Pym said as he kicked some rocks on the ground.

The group continued their trek past a large lake, it seemed with each passing moment it was getting a bit hotter. And there was even more forestry than before. 

“So how will we know when we are getting closer to civilization?” Azari asked. “How do we know we're not just wandering around aimlessly?”

“A lifetime ago there was a S.H.I.E.L.D Outpost in the Savage Lands. It’s where we are heading. I’ve got the rough coordinates.” James answered.

“You think Wolverine would be there?” Francis questioned. “And who’s to say he won’t be feral when we see him. You all read his file. Dude’s a born killer.” Francis pointed out

“It would make sense for him to go to places that are familiar.” Torunn spoke thoughtfully, sounding slightly wary. “I have faith we could best him if he is out of his mind.”

“Plus honestly, who cares if he’s feral? We need all the help we can get, even if he is a little crazy. I don’t think we have the privilege to pick and choose right now.” Azari stated.

“I’m sorry, do you all hear that?” Torunn asked quickly, she narrowed her eyes and seemed to be focused on something “It sounds like rustling…”

Francis grabbed his bow and nocked an Arrow, ready at a moment’s notice. Pym had his fists up and was ready for whatever his team would need of him. Azari took a crouching position. Torunn lightly floated in the air with her sword. And James held his shield for protection.

Once again the enhanced individuals tuned in. Azari, James, and Torunn tried to listen for sounds and looked to the bushes for confirmation.

“I don’t hear much.” James said quietly. He was about to give the all clear, until he perfectly heard a loud SNAP! And tried to find the source, but Azari was even faster.

“Ambush!” He whispered furiously and pointed to the bushes. He was right as a group of yellow men came into view and started rushing out of the bushes, surrounding the young heroes. The yellow people wore a few pieces of armour, generally ones on their legs, bracers on their arms, an armoured glorified jock strap and leg armour. And to top it off it was a weird shade of burgundy.

“You are trespassing on our land!” One of them said, you couldn’t even tell who was the leader. “Leave now, and we will let you go with your lives.”

James turned to his teammates and gave them the eye to stay alert but not to attack, they couldn’t be the hostiles in this. “Sir we mean you no harm. My name is James Rogers, Capt-

“I don’t care who you are.” He snarled angrily. “Get off our property now.”

James paused and internally sighed, it’d be best for their sake if they didn’t play hardball. “Listen.” James said dangerously “Be smart about this...this doesn’t need to end up in a fight. We are not your enemy.”

“But...we could be.” Torunn added shortly with a glare, That probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do, but it was too late now.

“Golden Warriors, Attack!” The man yelled spittle flying through the air. They had been expecting spears and small knives, and they had got that, but they also were getting shot at with weird looking energy guns. Wasn’t this supposed to be a primitive nation?

Torunn blocked the blasts with her sword and Azari created an-electric force field covering himself and Pym. James used his shield to deflect the attacks from him and Hawkeye.

“We need to make a move James.” Torunn firmly pushed, and it seemed like she was right as they continued to close in and get even closer to them.

“Avengers Attack!” James called and jumped into action throwing his shield, deflecting it off of two of the golden warriors. Torunn was quick and flew faster than they could see shoulder checked on into the ground before engaging in a swordfight with two warriors. Azari quickly pulled off his makeshift belt turning it into a bow staff, and beat off the warriors attacking him and Pym, imbuing his hits with electricity. Pym took the time to shrink down and hit them with energy blasts.

Hawkeye released two explosive arrows in front of a group of warriors sending them careening into the forest floor. This simply was not a fight the Golden People could win. The Avengers wouldn’t be here if they couldn’t make it out of the Savage Land.

“Surrender.” Torunn demanded of the warriors, easily holding them at bay with her sword skills “We do not want to hurt you.”

“We will never surrender.” The humanoid growled as he struggled. “Especially not to the likes of you!”

“You’ve been warned.” Torunn reminded them, she leg swept one and punched him in the face immediately knocking them out before turning quickly and sending a roundhouse kick to another’s temple.

As good as they were doing, more of the Golden Warriors were pouring in, and while it felt like a sparring exercise, It was obvious they were wasting time. “Stop bringing your men, we don’t want to fight. We just need help.”

“Why did you attack us?” One demanded before throwing a spear at him.

“Are you insane?” James asked angrily, while blocking with his shield. “You attacked first, did you think I’d let you take my team?”

Francis nocked another arrow and shot it,  as it neared its target a net sprang out and captured three of the warriors. “Okay, this is getting very annoying now. We need to go!”

Before they could make another move however a large orange tiger jumped out of the forest with a roar. It bared its teeth, with fangs as long as 6 inches. “Nice kitty.” Azari walked slowly away from it, he didn’t want to harm the cat...but if it tried to hurt him…

“SQWAAA.” A large red bird called, it swooped down and it was clear there was a man...boy? On the back of the pterosaur. And out swinging from the forests came two people. One was a man with long blond hair, he seemed to only wear a white cloth around his waist. He brandished a knife as well. This clearly was Ka-Zar.

The woman wore a thin tiger print sheet that really only covered her more...private parts, and even then you could argue it didn’t do a very good job at that. From files it was clear she was Shanna the She-Devil.

The man jumped off the pterosaur and seemed to be a smaller mini me of Ka-Zar, though Tony had said nothing about a son. Then again, they hadn’t been to the Savage Land in ages.

“Who dares to fight the Golden People, a tribe under our protection.” Shanna demanded.

“Hubba, Hubba.” Francis whispered. “Ow!” He muttered and rubbed his chest from the hit Torunn gave him.

“We dare.” James made a move, and immediately spears surrounded him and the Avengers, and even Ka-Zar looked like he might strike. “The Avengers.”

“Avengers…? The Avengers are dead, and have been for a long time.” Ka-Zar stated thoughtfully “Unless…”

“You probably knew our parents. They are dead, but their legacy is not.” James explained carefully “Trust me when I say we meant no harm, we never wanted to fight your...Golden People. We only ever wanted to ask for some help.”

“What do you need help with?” Shanna asked curiously, she clearly wasn’t very trusting. “Looking for something?”

“Yes we are looking for something actually.” Francis spoke up for the group.

“Well then let me stop you right there. If you're looking for our Vibranium you're not going to get it.” Shanna said furiously.

“With all due respect Shanna.” James started. “We’ve got all the vibranium we need right here.” He lifted up his shield.

“And you're also looking at the Prince of Wakanda.” Francis added. “If we wanted vibranium, we wouldn’t be looking here for it.”

It was funny to Azari because he had been to Wakanada all of twice? Three times? And there was probably no chance they’d ever let them leave with Vibranium. They respected his position as Prince, but he hadn’t earned that level, not yet…and maybe, not ever.

Still it made for a good cover up to diffuse the situation. “If you're not looking for Vibranium then...what? Need help with Ultron?” the teen asked.

“No, we beat Ultron two years ago.” James explained. “But we're looking for a man, his last whereabouts were said to be here he’s a mutant, goes by Wolverine.”

“You’ve beat Ultron?” Ka-Zar asked in wonder. “How?”

“You haven’t heard?” Pym questioned.

“It’s not very easy to get new information in the Savage Land. And it never seemed like a good idea to go out in check, in fear of never coming back.” Ka-Zar admitted honestly

“Well the asshat is gone now. We destroyed him. The real question is do you know Wolverine, and have you seen him lately?” Francis quizzed.

“We haven’t seen any foreigners lately. You're the first visitors we have gotten in nearly 3 years.” Shanna told them.

Well that was not good news, they were the ‘King and Queen’ of this place. And they hadn’t seen anyone new in three years? 

“Who came to visit three years ago?” Azari questioned eagerly.

“Well…The X-Men.” Shanna said reflectively.

“The X-Men!?!?!” Pym couldn’t contain his shock. “But...I…we thought...they're not dead?”

“Not as far as I know…” Ka-Zar said, “The X-Men were here, and they were looking for something as well.”

“What was it?” James asked interestingly.

“We should talk while we're on the move.” Shanna cut in. “You were looking for Logan, and it’s clear you were headed in a specific direction. The old SHIELD depot was his favourite spot. We can take you there.”

“Good idea Mom.” The teen said. “Come on, it’s not everyday we get foreigners. I’m Matty by the way.”

“James.” Captain America greeted. “That’s Azari, Torunn, Francis, and Pym.” James pointed to each and every one.

“Or Captain America, Black Panther, Torunn, Hawkeye, and Wasp.” Francis added, they walked with Ka-Zar’s family, and it seemed like the Golden People just disappeared. What weirdos.

“Please if you could explain how the X-Men...are alive?” Torunn asked the leaders of the Savage Land.

“Well, I don’t want to get your hopes up, because it’s been a long time. I have no clue if the X-Men are still alive. We haven’t had contact in a long time, but when they were here, they were looking for a certain herb that grew here. To counteract some virus…” Ka-Zar explained.

“The Legacy Virus.” Shanna provided, as they walked through some foliage, they were getting close.

“What did it do?” James asked.

“I have no clue. The X-Men didn’t have much time to explain. They just really needed to check if we had what they were looking for.”

“Did you?” Francis questioned.

“No, actually we didn’t.” Shanna sadly stated, “We haven’t heard from them since so it’s possible…”

“That this virus took them out.” Pym said in wonder. “A virus, and we never heard of it, how does that work?”

“Do you remember if...Storm was there?” Azari asked hesitantly. Maybe...Maybe his mom survived this virus, and was just hiding from Ultron.

“I’m sorry, Ororo wasn’t there.” Shanna confirmed for the boy. “It wasn’t your regular group of X-Men.”

“I’m afraid we don’t even know what your regular group of X-Men looks like.” Torunn sighed disappointedly. Another dead end.

“Still...this fills in the blanks. And if we can find Wolverine, I’m sure he can help us complete it, 100 percent.” James ever the optimist said.

“While I hope you find Logan...I really don’t think he’s here. It just doesn’t make sense for him to come without telling us.” Ka-Zar told them.

“We're here.” Matty changed the subject. “So I guess we will find out if Wolverine is here, no more speculation.”

Captain America looked around and it seemed like a generally empty area, just foliage and forestry, maybe someone had been here. But it was barren.

“I’m sorry.” Shanna said, disappointed they couldn’t be of much help to the kids. “I know you children must be trying hard.”

However James and the team weren’t ready to give up yet. “Pym?”

The boy nodded and took the lead; he quickly pulled out a small device, scanning the area for clues. The device showed footsteps leading up to a rock. Which didn’t make sense at all, especially the radiation readings he was getting off of it.

“I’m getting some weird reading from over there.” He pointed to the rock. “Over there Cap.”

James wasted no time and hurled his shield at the rock, surprised when the rock didn’t crumble but rather dented and sent the shield flying back at him. It was a rather large rock, and it was starting to seem evident that it was doubling as something else.

“Torunn?” 

Torunn dashed to the rock and felt it over, looking for a weakness, suddenly she stopped and punched right through the middle, and it seemed it was like a false wall, leading to a doorway under the Savage Land.

“I’ve never seen this before.” Ka-Zar muttered in astonishment. “That isn’t something I say often, or at all really.”

“We need to be careful. I wouldn’t want you all getting hurt.” Shanna insisted

“Miss, your concern is appreciated, but we're the Avengers. We don’t deserve to wear these uniforms if we can’t even go down there.” James said and with that they ventured down into the deep.

It was warm and the smell was even worse and they traveled down the steps, broken bones littered the staircase. The smell was getting familiar for the Savage Land regulars...Rotting flesh, not something they had smelt for a long while.

“Somebody is killing animals down here.” Ka-Zar angrily muttered.

“Azari, some light.” James demanded, they continued traveling down the dark cavern, and the pungent smell hit them in waves.

“Jeez.” Francis put a hand over his mouth. “That is rancid.”

“It’s fresh.” Shanna sniffed. “Someone has killed an animal recently. Hours at most.” As they continued to travel they saw dried blood on the ground that would seem to support this claim, and as they traveled further from the dark corner there was a quick scattering movement to the furthest corner.

“Azari.” James whispered, the group waited with bated breath as Azari shone his electricity in the corner. They recoiled back as a large greyish colored man with long blonde hair and blood red eyes smiled largely at them. He wore a red jumpsuit with a headband, the headband seemed to hold the soviet logo. In his arms drenched with blood seemed to be the carcass of a weird deer shaped animal.

“Get back!” Ka-Zar shouted, quickly recognizing the man. The man snarled and lashed out with a tentacle but it never reached its target as James threw his shield at him slamming it back before being dragged away by Shanna. “Come on, don’t let him touch you!”

“Who is he!?” Hawkeye yelled as they ran away from the snarling man, he was gaining on them quickly so Hawkeye turned and sent an explosive arrow at him, sending him backwards before they kept running and exited the underground building.

“That man was Omega Red.” Ka-Zar began to explain, still not really believing what he had just seen. “He was a long time foe of the X-Men. And had an even more personal grudge against the Wolverine.”

“Why are we running, we are the Avengers.” Torunn demanded.

“I remember Omega Red.” Pym nodded. “he emits lethal pheromones, or death spores that will weaken anyone in his vicinity. He absorbs the life of people to strengthen himself. He’s a killer and he’s good at it.”

“And I am a Goddess.” Torunn unsheathed her sword. “No mortal can defeat me.” Omega Red came slowly out of the pathway, blood dripping from his hands. And though he looked dangerous, he also looked...on edge. If he needed life to keep strong, it didn’t seem he was getting much of it.

“We can take 'em.” James agreed with Torunn. “Ka-Zar, Shanna, Matty, you should get to safety.”

“You can’t actually believe we would leave you here child?” Shanna questioned James. “Captain America or not this is our home. And we will protect it.”

“Mmhmm.” Matty nodded, Ka-Zar simply brandished a knife ready for battle at any time. And it seemed Omega Red was going to give it. “Alright then, Avengers try not to get too close.” James ordered. “Let’s beat the bastard and go home.”

Omega Red jumped forward trying to attack Azari but was sent flying back by Captain America’s Shield. Azari took the chance to power, his eyes turned blue as he released a large strike of lightning done on Omega Red.

“He doesn’t seem to be as strong as he usually would be.” Ka-Zar explained as he threw a knife that embedded itself in the man’s skin. “It shouldn’t be this easy.”

Torunn flew forward and slashed at his skin many times causing the man to scream, Pym grew to his giant size and to cap it all stomped on him, hard. When he removed his foot the man was unmoving, his nose bloody and face mashed up. He didn’t even have a chance to use his whips.

“That was underwhelming.” Hawkeye spoke up. He had his arrow trained on him, but the man wasn’t moving at all. 

“Give him a tranq arrow. Just in case.” James decided quickly. “We wouldn’t want him to wake up. Pym cuff him and Torunn carry him to the Quinjet.”

“You're going to take him?” Matty asked.

“He’s probably our only chance at more information. And I assumed you had no use for him here. I hope I didn’t assume wrong?”

“Usually we would have him tried by Savage Land law. But I can tell this means a lot to you.” Shanna spoke seriously. “You can take Omega Red. I hope you children find what you're looking for.”

“Thank you Shanna.” James thanked her honestly, “But I’d like you to know that we are not children. And we haven’t been for a long time. Avengers, let's move out.”

And with that the team trekked back, leaving the Savage Land.

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME - April 22, 13:00 UTC

The Avengers watched Omega Red from the other side of the one way glass. All of them were in particularly bad moods.

They hadn’t gotten any important information from Omega Red, regardless of who was interrogating him. The only answer he had given was that he had no clue where the X-Men were. In other news. This was a bust.

“This mission was a waste of time.” Francis spoke up angrily. “A colossal waste of time.”

Azari sighed, and spoke frustrated, “I have to agree. Our time in the Savage Land wasn't nearly as important as we were hoping.”

“Not necessarily.” Pym told them. “We learned that the X-Men were around at least three years ago. Plus I took this weapon, and it has a lot for me to learn from.”

“Still it’s not what we were expecting.” Francis insisted.

“Team.” Tony’s voice boomed over the speakers. “Report back to the meeting room.”

“Come on guys.” James said as he finally looked away from Omega Red. “Hopefully Tony’s got better news for us.”

“Alright guys.” Tony watched as they all rolled in. “Once again we have much to talk about.”

“I assume it’s bad news?” Torunn called as they walked in…

“A little bit of bad and some good.” Tony took his seat at the table.

“More like a lot of bad and a little good.” Banner mumbled. “Let’s not pretend Tony.”

“What’s the situation now?” James asked as they watched Vision slip into the room. No tricks from the android today either.

“Good or bad?”

“Might as well hit us with the good.” Azari sat in his seat.

“The good? France was one of the last countries in Europe needing liberation. At this rate we estimate only 22% of Europe still currently needs liberation. Even less when you consider that countries like England and Germany plan on helping liberate the smaller countries left, like Bosnia, and Lithuania.”

“Well that is good news!” Torunn smiled. “The earth is slowly returning to form.”

“Yeah but there is one thing.” Pym spoke up. “Every country in Europe was willing to accept our help. Every country but one...Latveria. They were desperate that we came nowhere near the country. Even Russia allowed some help.”

“And they might just be the smallest of them all.” Francis considered. “What’s up with that?”

“That’s because Latveria isn’t a normal country. It’s ruled by Dr. Doom. Or at least it was. It makes sense that Dr. Doom wouldn’t take any help from anyone and could survive Ultron’s wrath. Honestly it’s even possible that he had a deal with him.” Tony hesitantly explained.

“Why are we just learning this now?” James questioned, clearly annoyed.

“Because Doom is different from your everyday baddie.” Tony explained.

“To be fair, we wouldn’t know that would we?” James countered. “All we’ve known is Ultron, the guy who took over the world? And we kicked his ass.”

“Fact.” Azari smiled. “Tony I see no reason for you to hide stuff from us anymore. Anything you know, you should just say it.”

“I think we should visit this Doctor Doom.” Torunn spoke up suddenly, a grin on her face. “Maybe he has valuable information. Plus if he is a bad person, why should we let him get away with what he’s doing?”

“N-No!” Tony stuttered, these kids were getting too active for their own good. They were going to get themselves into an issue, running into everything headfirst like that. “Regardless of what you think, you're not ready for that. Let’s just file this information away for later.”

“Fine Tony.” Torunn huffed.

“Still makes me wonder. How was Doctor Doom able to keep his whole country away from Ultron? Especially since I read that his Doom Bots was one of his country's main defense systems. Ultron should have been able to take control of any robots, right?” Pym questioned

“Normally I’d say yes.” Tony agreed with the young genius. “But Doom was and is smarter than people realize. He was a master of the arcane arts, with what I know he probably used some of that to help his Robots be untouchable, that would make invading Latveria a terrible decision for Ultron.”

“Arcane...You mean Magic?” Francis pieced it all together.

“Exactly.” Tony nodded, he seemed to be thinking of something else. “Like I said we can file all this information away for later.”

“I agree. We need to focus more on home anyway.” James told the group. “Restoration project information shows that only 42% of America has truly been ‘restored’ to livable levels. We need to do something to make this go faster.”

“Also this is accounting for the fact that we had to lower the living standards to make it look more acceptable. We're not in the best place right now.” Azari explained as he analyzed the information

“There’s not much we can do.” Banner retorted “As of right now? We are going as fast as we can, and there isn’t anything we haven’t thought of to make things go faster.”

“He’s right. To be honest, if it weren’t for the fact that it’s nearly been twenty years since Ultron’s takeover and the subsequent technological advancements we wouldn’t be able to move at the pace we are now.” Tony told the young leader.

“It’s unfortunate James.” Vision told the group. “But this is how things are going to work for a while.”

The information Tony, Bruce, and Vision gave the team wasn’t much different from what Pym had told them in the Quinjet. But hearing it from them made it even harder for James to accept.

“I’m sorry but there has to be something we are not doing. 3-5 more years of wide scale American Poverty is simply not acceptable. We need to fix things, and fast. There has to be a way to speed up the process.” James told them. “When we first beat Ultron, I never thought it’d take 7 years before we could start living again.”

“Things are different!” Banner exclaimed, annoyed with James’ lack of understanding. “It’s not like all those stories Tony told you. Things were never that easy then, and they are not that easy now. Without T’Challa, Reed Richards, Hank McCoy, Hank Pym, Peter Parker, without that genius ...It’s-it’s just not possible for Tony and I to manage a war torn country on our own. Then you add you kids to the mix and the Scavengers. And we're doing everything we can, not just to save America, but the entire western hemisphere. Some third world countries don’t have the luxury that we do.”

“If you can even call it luxury.” Azari pointed out.

“Exactly!” Banner threw up his hands in exasperation. “Look kid I understand you care. A lot . You're like your father in that regard. But when Tony and I say we're doing the best we can. We really are doing the best we can, and you questioning it doesn’t help anybody.”

James sighed and nodded. There wasn’t much more he could say, was there? He just sounded like the annoying kid who was trying to make the impossible happen. Not Captain America, liberator of half the world.

“It’s true, you know.” Pym spoke up in the quiet room. “Tony and Bruce are carrying the load, they basically have to solve every problem in the USA. Forget stuff that happens outside of the country, realistically you can only dedicate so much brain power to one issue before you have to move to the next one. But maybe it doesn’t have to be like that.”

“What do you mean?” James asked immediately, he was willing to grasp onto any idea at this point.

“Well I mean the answer is simple. Barring Tony and Bruce, and probably Vision they are currently the only ones we consider super geniuses. Of course I can humbly say I’m on my way to becoming a super genius, and Azari is easily smarter than the rest of you, but it’s not really clear if he has super genius potential. Regardless, the answer is simple. We need more geniuses, so let’s get more geniuses.”

The New Avengers shared a look with each other going over the words their young friend had said. And it was hard to believe the young kid wasn’t just messing around. It sounded too stupidly simple to be true.

“Really?” Francis questioned skeptically.

“Pym…” Tony started.

“No, no hear me out!” Pym demanded, this wasn’t going to be another case where everyone dismissed him because of his age. He knew what he was talking about. “Think about it. Bruce. 80 years ago, who would everyone think is the smartest man in the world?”

“Well...Probably Einstein.” Bruce answered, he thought he knew where this was going.

“And Tony just 10 years later?” Pym asked his old mentor.

“Well probably Abraham Erksine. Or the up and coming Howard Stark.” Tony reminisced.

“Yeah and 20 or 30 or 40 years after that?” Pym asked giddily.

“It’s probably Reed, or Tony. Science had expanded so far however that there were many experts in various fields. I was widely regarded as the world’s best on Gamma Radiation.” Banner explained.

“Exactly!” Pym smirked. “Though none of that really matters, the point is no one stays the smartest forever. And at some point in time, the so-called smartest in the room was taken over by someone else. And so on, and so on. And as cool as it would be, I find it hard to believe I am the last smart person ever in the world. So I maintain what I said, we need to find more geniuses because no doubt they're around.”

“That seems like sound logic Pym.” Torunn smiled and ruffled his hair. “Great job!”

“Thanks!” Pym said with a grin. “And if I’m right, which I’m sure I am, then this just means we need a way to test people to see if they're smart or not.”

“A comprehensive test would take time to make. Though I do admit I agree with your analysis Pym.” Banner credited the boy.

“Heh, but that’s the thing, it wouldn’t Bruce. Think about it, the Banner B.O.X. We can use that to test anyone who believes they're smarter than normal.” 

“True but It’s never been solved. I created it to be unsolvable, I can’t even solve it.” Banner explained.

“And that’s fine. We don’t need people to finish, we just need to evaluate them on how far they got and compare it to the times of certified geniuses.”

“And...this would make things go easier?” James questioned hesitantly.

Pym shrugged. “It definitely couldn’t hurt, the more smart people we can bounce ideas off of the faster things would be. Having different perspectives, and just different people Tony and Bruce can handle giving tasks will lighten their load exponentially.”

James nodded, liking what he was hearing. “Sounds good then.”

“Hmm, well I think I have something as well then.” Azari spoke up, surprising everyone a little bit.

“Go ahead kid.” Tony sighed, what else could these kids possibly think of?

“I was thinking about us sending a team to Wakanda. Just to see what we could find. Wakanda has always been a technologically advanced country. They might be able to help a little, because...I’m pretty sure everyone is supposed to be a genius over there.”

“No way.” Tony denied. “Wakanda can be hostile, and they don’t like letting anyone in. You know that Azari.”

“True.” Banner spoke up quickly. “But Tony, let's be honest, last time we went with Azari they wanted nothing to do with us because we were there. The ones they blame for their King and Queen’s death. If he went by himself, or even with one of the others, he might have a little more luck. After all, regardless of everything that’s happened, he’s next in line to be King.”

This quieted the room substantially, as none of the Avengers really thought of their friend as Wakandan royalty, as he never acted that way. But everything Bruce said was true.

“Bruce-

“Let’s do it then.” James interjected quickly. “It’s sound so why not?”

“James, it's not good to rush into everything.”

“We also don’t have time to waste. And let’s be honest, it’s not like going to Wakanda can make things any worse than they already are.”

“Didn’t you two say you had bad news to tell us? Can we learn what that is first before we go on a trip to Wakanda?” Francis questioned.

“Yeah we did.” Tony typed something into the computer and brought up a bunch of information. “It seems the ‘invasion’ was a little worse than we thought. Information shows a breach at our borders and unidentified travel down in California. Years ago it would never be this easy, but now we are struggling, and without the Iron Legion covering the borders we are really low on defense.”

“Who is it?” James questioned.

“Initial scans aren’t sure. I'm being forced to use the database from a long time ago and it’s not new enough to catch everything. We plan on updating it, but for now our closest match is William Cross, an old Mercenary involved in drug trafficking, extortion, and assassinations.”

“Just him?” Torunn asked.

“It seems so.” Tony confirmed. “But it shows the possibility that Madripoor is not playing around. This is the first sighting of a villain that’s actually in US borders in years. We need to cut this out fast.”

James nodded already thinking of strategies, truthfully he didn’t think this mission was where the ‘money’ was, but they couldn't take any risks. But going to Wakanda and getting some technology that could benefit them would be huge, and would probably help them in the long run with dealing with guys like William Cross

“So we split into three teams.” James nodded. “First we have Banner and Pym who will figure out how to get more smart people on our side using their Banner BOX. They stay here. Next we have Torunn, Azari and I who will head off to Wakanda and see what help we can find. Finally we have Barton, Johnson, and Bradley who will take on the mission against Cross. They are some of our highest ranking Scavengers and we can always bring more if we need strength in numbers.”

“Vision?” Tony asked the robot for confirmation on a sound plan.

“High success probability sir.”

“I don’t know.” Francis immediately opposed. “I don’t like it. Why not bring Torunn with me, and you take the Scavengers?”

“We never leave the country with less than 3 Avengers, you know that.” James countered. “This is the most efficient way to get things done.”

“Just seems like overkill when going to a country that’s supposedly our allies. You expect me to do a mission against a Merc with Scavengers-

“That was enough for you two years ago wasn’t it? Situations were ten times worse against Ultron weren’t they?” James cut him off. “Look, I know what I’m talking about. Daisy and Eli aren’t your regular Scavengers, they're head and shoulders above the rest. And I’m sure if you really need help, we could send Vision on the mission too. Right Viz?”

“I could make some time on my schedule, Captain.” Vision nodded, with Viz you never really knew if he was just messing around or being serious.

Francis sighed angrily, but knew fighting this any more was useless. “Whatever, I’ll do the mission, and I don’t need Vision either. But just know I trust you, but you're not always right and your plans aren’t infallible.”

Tony just rubbed his tired eyes in annoyance, there was nothing worse when the kids fought. First off it reminded him too much of his own Avengers, and second it was very counterproductive.

“Well then I guess that’s the meeting.” Tony stood and rubbed his eyes once more. “Get something to eat and we will start mission prep afterwards.”

As they exited the meeting room Tony could only think one thing…There was a looong week ahead of them. A long annoying week.

Chapter Text

BIRNIN T’CHAKA, WAKANDA - APRIL 22 19:00 UTC

For Azari, getting in touch with his Aunt Shuri wasn’t hard. But it was... intimidating . Using his Kimoyo Beads he contacted her quickly and asked her if he and some of his friends would be able to visit. Of course she immediately agreed. But he couldn’t help but be nervous. He had been there twice and each time he felt like a disgrace to what should have been his culture.

He was educated on Wakanda, Tony had always made sure of that. But there was a difference between knowing, and experiencing, and every time he went to the country it felt like they knew that, like he was a phony. The fakest Prince in Wakandan history.

He looked out the window and stared at the beautiful city of Birnin T’Chaka. The wondrous coastline, the tall buildings, and tons of people, they just didn’t have cities like that anymore, not anywhere else. He was sure that even when his Father was alive they hadn’t made cities like this anywhere else.

You could see the large statue of his late Grandfather. The Black Panther of over thirty years ago. The statue stood proud, its vibranium shining as the T'Chaka statute took on a wild snarl. That was a true king.

“Don’t worry Azari.” Torunn placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know what you're feeling. But relax, this is your home! You feel like a foreigner. For my return to Asgard I felt the same, trust me you will get used to this. And the people of this country will get used to you as well. And trust me they will be proud.”

Azari nodded amber eyes gleaming. “Thank you Torunn.” and he meant it. He appreciated the closest thing he could call a sister giving him help. But he felt like he had to ask himself. Did he even want to get used to this? Royalty?

“We're about to start our descent.” James called from the cockpit. Pym may have been the best pilot but he could put in a shift.

Azari took a deep breath and put on a look of diplomacy. Regardless of how he felt he always wanted to impress the residents of Wakanda. And looking the part was the easiest way to do that, no one could question his maturity. It was the other things like how he sounded so American when he spoke that seemed to turn the people off from him...

“Azari, you take the lead.” James called as he put his shield on his back. “Torunn and I will back you up.”

“Sounds good.” Azari nodded. Slowly the plane’s hatch opened up and immediately as Azari walked out his Aunt Shuri and her Royal Guard stood waiting. It seemed like just a precaution but their spears were pointed straight at the group.

Azari walked confidently towards the Dora Milaje up until the very point the spear touched his armored suit before bowing and speaking to the group in Xhosa. “Yima phantsi. Asizizo iintshaba zakho. Endaweni yoko yiNkosana yakho u-Azari T'Challa T'Chacka Evan.” (Stand down. We are not your enemies. rather it is your Prince Azari T'Challa T'Chacka Evan.)

As he spoke the spears went down even though it had been clear prior who they were dealing with. “Mna iNkosana u-Azari, unyana ka-King T'Challa ndiza noTorunn Princess wase-Asgard, kunye noJames unyana ka-Captain America ... ngoxolo.” (I am Prince Azari, son of King T'Challa and I am coming with Torunn Princess of Asgard, and James son of Captain America ... in peace.)

Shuri gave the Prince a once over before allowing a tiny smirk to come on her face, “Yima nkosana uAzari. I-Wakanda iyabuqonda ubukhosi bakho, kwaye abahlobo bakho njengoonozakuzaku bamanye amazwe.”(Stand up Prince Azari. Wakanda recognizes your royalty, and in turn your friends as international diplomats.)

Azari stood and nodded at Torunn and James who easily nodded back. James didn’t know exactly what they were saying but whatever Azari and his aunt Shuri were talking about was definitely relaxing the Dora Milaje.

“We will head into the Tower.” Shuri told the group of people, speaking English for the first time. T'Chaka Tower was one of the many places in Wakanda that were designated for the Royal family.

Azari hadn’t wanted to go to the Royal Palace simply because of the heavy expectation he always felt when he walked in there. It was palpable. But right now, as he walked through the Tower with his friends, surrounded by Dora Milaje and his aunt. He was more relaxed.

“What brings you to Wakanda?” Shuri finally talked as they walked through the large halls. Ornate decorations covered the place. It was so far away from the reality that was present day America.

Azari nodded to James and he immediately started talking. “We came to ask for your aid. America...North America, South America, Central America is in a serious struggle. I’m afraid it’s getting harder for our people to keep a lid on things.”

Shuri was quiet as they led them through the building, taking a leisurely pace as she walked through the tower. “It seemed before, your people were managing just fine.”

“Managing is a broad term.” James replied as he walked. “Surviving might be a better term, and I fear we’re struggling to even do that. Things are well now . I’ll concede that. But with us just finishing off liberation efforts in Europe, and the crop drought in Central America, add that to our own North America efforts which are nowhere near done.”

“What’s stalling your progress?” The Queen questioned as they paused in front of a room and she started entering passcodes.

“Your reach is vast, your highness. I’m sure you’ve heard the country of Madripoor is planning some sort of takeover. We’ve been trying to handle it, but it seems at each corner we are learning that attacks are more dangerous at every corner.”

“So you want our vibranium.” Shuri said pointedly, there was a dangerous edge to her voice, and for James he was so sick of being the politician.

“Honestly?” James started, “I could care less about your damn vibranium. Over half of our country is in shambles and you think we came to ask for vibranium, one of our cities got turned into a metal warzone for Ultron to control the world from. Tens of millions of people died over a war they had no clue they were even fighting. And that was just in America. A country like yours is sitting here basically, on top of the world economically, and you think we're after vibranium? I told a woman before that we’ve got all the vibranium we need here.” He pointed to his shield. “And I meant it.”

“But the people in our entire hemisphere are suffering. We desperately need something, or someone to intervene, and better things for this part of the world. As much as I wish it was true, we can't do everything on our own.”

It was quiet before she finally spoke up. “That would be the first and last time you speak to me with such disrespect, young one. Your father was a man my brother truly respected, and for that I allow you into my country. But do not act like the entirety of this isn’t your own doing. Your friend in the metal suit played God and now you all pay the price for it. We all do.” Shuri finished softly. 

“But it shouldn’t be like that.” James said exasperated, “look, your highness, I apologize for my tone and lack of respect, you truly have no obligation to help us. I understand that, but think about it this way. What would King T’Challa do? Or Queen Storm? The world is suffering, and honestly I don’t believe I ask for much. If not America, then Canada, or Mexico, or South America, all of those countries and continents struggle and could really just use a touch from a country that is actually in a good position.”

Shuri looked at James with some form of anger before composing herself. They were in front of a door that seemed to lead to a meeting room, hopefully more productive talks could happen there.

“Just Prince Azari.” Shuri said as she entered the room.

“Bu-

“Thank you.” Azari nodded and gave a look to James. He felt bad for his friend as anywhere else what he was saying would probably work. But his words didn’t garner that much respect here. It took a magnitude of things for Steve Rogers to get the respect he did. And even then it wasn’t that much.

A 16 year old kid who looked like him wasn’t instantly going to get that same treatment. Especially when he talked like that.

The Dora Milaje tried to enter as well but the Queen quickly blocked them. “If I can’t handle myself against my nephew, I’m not fit to be the Queen.” which was pretty sound reasoning.

As Azari took a seat he watched his Aunt. They way she sighed right when the door closed and the regality of her walk disappeared a little as she slumped into her seat. He wasn’t sure how to approach things so he waited until she was ready to speak.

“You know a few years ago your friend might have received a slap, and most definitely could have been kicked out of the country.”

“James is passionate.” Azari explained. “Especially about this, he cares about the people, it’s what makes him a good leader.”

“I don’t doubt it. Your father always seemed to come back stressed from meeting with the Avengers. I can only imagine how it must feel on this scale, and at your ages.”

“It is tough...but it’s worth fighting for.” Azari insisted.

“Most of Wakanda doesn’t believe it is worth fighting for. A noble cause, but not one worth getting our hands dirty in.”

“Wait, you've talked about helping out?” Azari asked, surprised. 

“On numerous occasions.” She confirmed. “People believe you and your friends are fighting a losing battle, and as the Queen I need to appease my people and especially when the people clearly don’t have the best intentions for Wakanda. I had to make a deal. For our country.”

“I do not envy you Aunt Shuri. And I understand that there are people who don’t want to help, especially after what happened to their last King and Queen. But this is bigger than Wakanda. Please auntie, if not North America. The South is just as vulnerable and could use some aid.”

Shuri pursed her lips. She did want to help, but knew she couldn’t make any large promises. “I will see what I can do Azari. But I want you to explain to me what is going on down there. What is Stark doing?” She said the inventor’s name with disgust.

“Well we’ve been finishing the liberation of Europe. Though I have lately been out on my own, scavenging the Savage Lands, we were searching for the leads on the X-Men, they came up mostly empty, and we have now landed here switching our tactics considerably, spreading thin on three fronts. Those of us here, those defending against the Madripoor Intelligence, and those on a local mission, trying to find people with the brainpower to help us.”

“X-Men…” Shuri murmured, surprised to hear the name of the old group of heroes. 

“Yes Auntie…” Azari confirmed, “Do you...know something?”

“While I don’t believe I can help you in regards to America’s problems. I could hand you some information. Supposedly long ago the X-Men moved into Genosha. A small country off the coast of Africa that specialized in Mutant trade. It soon became the home to Magneto, which was soon destroyed, and after Ultron presumably became their hiding spot. Years ago the tip seemed like gold, and checking up on it, it was correct. But it’s been nearly 10 years and we’ve got more radio silence than not.”

“Still that is incredible news!” Azari exclaimed, “It is very useful, thank you.”

“Just be careful, Genosha is a dangerous country. And as the Prince of Wakanda we need you to be healthy.”

Azari laughed and rubbed his head awkwardly. “Yes of course.”

This caused Shuri to sigh, her nephew’s apprehension was baffling at times. “Azari, you're the Prince of Wakanda. You can’t keep ducking this responsibility.”

“I’m not trying to duck it...I just don’t feel fit.” Azari admitted. “I come to Wakanda, and I feel like an outsider!”

“You are not. Azari the people love you. They respect and recognize T’Challa as one of the greatest Kings we’ve ever had. They see you and see the potential to even surpass him. The people want you back home. They want you here, studying to become the next great king of Wakanda.”

“But why me?” Azari questioned.

“You don’t understand do you?” Shuri asked with a laugh. “Do you think your father was the only one to eat the heart shaped herb?”

“No, all the royal Kings and of course you Queen Shuri took the heart shaped herb when they were going to lead.”

“So why is it that you were the only one born with the powers from the heart shaped herb? None of the Kings prior inherited the traits from their fathers despite coming from the same royal line. Your Mother was one of the most unique and the most powerful Queens our country has ever seen. A goddess to our people. Azari, face it, you are special. When you were born you showed an early affinity towards the Panther Spirit. Some thought you were more Cat than human! Azari you were born for this. Only if you could see it.”

“I simply don’t want to disappoint anyone. All of that and what if I’m just a fake Aunt Shuri? A phony, a kid playing God? What makes you think I have the wisdom to lead this country?”

Shuri sighed, clearly her nephew did not understand, and it would be hard for her to make him understand. But she knew something else that might. “Azari, you are special. I knew it 15 years ago, and I know it now.” Shuri said as she pulled out a briefcase, it seemed to have special locks and of course was made out of vibranium.

“Take this case, do not open it or show it to anyone. All I ask is that when you get home you read what’s in it, you take a good look and follow the instructions, if you don’t want to come home after all of that then fine. But at least give this a shot.”

“I will. I promise.” Azari said honestly as he took the case.

“Good.” Shuri nodded, she looked at Azari once again. Nostalgia filled her sight.“Sometimes I can’t help but feel like I failed your parents, that they’d be disappointed if they knew I was leaving you on your own.”

“You shouldn’t, they would get it. Half the world is being held together by strings, and my heart can’t take sitting on the sidelines, and they would understand because they are the reason I’m like this.” Azari spoke passionately. 

Shuri smiled and walked up to her nephew giving him a small hug. “Good luck then Azari.”

“Thank you again.” Azari hugged her back. He exited the room with the briefcase which Torunn and James immediately spotted. As Shuri came out James looked to her for the verdict.

“Wakanda will start efforts to help the South American countries recoup what they lost. That is the best we can do.”

“And it is more than enough.” James said and bowed briefly. “Thank you, your highness.”

“Safe travels.” She nodded at the three before walking away with the Dora Milaje. And with that she gave them the go ahead to leave the building. Azari couldn’t stop his eyes from flicking to the briefcase, wondering exactly what might be in it.

“Did anything important happen in that room Azari?” Torunn asked her friend.

“Actually yeah.” Azari looked up at them with determination in his eyes. “James, we have to plot a course for Genosha.”

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA APRIL 22, 16:00 UTC

Francis really couldn’t act like he was happy. He truly did believe James was wrong. But no one would say anything because he was Captain America, and Francis was just the guy who shot arrows.

That might not have been fair on James. He worked hard for everything he got. He was a great leader, with a good set of strategies. And to be fair he was rarely ever wrong. But he always got the benefit of the doubt whereas Hawkeye would be the one eternally questioned.

Francis sighed as he put on his helmet and sat on his motorcycle in the Quinjet. They were waiting to get close enough to the ground before they would drive the rest of the way to the warehouse down in California.

Francis, Agent Johnson, and Agent Bradley. Those two were the only agents Francis was willing to take on the mission, many of the others didn’t meet his standard. Plus these two were some of the Scavengers he knew the longest.

“Just like old times, right Hawkeye?” Eli directed to his old friend. “Running missions for you old man, doing our best to avoid Ultron.”

“Heh, yeah Eli.” Francis reminisced. “We’d be dodging Ultron bots and looking for food or materials. We’d do something stupid and avoid a couple of close calls.”

“That’s mostly how I remember it.” Daisy chimed in. “Except it’d usually be me pulling your asses out of the fire, saving our skins before you two screwed us.”

“Ehhh, maybe.” Hawkeye smirked at his old friend, before putting on his helmet. “We're hitting the dropzone. I'm pretty sure you two already know but we want to be discreet. As soon as possible we will be splitting off into three directions. Daisy you go through the Golden Bridge, I’m going to take the Richmond, and Eli you take the Embarcadero Freeway. We should end up in the same place eventually. You all copy?”

“Copy Hawkeye.” Daisy said oh so seriously. When she was in work mode, she was in work mode. And her drive sometimes seemed like it could only be matched by James.

“Loud and clear Hawkeye.” Eli put his helmet on as well.

“Perfect.” Hawkeye sat on his bike. “Open the hatch Tony.” He told the man who was virtually watching their mission.

Hawkeye revved up the engine as the hatch opened and the three motorcycles came flying out, driving on the back road before splitting off on the highway. Francis looked back to see the Quinjet going into cloak mode. The mission was one now.

San Francisco was in pretty good shape. Or at least, however well he’s known it. It, like Chicago and the entire state of Texas, had recovered faster than others, probably because they were some of the largest cities, more people to help, and more people who wanted to get back on their feet.

Still on the highways you’d see many beat up cars, and the highway definitely wasn’t perfect, Francis had to drive and avoid certain parts as they still hadn’t been reconstructed. A third highway in San Fran couldn’t be as important as saving a whole city.

Still James was right about the Restoration efforts taking a long time. When you looked at a place like San Francisco you could quite clearly see that it was at least working....But it was different if you were talking about Ultra City. That place was a lost cause unless you were looking for scrap.

“Hawkeye, you should be the first to arrive at your location.” Tony told him. “Then Daisy and Eli after. Don’t do anything until you have backup.”

“No problem.” Francis responded as he pulled up towards the large warehouse. He hopped off his bike, taking off his helmet and grabbing his Bow and Arrow. He looked around and was still surprised. So the bad guys were going to manage to take some information from a dormant citadel Hub previously used by Ultron. 

And this was a problem because, apparently they might also be able to take their own information since it was technically run on the same server. And Crossfire was supposed to do this, but he was a merc so obviously he was supposed to be working for some serious higher ups. Because he definitely couldn't manage this on his own.

Daisy pulled up beside Francis quickly taking off her helmet, and jumping off her bike, immediately pulling out her energy blaster and looking around.

“Place looks secure.” Daisy commented as she scanned the area.

“Infrared looks pretty good too. Really we just need to go in and actually scope the place out. Cause realistically Crossfire can be here at any moment.” Francis told his partner. As he spoke Eli parked his motorcycle beside the others. 

“Let’s head out.” Hawkeye called out as Eli got ready.

Eli nodded and grabbed his own energy blaster, and just like that the trio was ready to head into the building.

The warehouse was vast and somewhat dark. But it was clear that they had not been the first to traverse here.

“I’d say someone has been here in the past week.” Daisy decided out as she turned and watched the teams back at every corner. Sticking together against a merc like Crossfire was the best thing to do.

“The Information hub is on the second floor, we should head there first and keep your eyes peeled for anything else on the way. Maybe our friend left something here.” Francis ordered.

“Could be something else that’s been here. A kid, some civvie. Security isn’t great at places like these, especially knowing no one really has the technology available to access the towers.” Eli added.

“Maybe.” Hawkeye considered as they pushed forward past some broken glass and into another dark corridor. “But I doubt it.”

“Same. I can’t help but feel a storm is brewing. And were understaffed as it is.” Daisy told the group.

“We're working on that. It’s why Pym and Banner have been stuck in the lab, hoping they can get us more recruits.” Hawkeye explained to the Agents.

“Recruits who can fight?” Eli questioned.

“We both know that fighting isn’t the only important trait we're looking for. Especially not in this war.” Hawkeye told them quietly.

They stealthily moved around the old warehouse with Hawkeye giving commands as they checked every room. Most were filled with nothing but dust and broken glass. Some had little bits of cracked metal, probably from the Ultron bots they kicked in.

The place was slowly coming back to Francis’ memory. The routing they did of this place, destroying robots, blowing up buildings, moving as fast as possible to get to their next destination...it never even seemed important back then, all they could focus on was reverting and taking back Ultra City. To this day they were still trying to do that.

Hawkeye pushed towards the room tapping his domino mask twice, switching to infrared. As they closed in on the room the lone figure near the information centre became abundantly clear. They were typing in something, and it was time for the Scavengers to act.

“Daisy with me, Eli go around.” He commanded quickly, he nocked an arrow in his bow and waited for Eli to get in position.

It felt like forever before Eli’s voice came on the line. “Ready boss.”

And Hawkeye wasted no time before kicking in the door and shooting an arrow straight at Crossfire who didn’t even blink. He dodged the arrow and chucked a grenade toward Daisy and Hawkeye, forcing Hawkeye to push Daisy out of the way and just barely avoid getting singed himself.

Eli took a couple of shots with energy blasters and managed to tag Crossfire, but the man was stronger than expected as he brushed off the hit, and took something from the information tower before running towards the window and jumping through with no problem, it was at least three stories high.

“We gotta move!” Francis commanded quickly, shooting up from the ground he ran towards the window and shot a grapple arrow. “Come on!” He grabbed Daisy and quickly the two went after Crossfire.

It didn’t take things long to go wrong however as a bullet went through the line when they were halfway to the ground sending them plummeting towards the pavement.

Francis waved his arms in the air hoping there was something he could do, but there was nothing he could do but fall, crashing hard on the pavement, he let out a guttural roar.

“GAHHHHHH!” Francis grabbed his throbbing wrist, he could barely hear himself over Daisy screams though. The young girl was in pain, and it wasn’t surprising shoulders shouldn’t look like that.

“Bradley I need you down here, and do you have eyes on the shooter, because there’s no way Crossfire could have pulled off a shot from that angle.” Francis spoke through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, watch your six!” Eli called frantically. “I’m on the way, but a man with a shield and a sword, a white hood, and a skull mask made that shot. It looks like another Merc.” 

Hawkeye had no time to think about the description as Crossfire was taking off from the construction site, even with a bum wrist he could make the shot. He quickly got an arrow out and shot it at Crossfire, it hit the ground in front of the man, and it quickly covered his legs in hardening foam, forcing him to  a halt. Good he’ll be stuck for a while.

“HAWKEYE WATCH OUT!” Daisy called from the ground, Hawkeye turned and narrowly avoided becoming swiss cheese as he rolled and hid behind the large crane. Bullets slammed into his cover, but thankfully it held strong. 

Peeking over the crane for a moment, Francis saw that Eli’s description was on the money, but he had no clue who the man was. Thankfully Eli provided some cover fire forcing the man to stop shooting at Hawkeye for a brief moment. It was a much needed break, but things weren’t looking up for the team as Crossfire was beginning to break out of the hardening foam. He had come prepared, melting it with a little solution.

“Tony I know you're seeing this.” Hawkeye told the man from his position.

“Vision is on route. Just hang in there Barton.” Tony quickly told the young man.

Daisy had crawled towards the Crane and sat beside Hawkeye. They didn’t have much time as Eli was now getting return fire from Crossfire and the Skull man.

“Don’t move an inch.” Hawkeye told Daisy seriously. Before returning to his conversation with Tony. “Stay hidden, Tony, who is the guy in the white hood?”

“That’s Taskmaster, possibly the greatest hand to hand combatant on earth. There isn’t a Martial artist he can’t replicate. There isn’t a weapon he can’t use. Heed your own advice Francis, stay hidden.” Tony warned the archer seriously. But the young man immediately disagreed.

“Can’t Tony.” Hawkeye told him honestly. “We can’t let that information go out, we both know that.”

And with that the young archer jumped out sending an arrow at Crossfire who dodged and started firing his own wrist mounted gun at Hawkeye. Francis jumped out of the way and sent two explosive arrows at Crossfire, forcing the man back.

Eli was shooting at Taskmaster still but the man was now dodging the shots with his shield and his sword and running towards him to fight him head on.

“This isn’t a fight you can win boy.” Crossfire grinned, speaking for the first time. “Give up, and maybe I’ll let you live.”

“You're dreaming.” Francis scoffed and shot another arrow which was deflected, and was forced to fight Crossfire up close.

Hawkeye wasted no time throwing a solid punch at Crossfire which was blocked. Crossfire didn’t have many weaknesses, he was a great martial artist, a great marksman, and an even better tactician, Tony did say that he had a cybernetic eye, and ear, and that without them he obviously would lose two of his senses.

Crossfire blocked the punches and returned quickly with a kick towards Hawkeye’s head that was blocked before he sent a palm strike at his chest that couldn’t be avoided.

“That's all you got?” Francis growled angrily and charged forward regardless of the aching pain in his wrist and now chest. He sent punch after punch at Crossfire all of which he managed to block, before going for a leg sweep that missed its target, Crossfire countered with a punch to the gut which forced Hawkeye to nearly keel over.

“Crossfire is a master at delivering killing blows.” Tony’s voice rang out in his head.

He was toying with him. He was toying with him and Francis was still getting destroyed. With a little maneuvering Francis managed a knee to Cross’s gut and managed to backflip away though in considerable pain.

The Taskmaster however came out of the construction building dragging Eli’s body, the man definitely had seen better days, he was unconscious, and his face was bloodied and it was clear his arm was not in a particularly fun position, he had been thoroughly beaten. And he was a good fighter even though he had no powers.

“Your buddy could use a little help.” Taskmaster said as he threw his body towards Hawkeye. “Don’t think he’s having too much fun.”

“Like I said kid.” Cross wolfishly grinned. “Give it a rest. You're not half as good as the last guy who wore those colors.”Despite the words he said, Francis couldn’t help but feel like Cross wanted him to keep fighting, he wanted to kill him. Tch, never in my wildest dreams did I think the mission would end up like this.

Francis pulled out his bow and prepared himself for battle. He was outmatched but what could you do? He certainly wasn’t going to quit. He looked at Daisy from the corner of his, noting that she was in perfect position before finally responding to the mercenaries. “I could give up but...nah.” and with that Daisy took a shot with pinpoint accuracy, at Cross’s head taking off his cybernetic ear with a powerful shot.

“Shit!” The man yelled, and clutched at his ear. It was a bad decision. He barely had any more time to react as Hawkeye shot two arrows at him, sending him to the ground. With one of the incapacitated for the moment Hawkeye focused on Taskmaster.

“Time to dance ugly!” Hawkeye charged Taskmaster with a furious kick.

“I could spare 10 seconds.” Taskmaster quipped easily deflecting the kick and sent a punch with lightning quick speeds towards Francis that was blocked at the last second. He was way better than Cross, and Francis struggled massively against him. Taskmaster avoided a point blank arrow and sent a kick towards Hawkeye's face that connected, sending him to the dirt.

They were so done. Cross looked like he was struggling without his sense of hearing and the arrows in his chest, but he got up regardless

“Your finished kid.” Taskmaster held up a gun towards Francis’ face. He never thought it’d end like this.

“Fuck you!” Francis spat, before Taskmaster could finish the job however, a large grey robot flew through the air and landed in the construction site. Its face had the signature mask of Iron Man, even if it was bulkier and more clunky than usual.

Immediately Taskmaster shot at the robot but it didn’t seem to do much, it picked up a truck and threw it at Crossfire and Taskmaster forcing them both to run away

“Nice save Tony.” Francis whispered into his earpiece, as he gingerly got up. “But you really shouldn’t be out here.”

“That’s not me!” Tony replied back, shock evident in his voice. “I have no clue who that is.”

Francis watched in shock as the large robot went to throw a punch and a large piece of the arm just came flying off. Okay this definitely wasn’t Tony.

Crossfire and Taskmaster started shooting at the Robot and Hawkeye realized it was doing more damage than they thought, quickly he started shooting with his own bow and sent Taskmaster and Cross back. But the damage was already done, it seemed there wasn’t much of the suit left.

A helicopter quickly appeared in the air and Taskmaster and Crossfire both shot grappling hooks off and flew up making their escape.

“Can you shoot a repulsor?” Hawkeye asked the suit…person? He wasn’t even sure if someone was in there.

But he got his response from a fairly robotic but female voice. “No...Sorry.”

Hawkeye sighed. “ You have nothing to be sorry about. You saved my team's ass back there thanks. How’d you get your hands on an Iron Man suit anyway?”

“I built it.” She said cockily. Pride evident in her voice.

Francis nodded, fair play, if he had done something like that, he’d be telling the whole world. “Well, me and my friends are always looking for people who want to help, and you seem like one of those people. How’d you like to come back to base with me? Whoever you are?”

“I don’t know...I was just messing around a little, I saw you and I had to help so-

“And that’s enough for me.” Francis insisted. “Good people take one look and make a decision to help someone without a second thought. I’m telling you as an Avenger, we could really use your help.” Francis said. “Say what’s your name?”

She flipped up the mask revealing a young teenage african american girl, in the large Iron Man suit of armor. “It’s uh Riri. yeah. Riri Williams.”

“Say Riri. Could you come back to base with us, please? It doesn’t have to be anything permanent, but I’d really appreciate it if you came.”

“Alright.” Riri hesitantly agreed. “But...but it doesn’t mean anything!”

“Of course not.” Francis said with a smile, and went to check on Eli and Daisy who at some point seemed to have passed out. Francis sighed they should make no mistake this was a loss, they were saved by a rookie and the Mercs got any with the information. When everyone returned to base he’d be making a fuss.

“Hey Hawkeye.” Riri started with an awkward laugh. “Uh...do you think you could help me get out of this thing?”

Francis got up and put on a grin for the brave girl even though he was anything but happy. “Sure thing Riri.”

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME APRIL 22, 16:40 UTC

“So I’m pretty sure we’ve got some more test results in...It’s not looking too good.” Pym looked at the computer. “Why would they even take the test?”

“Many people are going to be taking this.” Bruce explained to Pym. “If it weren’t for the fact that we’ve done it online, it would probably be too much for just us to handle. The Avengers sent out a message so of course everyone who can respond is going to.”

“Yeah, that’s true. Sometimes I forget how big we are. Seems like everyone loves us.” Pym watched the computer screen scores flicker as people completed the tests. Different names would move to the top like an arcade games high score list.

“In the ‘superhero’ business, there are few things as important as a good name. Regardless if the Hulk did good or not it seemed like nothing ever mattered. He had ruined too much already.”

Pym nodded, Bruce seemed to always be giving important advice. His viewpoints on the superhero community were much different then Tony’s. “Do you think we're actually going to find any geniuses?” 

“I don’t know.” Banner said honestly, “Your idea is smart, but there’s a lot of factors. Can all those people get to the access kiosks, do they even want to take the test, maybe they somehow haven’t heard, all these thing-

“Hold on!” Pym shouted, cutting off Banner quickly. “Look, this guy’s score keeps rising!”

Banner ran to a computer and started typing quickly “What’s his name?” He barked 

“Duh, uh, Amade...Amadeus Cho. Holy shit he’s past my score and he’s still going! He might pass your, or Tony’s!”

The score did slow down and stop briefly before Bruce’s own score and didn’t get to Tony’s either, but still third was not bad by any means. Pym wasn’t sure anyone was going to pass him, but this was amazing

“Amadeus Cho, 16 years old, lives in Tucson Arizona, any school grades do clearly show his genius. But his score on the Banner B.O.X. puts him miles ahead of anyone we’ve seen.”

“We got to ring him up.” Pym said excitedly. “As fast as possible.”

But before then they got a call from Hawkeye that Pym quickly accepted. “Hawkeye, how’d the mission go?”

“Like shit, but there is some good news. I think I found one of the smart people you were looking for.”

“Really what makes you think so?” Pym asked, even Banner tuned into whatever Hawkeye planned on saying.

“I don’t know, maybe cause she made a working Iron Man suit from old Ultron bot scraps and pieces of Tony’s old armor, and saved my ass. That takes smarts doesn’t it?”

Pym and Bruce shared a look with each other that simply didn’t need words, it conveyed what they were thinking so clearly. Jackpot .

“Francis, I want you to put her on the Quinjet console. We want to set her up with a Banner B.O.X. test the faster we can ballpark her brilliance the better!” Banner exclaimed

“Gotcha Doc. Hawkeye out.” Francis turned off the transmission.

Pym smiled and started setting up the test for Riri. “Oh man this is really good.”

GENOSHA, APRIL 22 21:00 UTC

“How did Hawkeye’s mission go?” James asked Tony as he stepped out of the cockpit for a moment to talk to the inventor.

“Not well...It was honestly pretty bad from his mission report. He’s also furious with you.” Tony recounted honestly.

It wasn’t what James liked to hear, but he figured there were many factors that went into the mission going so wrong. But still even if there had been a couple surprises, he was certain Francis was good and Vision would have been good enough to pull off a win.

“Did they bring Vision?” James asked suddenly.

“No. They should have, instead they were saved by a teenaged girl who managed to scrape together an Iron Man suit using old scrap metal. She and another young man are with Banner and Pym now.”

“At least something has gone well.” James said. In the end everyone was alive, and it could have been much worse.

“We are about to land.” Torunn called.

“Alright then.” James acknowledged the Princess. “We're about to head out Tony.”

“Stick together, Genosha is uncharted territory.” Tony told him.

“No worries. Cap out.” James ended the transmission and picked up the shield. “Any information, eyes on anyone out there?”

“I mean there are definitely heat signatures, but other than that, I can’t really scan from the Quinjet like that, we’ve got to get to ground level.” Azari explained.

“Do you believe we will find any X-Men?” Torunn asked her friends. James looked out the window and it was getting dark as it was nearly nighttime in Genosha. “I think that if we are ever going to find any X-Men. Then it’s probably going to be here.”

The Quinjet finally descended beneath the clouds and it was clear the city of Genosha was active, more active than a city that was bombed by sentinels had any right to be. “Landing in 10. Stay sharp because there could be hostiles.” Azari stood with Torunn and James.

As the plane landed in relative no man's land, the radar showed that they were being surrounded. The team braced themselves. James turned to Azari and Torunn and nodded, and they quickly nodded back.

“Open the hatch.” He commanded the Quinjet. As James and the Avengers came out a multitude of people surrounded them giving them no chance for exits.

In front of them was a Raven haired woman with claws, a normal looking brown haired woman, she was fairly short and other than the angry look on her face there was nothing special there, a big blue...beast was there, except he was on a walking stick and if anything looked like a major liability, could he even stand? 

There was a bit of an older blonde woman who was scantily dressed and looked furious, she stood in front of a group of kids the Avengers age. Around five of them. A young blonde girl who imitated the older one. A man with a glowing eye and a white streak in his brown hair. A boy covered in metal, another girl with the same white streak in her brown hair, And a girl who looked of indian descent with black hair.

James looked them over and took one more step forward before the clawed woman stepped up and snarled making sure they got the message that this was their turf.

“State your name and purpose.” The brown haired one demanded.

“My name is James Rogers. That’s Azari, and Torunn were a part of the Avengers...we came here because we were looking for the X-Men..I think we found them.”

“There are no X-Men here.” The old blonde lady snarled.

“You're not mutants?” Azari asked confusedly, and all eyes landed on him and the old lady seemed to be startled by his presence, along with the brown haired lady.

“We are mutants, just not X-Men haven’t been for a long time.” She replied.

“Since Ultron?” Torunn questioned.

“Exactly.” The black haired one confirmed.

“Well we beat Ultron. Two years ago.” James told the group. “There is no Ultron now, just a free country.”

“What do you want us to do with that information?” The old blonde one asked defiantly.

“First off. Could we get your names?” Azari asked softly, already he felt as if the situation needed to be defused.

“I’m Kitty Pryde.” The brown one started. “That one over there is Laura, This is Dr. Hank McCoy, and Emma Frost. We're the only ones that you should be worried about.”

“Look Ms. Pryde, the Avengers are here because we wanted to ask the X-Men for help. Things are getting intense and we need extra hands.” James told her plainly.

“No, plain and simple.” Emma scoffed. “We are not helping you Avengers, end of story.”

“If you don’t mind me asking...how did you beat Ultron?” Dr. McCoy asked, the only one who seemed interested in results.

“It took some effort. But the three of us and our friend Pym or Wasp along with Hawkeye managed to take him down. With some help from Iron Man and the Hulk.”

“It’s funny because Stark is the reason the world is like this anyway!” Emma snapped at the young Captain.

“We could go back and forth on why the world is like this for hours. The most important thing is we have a chance to change it, make it better than it once was.” James argued to the X-Men.

“Even if we believed we could make a better world,” Emma began to argue back. “Why would you think it’d be the same without the people who made it? The people who matter to each of our worlds? Because it wouldn’t be and it can’t be.”

James looked at the X-Men and he couldn’t lie one thing was moving through his mind. Stumped. Why couldn’t they just appreciate the fact they had the choice of freedom now?

“If you don’t mind me asking…” Azari spoke up suddenly. “What exactly happened to the X-Men during the Ultron War...And what’s the Legacy Virus?” 

It went unsaid that Azari was curious and anxious to actually know what happened to his Mother. Of course the Wakandans didn’t know, but there was a great chance that the X-Men would have been in the middle of it.

Kitty Pryde and Emma Frost looked at each other in silent communication, and yet it was Beast who stepped forward and started to speak up.

“A long time ago there was a man named Nathanial Essex.” Beast’s old voice grumbled on. “He was a long time foe of the X-Men, he was smart, strong, and particularly interested in genetic manipulation.”

“Genetic Manipulation?” Torunn questioned, confused on what that may entail.

“Cloning.” Beast explained. “Even more so the cloning of Jean Grey and Scott Summers. The X-Men had no clue about this...Ultron robot. At this time I don’t even think Tony Stark knew what he had unleashed on the world, but alas the X-Men had been focused on stopping Sinster’s latest scheme. It seemed to involve one of Scott Summers' estranged sons, from the future.”

“The future…” Azari mumbled in surprise and awe. It was hard to remember how different the world was back then, according to Tony stuff like that was a regular Tuesday for them.

“Yes, the future, I understand it’s hard to believe now. But back then things like that were more common.” Kitty added in.

“Ms. Pryde is right. Regardless, ‘Stryfe’, the man who worked with Sinister, Scott’s son, was killed by a man who went by Cable. Stryfe had left Mister Sinister a gift which had been an empty canister. Of course it wasn’t empty, instead it was the virus they had just released on the mutant populous.”

“What made the Legacy Virus so dangerous?” James questioned. It was hard to believe a common cold could destroy the X-Men.

“The Legacy virus was supposedly composed of 2000 years worth of the Summers bloodline. 2000 years in the future. Legacy-1 was able to search for a target’s organism’s X-factor, which is the sequence of mutant genes that gave a mutant their mutation. If the viroid didn’t find an activated X-factor it would die off. However if it did find an x-factor it would begin inserting introns into the transcription codings of the victims mutant RNA.”

“What Hank is saying is that the Legacy Virus basically injected junk DNA sequences into Mutants bloodstreams. It’s very disruptive.” Kitty explained it a little easier for the young heroes.

“Yes. This process would become deadly when a mutant used their powers after contracting the disease, It then started to kill healthy cells. The process all-around was killing mutants everywhere. And this was before it mutated.” Hank told them, a clear reminiscent gleam in his eye.

“All this, years prior to Ultron?” Azari asked, stunned. It was hard to believe this happened, and as a mutant he was completely unaware, even if he had been a child at the time.

“It was more like a few months. Our war against the Legacy Virus was still going on when the Avengers had gone to fight Ultron and died.” Kitty told the group. “At the time no one really understood or believed the rumors of the death of the Avengers. First because they were the Avengers. And second because It was just a stupid robot.”

“What made you eventually believe it?” James asked curiously.

“Ultron did.” Emma explained annoyedly, but she seemed to have a sad reminiscent vibe to her. “Ultron live-streamed after killing the Avengers...It wasn’t exactly pretty. We had seen bodies, he had given us proof. If you had seen what we saw...By all intents and purposes the Avengers were really dead.”

“But you didn’t believe it?” James questioned. “How come?”

“Because we weren’t focused.” Beast sighed sadly. “The Legacy Virus had hospitalized thousands of mutants while I was holed up in a laboratory, just me, and an isolated version of the virus. I hadn’t left that room in days. I personally hadn’t known of the Avengers' demise. Cyclops was dying. Rogue was dying, Gambit, Nightcrawler, Psylocke, Jubilee, Dazzler. All hospitalized. Quite frankly...we hadn’t cared.”

It was a little shocking to hear such renowned heroes say they cared nothing about the Avengers deaths. Especially since the Avengers were the good guys, they helped the X-Men.

“But my Mother?” Azari questioned. The X-Men looked between each other, before Emma finally looked to the boy who so clearly wanted any sort of answer.

“She was an X-Men and an Avenger, and a Queen Azari.” Emma started, “When we had contacted Ororo about the spreading disease, and she was forced to isolate in Wakanda, she had taken an isolated strand herself for the Wakandan scientists to examine. But we hadn’t had much contact, because your Mother and Father were planning on how they were going to help the Avengers. To them it had been more important.” 

It went unsaid that they obviously had no idea what happened to Ororo. However it wasn’t Azari who responded, it was James, stunning everyone there.

“Seems like they were right.” James said honestly.

“Pardon me?” Emma asked him icily, daring James to repeat what he had just said.

“I’m…” James paused and took a breath to find the right words. “From what I understand you guys we're dealing with a virus that had been decimating your people by the day. I’m sure it was looking bleak.”

“It was bleak, very bleak it seemed like no one was going to survi-

“Yeah but it didn’t matter anyway did it?” James countered, cutting Kitty off. “Because Ultron dropped a bomb on New York City. Millions of people, humans and mutants alike perished that day. And from the remains of NYC rose Ultra City, and spurned on 13 years of Ultron dominance...It sounds like it was more important.”

The place was quiet and only then did Torunn take in the look of surprise on the children’s faces. It seemed like none of them could fathom talking to this Emma Frost that way. They had to understand though, you didn’t liberate the free world backing down the first chance you got. If you wanted something you had to earn it. 

The Avengers may have looked like Teenagers, but they just weren’t. They experienced things most wouldn’t even if they lived three lifetimes.

Still this Emma Frost looked quite mad. And the young blonde X-Womanl seemed to really key in on this fact.

“Mom…” She called hesitantly, but it was too little too late. “BRAT!” She yelled as she brain blasted James into the side of the Quinjet. And that had to hurt.

James shook it off but still found himself at the hands of a Diamond Emma Frost. She moved fairly quickly. Azari and Torunn could have stopped her, but didn’t see the reason to move just yet. Looking to James for a signal. “You have no idea what we sacrificed, what I sacrificed.” Emma angrily held his shoulder back and seemed to be rearing back a fist. Still James signaled his teammates to stand down.

“You couldn’t possibly fathom what our race has been through. Before you were born our race was scrutinized by the hands of flatscans like you. Before your precious Ultron took over the world we were already just as oppressed. When Ultron took control the only difference was some of us were gone. Coming to Genosha was our safe haven. Three years ago. Just three years ago we found a cure for the Legacy Virus. Only a few years ago we were able to start living. Truly being mutants again. And you come here with talks of Ultron? At least under Ultron we aren’t under the scrutiny of every human in the world.” Emma ranted.

“First off.” James said strongly. “Your arm needs to be removed from my shoulder.”

And in a bit of surprise to the X-Men she actually did, and she removed herself from her diamond form.

“Look you harbour hurt, rage, pain, and just genuine anger I’m sure I can’t fathom or even imagine.... Some of it.” James began.

“But I truly don’t believe you understand. You look at me, us, and you see them .” He pointed to the X-Kids. “A bunch of kids who are not ready to comprehend the danger that is outside these borders. Our entire lives were training if Ultron had found us. It was living in a dome in the Arctic Circle, hiding from the robot that managed to conquer 70% of the planet. For a brief period of our lives we were kids. But from the moment we could fight it was all that we knew.”

“We beat Ultron. He’s gone now. But there’s so much more to this world than just a robot who got lucky. There are new evils and powers rising from the ashes of a broken world, broken country and me and my friends are only 6 people. Tony’s old and he can’t fly the suit anymore. Banner’s still the Hulk but-

“The Hulk is alive?” Beast questioned with eager surprise. He had assumed that the man died fighting Ultron. It was the only way he could imagine it working anyway.

“Yes he is. Without him I don’t think we even beat Ultron.” James said honestly. “But honestly. Frost you talk about hate, bigotry, and race wars, I’m telling you the country down there has too much on their plate to think about that. Any ideas they had of pride have been dismissed. I mean that’s over 250 million people begging on their knees asking for help. I wish we didn’t need you, I wish I could leave you and your people in Genosha and let you live in peace. But there is a chance to build a better country than you or I have ever known.”

It was a well spoken speech, The X-Men could certainly give him that. If nothing else he had convinced them that they were not children, It was obvious they understood the stakes. That they knew battle, but in the end it wasn’t enough to shake Emma.

“Humans will always be afraid of Mutants. Not even the destruction of the world could change that.” Frost scoffed at James' speech. And for the Avenger it was more disappointing than they could ever know.

“So that’s it then?” Torunn questioned, and when she got no response James sighed and turned back to the Quinjet. “Come on, we're leaving. There’s no time left to waste here, they're not coming. End of story. We need to focus on getting back in time before the situation back home worsens.”

“It was nice to meet some people from my Mother’s past...thank you.” Azari said respectfully before leaving toward the ship.

Torunn had looked at the group of kids once more, trying to gauge their reaction before nodding at the X-Men and entering the Quinjet.

James however stared at the X-Men, and as much as he pushed the team to leave, he wanted to get one last thing out. At least directed more to the kids, they’d be the ones to change the adults mind.

“Look I understand fear...I think I probably know it better than most. But trust me when I say you're scared for all the wrong reasons. I don’t know who you guys are.” He referenced the kids “But come on, If there’s one thing you guys need to do it’s make your own choices. If you want to stay in Genosha, be my guest. I wouldn’t blame you… we have a few things in common: all of our parents were taken too soon, and they had another thing in common, Fight. I never knew my Father or Mother well but I do know they would always fight to their very last breath. And I’m at least going to honour them by doing that...I know it’s tough, but just know the world could use a couple of X-Men right now.”

And with that James entered the Quinjet and took his seat. “Get us out of here Torunn.” and the Quinjet took off.

The plane was quiet as the three reflected on everything that happened in Wakanda and in Genosha...This had been a long day.

“I’m not sure what’s worse…” James huffed with a tired laugh. “Not knowing if we're ever going to get any help? Or knowing the help is there and they just don’t want to give it.”

Azari and Torunn looked at each other and thought about the question over and over. No one voiced it but the three of them did end up thinking the same thing.

Nothing was ever easy.

END! - THE OLD X-MEN AND THEIR KIDS

GENEXT

Chapter Text

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME APRIL 23, 2:40 UTC

James, Azari, and Torunn wasted no time getting out of the Quinjet and headed to the compound. They passed the Scavengers who seemed to be waiting for their arrival but were really focused on everything that had transpired in the past 24 hours.

Azari held his briefcase firmly as he thought back at everything that happened; they had gone to Wakanda and gotten a little help from the Country who had promised to deliver help to Central America. That was good.  

He personally had talked with his aunt and ended up receiving a package in the form of the briefcase he was clutching so tightly. And he had been told that his country wanted him back to study as a King. Oh and his aunt knew there were mutants in Genosha, and hadn’t said anything till he had asked.

Of course then there were the problems with the mutants. The fact that they wanted nothing to do with helping them fix the world. And quite frankly seemed to dislike the Avengers even though they had done nothing but liberate everyone.They had powers and skills and yet they hadn’t wanted to help anyone with it.

It was annoying and yet he could understand it. Even if he didn’t agree with it. Of course then there was the fact that Barton’s mission in California was unsuccessful. Francis had been saved by some girl who they were bringing back to the Compound. And apparently he blamed James for everything going wrong. That meant he’d also be irritable. That was bad because James would also be irritable.

Of course you had Pym and Banner who seemed to have minimal success but success nonetheless, and apparently had brought or were bringing someone to the compound. That was good, it meant the plan was working.

And then there was Torunn.

Torunn was...weird. That was really the only way Azari could describe her. She was still the older sister he felt like he could always rely on. She still seemed interested in missions and fighting and helping out the Avengers. But...she just wasn’t all there. She seemed like her head was in the clouds.

She always seemed to have a contemplative look on her face, or this weird sort of wonder that just wasn’t common from the young Asgardian. He’d talk to her about it if there weren’t so many important things coming up. Plus knowing her history with James and Francis. They’d hash it out together before he got the chance to answer. Still it was something to watch out for.

Of course there was James. The fearless leader, Captain America. And yet anyone who paused and looked at the man could tell he wasn’t happy. As simple as that. He just wouldn’t allow himself to be.

He hated how New York was, he despised how slow the liberation efforts were, he couldn’t fathom this process taking another 5 or 7 years and because of that he ran himself ragged. He was trying to use every avenue to make this process faster, and everytime he realized he couldn’t he got annoyed.

This leadership thing was taking a toll on him as well, but he never said anything about it because he was a natural leader and it was what he did best. But there was something about him that just seemed a little done with everything. He was so eager to get everyone on board, he probably never would have talked to his Aunt or Emma Frost that way if it had been 3 months ago.

A knowledgeable person might think that Torunn’s extended absence to Asgard might have affected James more than one could actually understand. They had a weird relationship that never seemed to be defined by labels, but they always cared and understood each other more than most.

Of course there was Tony who simply wasn’t getting any younger, but that’s what all the smart people were for right? Tony needed to be doing less and less, get phased out of the Avengers, because he had paid his dues. He did the time and realistically deserved some time to rest.

Azari wasn’t worried about the Avengers falling apart. No they were far from that, but he did believe that they were heading down the path of dysfunction, and they needed to sync up or bad things might become worse.

As they entered the compound even at 2:40 am it was buzzing. Lights were on everywhere and it didn’t seem like any sleeping was really going on. They headed up to the meeting room because that's where the rest were waiting for them.

“How’d it go?” Pym questioned immediately as they walked through the meeting room.

“They are there.” James chose to say. “Whether they’ll help is a different question.”

“Wait.” Banner paused skeptically, not believing what James was saying. “Are you talking about the Wakandans...Or the X-Men?”

The three took a seat as James answered. “I mean I guess it’s kinda applicable to both. The Wakandans will help, but only Central America. The X-Men or whoever was left…They don’t plan on helping at all.”

“Huh, well good for you.” Francis scoffed angrily, his face was partly bandaged a little and he had a couple cuts and scrapes but all and all he looked fine. His minimal healing factor had helped him through the ordeal. The only thing was he looked really angry.

“Francis, this isn’t a good time.” Tony told the older boy, but it was clear he was not having it. 

“No way, you're not letting James get away with this.” Francis decided and turned to James. “You built a shitty team. And because of that Eli and Daisy are hospitalized and those idiots got away.”

“I fail to see how this is my fault. Your team was just fine, you should have been able to complete this mission.” James told him. He was completely unphased by the archer’s anger. It clearly irked the Archer because what he said next surprised everyone.

“Wha-Are you serious?” Francis contended angrily. “Torunn could have helped us easily but because of your little crush on her you took her with you.”

“Really Francis?” Torunn questioned angrily.

“Dude…” Pym muttered quietly, they were in for a long night if Francis pissed off Torunn. A very long night. He needed some coffee. But still aside from an extended look at Francis, James didn’t take the bait this time.

“Francis.” James addressed. “Did you take Vision on the mission?”

“No.”

“So I once again argue.” James explained, “This was a very winnable mission. You very easily could have taken Vision on the mission, we all decided that before we launched. Your pride didn’t allow you to accept help, you did the mission with no backups, no powers and now you're blaming me.”

“Guys our new recruits are sleeping in the compound, alright? This type of fighting is so unnecessary and unacceptable when the bigger picture is at hand. Everyone hit the hay and tomorrow at 9:00 we are getting back to work.” Tony’s opinion quickly shut everything down and soon everyone started to file out

“I didn’t appreciate that comment, Francis.” Torunn told him angrily before flying out of the meeting room.

“Oh man you just had to say that didn’t you.” Pym sighed as they left the meeting room, and Francis just huffed and got out of his seat.

“Whatever, who cares. It wouldn’t even matter if it wasn’t true.” Francis muttered to himself. With Torunn as she flew to her room she was mad because she was just embarrassed and annoyed.

Everyone knew about her and Francis' short relationship. And everyone knew that Francis sort of believed that it ended because of James when that couldn’t be further from the truth. She knew James for a while, and she was certain he wouldn’t compromise a mission for her.

And if he ever did she’d be pissed, she could take care of herself. She was the strongest of them; it simply didn’t make sense for him to worry. 

Regardless if there was one thing Torunn knew, it was that she and James were going to talk, because finding out where they truly stood would put this notion to rest…

The only problem is that she had no clue what she wanted from James.

“Odin’s Beard…” Torunn sighed.

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME APRIL 23, 9:15 UTC

Torunn had a couple of coffees in her hands and some baked goods from the Cafeteria, hopefully after sleeping everyone would be in better spirits, she knew at least she was.

As she entered the room Azari was rubbing his eyes, seemingly a little tired from yesterday’s escapades. James was on the tablet going over some information like usual. Francis had his feet up on the table and a t-shirt over his face. He may or may not have been sleeping.

And Pym was already sipping his own coffee and typing on a laptop. Probably getting information for them on Crossfire and Taskmaster.

“I’ve brought coffee and some muffins. Would you all like some?” Torunn asked as she took her own seat by Azari and James.

“I’ll have a coffee!” Pym grabbed another coffee to replace his finishing one.

“You’ll stunt your growth.” Azari sighed but took a coffee and a muffin. “Thanks Tor.”

“What type of muffins?” Francis asked from under the shirt.

“Any kind you want, I brought a lot.” Torunn answered cordially. IT seemed they were just going to ignore what happened earlier.

“Well thanks.” Francis grabbed a coffee and eyed the muffins. That carrot muffin was looking really good.

“It’s not bad.” James said as he sipped the coffee. “Thanks Torunn. Pym any new information on Crossfire and Taskmaster?”

“Nope. We’ll get there though.” Pym assured him. “It’s just going to take some time.”

“We could have had them yesterday…” Francis mumbled under his breath, “Just saying.”

“Drop it.” James demanded annoyed at Francis. “It’s old news. I can take some blame for Crossfire and Taskmaster escaping but that was yesterday. We're living in the present, none of that helps us. If you have nothing productive to say. Don’t say it.”

Francis took a long sip of his coffee and rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, Captain. ”

“Guys stop fighting. Do you want Riri and Amadeus to see us fighting like this?” Pym chided. It seemed to be perfect timing because the meeting room opened and a young black girl with curly hair dressed in jeans and a plain shirt stood in front of Tony. While a young slender asian boy with shaggy black hair stood in front of Bruce. He was wearing a flannel shirt and some jeans as well. He looked much more calm while Riri seemed more reserved.

“Kids, you want to introduce yourself?” Tony directed to the newcomers.

“Amadeus Cho. Officially the 3rd smartest person in the world. Pretty cool to meet you guys.” He said proudly.

“Uh. Riri Williams. Nice place you’ve got here.” She said a little awkwardly.

The Avengers put on a few smiles and introduced themselves to what seemed like new teammates.

“Francis Barton, or Hawkeye. You're going to love it here.”

“Henry Pym or Wasp or Giant-Man, I haven't decided yet…Anyways welcome to the Avengers!”

“Black Panther. You can call me Azari, it’s a pleasure to meet you guys.”

“Torunn Thorsdottir. It’s truly great to have more help. It will be nice to have more females on the team.”

“James Rogers. Captain America, Welcome to the Avengers. Your help is really appreciated, thanks for taking the time to help us try and make the world a better place.”

“Well when Captain America comes calling, who are we to deny the call?” Amadeus said excitedly “Whatever you need I’m your man.”

“Yeah this is pretty cool.” Riri admitted with a small grin. “I’ll do my best to help as well.”

“What are we starting them off with?” Francis questioned.

“Right into the meat of things.” James explained to the group and handed a tablet each to Amadeus and Riri. “To start we need you two to go through a little history of the Avengers and the Ultron War, you need to be in the loop, next you get informed on the liberation efforts and where we are in Europe, and the Americas. Then you have each and every one of our Mission Reports. Your job is to at the very least leaf through all of them. This isn’t a game and you need to be truly informed. Understood?”

“Do some reading work you got it, anything else?” Amadeus asked excitedly, whereas Riri just nodded, taking everything in.

“After that you're going to take the reins on the restart efforts for America. Some of our biggest problems are how slow it's taking us to turn America into a country people can be proud of. I’m sure you all understand that.” James explained.

“Yeah I do.” Riri nodded.

“So do I.” Amadeus said more seriously for the first time

“Other than that, you’ll be working closely with Bruce, Tony, Vision, and Pym so there’s that. You also might watch some of our field missions and work with the Scavengers.”

“Sounds good.” Amadeus said honestly. 

“I agree.” Riri joined in once again.

“Will Riri be joining us on missions as Iron Man?” Azari asked, that could be very useful.

“Aha, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.” Tony laughed. “I’m not eager to put another kid in danger. Riri right now is staying indoors. And there aren't any plans for an Iron Man or Woman in the future.”

The team turned to Riri who seemed indifferent towards the news, and this seemed like the ending of the conversation.

“Alright Riri, Amadeus.” Banner started. “Let’s go to the lab. We’ve got a lot of stuff to analyze.”

“Sure thing Dr. Banner.” Amadeus followed the old man.

“Coming Tony?” Riri questioned.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Tony assured her. He wanted to get more word and information on the X-Men. To him that was still the biggest news of the day, right when Riri left James started talking.

“You want to know more about the X-Men?” He guessed.

“Yeah, who was there exactly?” Tony asked eagerly.

“We didn’t get to see many honestly.” Azari admitted. “There were a few older ones, Kitty Pryde, Emma Frost, Hank McCoy, Laura Kinney and then there were kids. Mutant teens and as far as my eyes could see and hear kids were all around Genosha. It makes sense that there might have been a few more adults but...there’s no doubt in my mind they were decimated like the rest of us. Maybe even more so since they are such a small part of the population.”

“Frost, McCoy…” Tony marveled at the names he hadn’t heard, let alone thought of in years; it was so easy to assume they were dead...He’d never have guessed they were hiding out in Genosha. Especially after it had been bombed to all hell after Magneto and that Cassandra Nova lady.

Those were two names that he truly never thought of. During the Avengers primes one of the things they always regretted was not doing enough for Mutants. But things had been looking up at least. Summers and Frost had a kid and were leading Xavier’s band of misfits. He wondered how many mutants actually survived Ultron’s wrath. 

Realistically he’d always be paying back his debt to the world. The lives lost from their Super-Bot would be something he could never forgive himself for.

“I guess they didn’t care much about what you had to say.”

“Yeah.” James admitted. “It was a little hard to tell with the younger ones honestly. They looked a little surprised when I talked back to Emma Frost. But still they looked complacent. Like they already knew the outcome of what our meeting would be…And yet if anyone was going to join us it'd be them. I remember being young and wanting to go out. I remember when I was bored everyday doing the same daily routine. Finally being able to stretch our legs even if it was doing something incredibly stupid was freeing. I have no doubt if word gets around, we can have a few X-Men on our side.”

“You’d think we're 25 the way you talk.” Francis laughed.

James just shrugged, but gave the archer a small grin. “We might as well be.” 

“Still I believe you're right…The X-Men were always hard to get through, this will be no different.” Tony acknowledged. “Now the word on Crossfire and Taskmaster?”

“The algorithm Bruce and I set up has got us watching our border 360 degrees 24/7. We’ve got pings on aircrafts, cars, any other information centres, there are. If Crossfire and Taskmaster are making a play to get out of here. We should know when it happens.” Pym explained to the Avengers.

“Alright then.” James nodded. “That means when we do get an alert, the Avengers will go stop these guys. And I mean all of us.”

The silent affirmation was all that was needed. The mission had failed once, They really didn’t plan on failing a second time.

GENOSHA, APRIL 23 11:30 UTC

If you were Olivier Lebeau, Megan Frost, Pavel Rasputin, Ray Lebeau, or Anne-Marie most of your life was in Genosha. Nearly everything you could remember was Genosha. Though you still got bits and pieces of other things.

Like the capturing they all endured by the hands of Mister Sinister. But other than that Genosha was home. And it wasn’t like it was particularly bad either.

For a place that would have been a ghost town 18 years ago, the place had remarkably lively plant life and vegetation grew just fine in this African climate. Beast had focused early on creating machinery that could clear and sift through all the waste to create space for buildings and schools and grocery stores.

Genosha was...good. It was fine....So for the life of him Olivier Lebeau couldn’t fathom why that red headed James Rogers was so insistent on making their home sound like a playground. Like a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things. Like what they did had no meaning. It was infuriating.

“Oli, you need to stop thinking about this.” Megan Summers wrapped her arms around her boyfriend as they traversed Xavier’s School. They were looking for their friends so they could go get some lunch. “Hey Pavel.” she said to her colossal friend. He smiled in response.

“I can’t.” Olivier frowned as he spoke, “That guy Rogers. The son of Captain America, he just came over here and shit on everything the X-Men have ever stood for and then left. I have no clue how he’s the liberator of the free world.”

“Hmm, he’s cute at least.” Megan teased Olivier, which caused him to glare at her. “I’m kidding Oli, mostly.”

“Where’s Ray and Anna-Marie, Pavel?” Oli asked his longtime best friend.

“They are already in the Cafeteria, they are waiting for us.” Pavel told him. “I agree with Megan though, I don’t think he meant to disrespect us like that. So stop worrying.” He told him as they entered the large Cafeteria. Teens chattering for days, most completely unaware of the thoughts of the outside world. 

Genosha was enough for most people. 

“What’s my brother worrying about now?” Ray sighed as they reached their cafeteria table. “Please tell me it’s not Captain hottie.”

“Seriously he wasn’t even good looking,” Olivier scoffed as he picked at some fries.

“Red hair’s not too common around here.” Megan shrugged, as if that was a good enough reason for the attraction.

“Regardless, are you still going on about that Olivier?” Anna-Marie asked her friend

“I mean...don’t you guys just think it was weird. It was so...assuming, just annoying. The speeches he gave were like a parent telling a child what to do. But when did he earn that right? It was annoying, at least to me.”

“To no one’s surprise at all.” Jimmy Hudson called from the table across from GeNext. Across from the GeNext was the team dubbed as X-Men Blue. Jimmy Hudson, Jane Braddock, Sofia Da Costa, Jessica Thurman, and Michael Wilson. Also children of former X-Men but they did their own thing.

(Jimmy, Jane, Sofia, Jessica, and Michael)

“You’d be the one to dislike Captain America. You're probably just mad that he’s an actual leader.” Jimmy shrugged and kept chewing on his toothpick and kept his cowboy hat down over his eyes.

“I am a leader.” Olivier said with a hint of annoyance.

“Yeah, a leader of nothin’. Captain America over there liberated the free world, the only thing you’ve saved us from is extra homework. You see the difference?”

“Oli’s not as shallow as you Jimmy.” Megan came to her boyfriend's defence. “Your precious Captain America isn’t that great, he disrespects everything the X-Men stand for.”

“Which is what again?” Michael Wilson questioned with a wry grin, and ran a hand through his short brown hair. “Last time that I checked. The X-Men fought for freedom, fought for the rights of others, and did their best to actually help people. Isn’t that what Cap wanted us to do?”

“You weren’t there.” Pavel insisted. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Actually we were there.” Jimmy cracked a grin. “Heard everything.”

“Bullshit.” Ray scoffed. “We woulda heard you.”

“Not when Jess is on our side, all this tells me is our stealth has gotten even better.” Jimmy smirked.

“Look.” Jane brought the conversation to her. “I think all Jimmy’s saying is it sounded like a call for help. And we said no because of things that happened before some of us were even born . It’s petty. Especially when we aren’t doing a thing in Genosha.” the purple hair girl stated honestly.

“You really think the Avengers care about us?” Olivier asked angrily. “You heard what they said, they made the Legacy Virus the thing that took out 30% of the Mutant populus over a span of many years, they made it out as if it didn’t even happen. Could only care about a Robot who is supposedly dead and gone.”

“That’s true, don’t act like you didn’t hear that.” Megan quickly backed her boyfriend.

“Seriously?” Jane questioned. “And I won’t act like we didn’t hear anything. But we need to get off this high horse. Ultron was the big bad, he had valid criticism.”

“And so is ours. The Legacy Virus was a threat to the mutant population, and as mutants it was the X-Men’s first assignment. You heard Beast, he hadn’t even known until the Avengers were already dead. The others were making sure more X-Men didn’t die.

“Look at it like this.” Jessica jumped into the conversation with GeNext. Her chalk white skin was always so easy to spot especially in an open place like the cafeteria.

“The Legacy Virus took out 30% of the Mutant race over a course of 10 years. Ultron took out 5% of the mutant race with one bomb. He then proceeded to weed out the next 50% in a couple of months. Maybe a year. And were arguing that Ultron wasn’t the threat? The past is in the past but the criticisms are valid.”

“And who are we to criticize anyway?” Michael laughed. “We do jackshit. At least Captain Freedom and Liberty knows what matters to him and what’s worth fighting for. I’m just saying. Captain America, That Torunn babe, and Azari took out Ultron, apparently with help from the Hulk and some other Avenger kids. And that was two years ago. They were trooping. I feel like shit sitting here doing nothing.”

“And what about Azari?” Jimmy added on. “He’s supposedly the son of Black Panther and Storm. One of our own. He’s a mutant Avenger and yet no one questions him.”

Olivier just sighed “What’s your point anyway, why’s this matter so much to you?”

“I don’t know.” Jimmy grinned, “I barely knew my Dad, but from what I hear he could usually tell when someone was trying to do some good. I don’t know. I just look at those three Avengers and realize we could be doing more. I’ve never been one to be stuck in one place, especially for such a long time. And I feel like we're being wasted. You're supposed to be the Next Generation of X-Men, our leaders. And you five really don’t see it?”

“You wanna leave.” Megan stated it like a fact.

“Hell yeah I do. Our whole team wouldn’t mind helping a bit. If it weren’t for the fact my sister would kill me, I don’t think I’d be here right now.”

“We should listen to the X-Men.” Pavel said but it was noticeably weaker this time.

“Look I’m all for emotion.” Jane expressed. “But I think the X-Men need a little more brain to go with their heart. Maybe some compassion to balance the rage they are feeling for the 16 year old kids with the literal weight of the world on their shoulders. I think if they have a chance to contact them again then they should.”

“I still don’t know. It just feels like you're setting yourself up to get burned.” Ray said honestly. “I know that might be harsh, but it’s the reality.”

“Yeah and the reality is that there are 250 million people who could use a hand.” Sofia Da Costa said “Not just that. I’m sure they’d employ us on missions, like genuine honest to god missions. Tell me the mission to find No-Name wasn’t the most fun you’ve ever had in Genosha.”

“Our friend was missing.” Megan argued. “I wouldn’t exactly label it as fun. It was extremely dangerous.”

“And yet you five jumped at the chance to go to India and save her. Some things are just worth fighting for. Not to mention you raved about it for months on end.” Sofia argued. “That was the only mission the Training Squads were allowed on.”

“One day we're going to realize just how small Genosha is in the grand scheme of things.” Jane sighed annoyedly

“Well relax alright?” Olivier bit back at them. “Professor Hank is sending out a scout that supposedly should grab vital information on the outside world. Then the X-Men will probably re-evaluate their decision. So sit tight.”

And with that the conversation ended. It still didn’t stop Oli’s mind from swimming...T hey might be right. I hate it when they're right!

HEROES OF TOMORROW - 12:00 UTC

“You know…” Francis spoke boredly, hand in his head as he looked over some files. “This would be way easier if we had ever ended up decrypting all that Ultron junk.”

“His files we took from the Citadel?” Pym questioned. “Those aren’t junk and the stuff we did decrypt was useful...But you're right the other 75% percent would have made a lot of stuff going faster.”

“Hmmm, I find it funny that Tony created Ultron and yet even he can’t crack Ultron’s code. I guess that’s a telltale sign of your superbot evolving.” Francis joked.

“Well we have Riri and Amadeus now.” Torunn reminded the team. “I’m sure with the extra brainpower you’ll have more success now.”

“That’s the idea.” Pym agreed with her still running scans for the mercs on the loose. James sipped his empty coffee cup once more before stretching, this was tiring. He’d go do something else like visit Eli and Daisy.

“Where are you going?” Torunn asked curiously.

“Medbay.” He responded easily and walked out of the room. Torunn quickly followed, sensing an opportunity to talk to James .“I’ll come with you.”

“Fine by me.” James shrugged as he went to the Medbay. Right before he opened the door he felt an arm grab his shoulder. He turned to see Torunn staring at him with a bit of an inquisitive look on her face. What could be wrong?

“Torunn?” James questioned the girl softly.

“James.” Torunn started with the same soft tone he used. It made him realize that this probably wasn’t about a mission. And it made Torunn facepalm for immediately becoming that vulnerable girl 30 seconds in with James.

“Is there something wrong Tor?” James asked, puzzled.

“James I…” Torunn started, but struggled to find the right words. She thought about what she thought her Father might do and decided that she should just come out and say “James, was there any truth...to what Francis said?”

“What?” James asked, shocked. “Seriously-Come on, Of course not, That’s not me. I do what’s best for the team.”

Torunn thought over his answer. He did seem a little jittery to answer, but that could just be because he was uncomfortable with the question.

“So that means you have no...feelings for me?” Torunn questioned him once again.

“I-Seriously Torunn, you're asking me right now. Is this the best time?” James dodged the question.

“It’s not hard to answer James.” Torunn sighed, getting annoyed now, “It’s simply yay or nay. Answer.”

“Tor...seriously. I..why should I answer this. Why does it matter when you were the one who was dating Francis, or that guy on Asgard. Who I like or don’t like shouldn’t matter. I have no romantic feelings for anyone. I haven’t felt them in a long time. Because I don’t believe we can afford it. Not when the world is still like this.”

“James-

“No Tor. I’m 16. I have more than enough time to experience love. Right now I’m focused on cleaning up the 13 year long mess Ultron left us, and you should be too.”

Torunn sighed sadly, but nodded. “Yes, you're right James. Apologies for pushing you.” Torunn still managed a small smile. “Let’s go visit Eli and Daisy.”

James gave her one last long look before going into Medbay. Leave it to Torunn to make him absolutely unfocused, how was he supposed to focus on anything when she was asking questions like that? Did he like her? Couldn’t they just focus on things that mattered, like fixing Ultra City?

James grabbed a chair and sat beside Daisy’s bed. Her and Eli seemed to be put under some sort of anesthetic. Daisy's arm was in a shoulder sling and she had a couple bandages on her face, but other than that she looked good.

Eli looked worse however his right arm was in a cast, and his left shoulder was in a sling, he also had his right foot in a cast and seemed to have mild trouble breathing. This was the supposed result of fighting this Taskmaster.

It was extremely hard not to feel guilty. He hadn’t really understood Francis’ anger until he saw these two. Francis had apparently stared down the barrel of Taskmaster’s gun. It was no doubt he was angry, he probably hadn’t felt that since Ultron.

They had to bring him Cross and Taskmaster in. Torunn had gone beside each of Eli and Daisy’s beds saying a small prayer for each in a language he had never heard. After that she talked to some of the doctors and nurses. Mainly Betty Ross, who seemed to revitalise her love for science in the past two years, even at her old age.

“I’m going to take my leave now James.” Torunn told him.

“Alright Tor.” James nodded. “What language was that back there? What were you saying?”

“It was the language of the old gods, I said a little prayer for Daisy and Eli. I hope the halls of Valhalla heeded my prayer. I will see you later James.”

James accepted the answer, and continued sitting in the medbay, just watching Daisy’s face and thinking about how they were going to proceed with...everything. The X-Men, Scavengers, Madripoor front.

In two years there hadn’t ever been as many movements as there were now. It was clear that something was happening. The sudden sight of mercs and assassins meant something was going to happen.

Heck even the fact that they themselves were responding in retaliation showed how different things were now. 2 years ago they hadn’t been thinking with the same long term mindset they were now. Hopefully it didn't cost them too much time.

James sighed, and started to move from him seat when Daisy cleared his throat particularly loudly 

“Daisy?” James asked the supposedly sleeping girl, she opened her eyes and had a small sort of grin on her face.

“Are you just going to leave without saying anything?” She questioned lightheartedly.

“Sorry Daisy. I didn’t think you were awake.”

“Only a few minutes ago, imagine my surprise when Captain America was sitting in front of my hospital bed brooding.”

“It’s James Daisy.” He told her with a small smile. “We’re friends.” 

“Mmm, yeah but James wasn’t the one brooding in front of me. It was Captain America I could tell. James doesn’t really come out much does he?”

“What do you mean?” 

“I mean, that you don’t give yourself much time to live anymore do you. It’s all work, work, work.”

“As it should be, focus is important, we can’t have more situations where you guys are getting hospitalized, I need to be on my A game every moment of the day.”

“James come on, we both know Francis could have taken Vision, should have taken Vision, instead we went out on our own it’s really not your fault. All work and no play makes Daisy a dull girl. Betty used to tell me that a lot in the Scavengers. I couldn’t fathom what she meant as we were literally always on the run. And yet I don’t think I would have survived if not for those moments with Francis, his dad, Eli and Betty.”

“You think I’m dull?” James questioned, it came out as a teasing remark however.

“Anything but Captain.”  Daisy played along with a smile “You're not boring you just don’t allow yourself to live. Give yourself a little break, from time to time again. I know you got the world on your shoulders, but no one can do what you guys do without a little me time.”

James nodded, truly looking at his situation a little differently “Thanks Daisy. I’ll keep all of that in mind. You're a good friend, heal up well, we're gonna need you out there.”

“Gotcha boss…” Daisy nodded. “And you know, if you ever need a break and are looking for someone to relax with…”

James smiled at her proposition as he hung by the door. “I’ll give you a call Daisy,” He wasn’t sure if he’d ever take her proposition up Daisy was a nice girl, cute, nice wavy brown hair, a dazzling smile, and could put almost anyone on their ass, Avenger or not. For now he’d be focused on the mission.

It was perfect timing as he was leaving his communicator started beeping, there was only one thing that could really be for. It was time. The system started blaring alerts and Jocasta’s voice boomed over the system.

Avengers Assemble.

James was the fourth in the meeting room as Pym, Riri, and Amadeus had beaten him there, no doubt they had been working there the whole time. This would take some getting used to.

Azari and Hawkeye popped in next followed by Tony and Torunn and Banner. Everyone who was needed would be coming.

“What’s the situation?” James asked as soon as Banner entered the meeting room.

“We’ve got a ping on the Cross and Taskmaster situation.” Pym spoke up easily, “Not exactly sure what they're doing but Cross and Taskmaster are definitely making noise in Ultra City. They could do some damage from there, so we’ve got to move quickly.”

“Who’s coming?” Azari asked.

“Francis, is your arm good?” Tony asked the young archer.

“You're not sidelining me, my arm is fine.” Francis insisted.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” James said seriously. “All of us are going. We don’t have room for failure, this attack on Ultra City can easily spur a string of decisions that can affect us for years. We need to stop him at all costs.”

“Vision’s not here by the way, I’m not exactly sure where he is.” Pym admitted.

“It’s fine, we should be able to take them.” James decided.“Everyone’s got 3 minutes to get their weapons and get down to the Hangar. Riri and Amadeus watch how Tony and Bruce man comms, it will be good practice for the future.”

“Got it Cap.” Amadeus nodded.

“Alright then…What are we waiting for?” Captain America asked determinedly, he was proud when he saw the same look on his teammates face. Taskmaster and Cross better watch out, The Avengers were coming for them.

ULTRA CITY, APRIL 23, 1:30 UTC

The speedy Avengers quinjet flew towards the outskirts of Ultra City, in a few minutes they’d reach the heart of the metallic city.

Looking at Ultra City would be demoralizing for anyone. It was a 24/7 construction site and scrap zone, and yet it seemed like nothing ever got done. There was no life anywhere and the metal was not easy to remove and there were questions about bombing the land and starting again.

However it was obvious the land would not be able to take that more damage. They needed to be patient, for now Ultron had won in this regard. 

“Team.” Tony’s voice buzzed in over the comm system. “Taskmaster and Crossfire have reached Ultron’s Citadel. It seems they managed to get in, we obviously can’t let them leave, but it also gives them limited control over the Ultron bots still scattered in the city.”

“Great...tell me why those things haven’t been cremated or something?”

“No one really has time for that.” Tony sighed, angry, at himself for not being more proactive.

“Time…” Azari murmured. “The Avengers' greatest enemy.”

“Tony...Tony out.” He ended the transmission, no one said a word as Azari had really said it all. It was really getting obvious how big of a task they had taken on when they decided to try and save the world.

“Dropzone Inbound.” Pym called from the cockpit.

“Stay sharp, people. Taskmaster and Crossfire are no joke, Azari and I will take on Crossfire and Taskmaster, Torunn we're gonna need you and Pym to deal with the Ultron Sentries if they're active. Hawkeye you need to take out the main tower, if that also means fighting Crossfire or Taskmaster, then so be it.” James explained easily, the team agreed easily and waited for Pym’s call

“Deploying Hatch now,” Pym called once more. “20 seconds to hit our target, you should go now.”

Torunn nodded and flew out of the plane with Azari in tow, who had learned how to levitate himself and followed Torunn, James skydived out of the plane using his shield as a surfboard and riding down the side of one of the buildings.

Francis simply grappled onto one of the buildings looking for the best vantage point to make the shot, and Pym quickly put the plane on autopilot and flew out of it getting ready to do some serious damage.

Torunn was immediately being shot at Ultron sentries but she easily used her sword to deflect the energy blasts from the sentries.

Azari sent blasts of his lightning himself as coverfire for him and Torunn, destroying one of the sentries with ease. The split off with Torunn heading to deal with more Sentries, while Azari flew off toward James who was already jumping towards the citadel.

Azari flew in behind Captain America and took zero time to find Taskmaster and Crossfire at the information centre

They looked at each other with some sort of silent kind of agreement, before splitting off at lightning speed.

Crossfire jumped left and immediately started shooting at Azari forcing him to follow him through Ultron’s base, and James wasted no time giving chase to Taskmaster who ran down the other corridor not even bothering to provide himself with coverfire.

James gained on him with ease and threw his shield at Taskmaster’s back, causing him to hit the ground.

James caught his shield and placed it on his back, glaring at Taskmaster who got up quickly. His facial expression was unreadable.

“I’ll give you one chance to give up any information you’ve taken and come in quietly.” James told him honestly.

Taskmaster actually seemed to laugh at the notion of losing. “Just like your old man. Sorry kid, I’m not giving up anything.”

James nodded, and quickly rushed the man with his enhanced speed, he had read all the reports, he knew Taskmaster had given his father a good fight every time, this wasn’t something he could just half ass and win. Not that he ever would. But this was going to take skill. He’d have to thoroughly beat Taskmaster.

He threw a lightning quick punch that was immediately countered by a kick that was just barely blocked, and a knee that was denied. He could instantly tell why Francis was beaten so bad, this guy was good. And maybe if he was anyone else he’d be worried. But this was a fight he knew he had to win.

He flipped backwards, mid flip grabbing his energy gun shooting at Taskmaster forcing him to use his shield for cover. Taskmaster seemed to have enough of playing defense and rushed forward sending his own punch at James which was blocked adeptly, he dodged another punch aimed at his elbow joint, and returned with a roundhouse of his own that was missed by inches.

Taskmaster threw his shield at James which was kicked away and countered with James throwing his own at him, which Taskmaster kicked away himself, what he hadn’t accounted for was James using his energy shield mid air and throwing it straight at Taskmaster sending him flying through the window of the Citadel.

With Azari he was giving chase to Crossfire who was creating coverfire for himself, and running through the Citadel to the exit, the only things stopping Azari from catching him were the few Ultron bots in his way. Even though it might only take a few seconds to stop and destroy them, it was giving Crossfire more than enough time to get away.

Azari's eyes went pure white as he struck down another Ultron bot, he was getting annoyed with the chase and sent an electrified bolt of energy as Crossfire’s back sending him falling into a heap to the ground.

Azari was shocked that it seemed so easy but didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. They needed this. He grabbed him by the collar and flew outside to the fight with the bots that Torunn and Pym had managed to clean up.

Azari dropped Crossfire in front of the rest of the team sans James, who had followed Taskmaster through the window he had hit him through. Taskmaster looked shaken up, and with Crossfire out for the count. This was looking like a win.

“Give it up.” James called to Taskmaster, and the entire Avengers team stood behind him. “Your teammate is down, and you’re surrounded.”

Taskmaster had his sword out and shield at the ready, but slowly he sheathed his sword and dropped out of a defensive stance.

“...You hear that?” Taskmaster asked the team of Avengers. It was almost too sudden the way the sound of jet engines entered the atmosphere, Torunn dove for Francis getting him away from the coverfire the jet layed out for Taskmaster. Cap, Azari, and Pym dodged away on their own.

“Pym grab!-” James called but it was too late as Crossfire had made a miraculous victory, shooting bullets at Captain America, this forced him to dodge straight near Taskmaster who wasted no time throwing his shield at James head sending him straight to the ground.

“You should have given up.” Torunn growled at Taskmaster, she was about to fly at him before Francis stopped her.

“Tor, you go take out the jet.” He ordered. “Cap will be fine, us four can handle these losers.”

Torunn nodded regrettably and flew towards the jet hellbent on stopping them, what she hadn't expected when getting nearer to the aircraft was a huge green glowing man to come flying right at her and sending her flying towards the city street, the hit was tremendous but Torunn managed to brace for impact and stop herself from hitting the ground.

Still the green man was still falling and his crash into the ground sent a wave of energy at the team forcing them to brace for impact.

James wiped the blood off his forehead, the first time in a long time feeling legitimately angry, and the first time in a long time getting hurt.

“Azari on my 6.” James demanded, The Wakandan speedily flew behind James, somewhat guarding the Jet by blocking the way forward to it. 

“Pym, what the hell are we facing?” James demanded of the boy.

“Uh...Radioactive Man. He is what his name insinuates. He can generate deadly heat, force fields, energy blasts...And of course he’s very strong. I’m going Giant.” Pym told the team.

“Alright then. Azari, Torunn, Pym. focus on Radioactive Man. Francis, you and I have scores to settle.”

“Right.” Francis agreed, bow in hand and ready to have another crack at Crossfire and Taskmaster. The rest of the Avengers charged Radioactive Man, with Torunn and Azari leading the charge through the air and Pym running in behind

Azari sent a beam of lightning towards Radioactive Man to which he threw up a weak arm to block the intense lightning, and yet still he shrugged it off anyway. Torunn seemed to have the same idea, sending lightning at Radioactive Man, but he shrugged it off once again.

“I’ve taken hits from the Mighty Thor’s Mjolnir and I’m still around. Your lightning is nowhere near strong enough to take me on.”

“Then you will meet my blade.” Torunn growled, “I promise you that.” With that she flew towards Radioactive Man again, once again coordinating her act with Azari. She flew high while he flew low, Azari tried blasts of lightning again but Radioactive Man’s force field easily blocked it, though the hit from Torunn sword forced him backward.

Pym in his Giant-Man form attempted to step on him but Radioactive Man sent a wave of energy at Pym’s foot, “It burns, It really burns!” Pym hissed.

Azari’s eyes glowed blue as he athletically jumped over a blast of energy, and kicked Radioactive Man in the face. It didn’t seem to have much of an impact but at least Azari himself was fine. It seemed his Radioactive exterior had no effect on his vibranium weave suit.

Still it begged the question, how did you beat this guy? With James and Francis they were faring much better, both hellbent on stopping Crossfire and Taskmaster leaving. One on One James was one of the best fighters in the world. He hopped over a kick attempt by Crossfire and slammed his shield into his face.

It was clear to Cap off the bat that Crossfire couldn’t exactly hang with him. He was better in every facet, If Francis could just hang on with Taskmaster then they’d be solid. And to Francis’s job he was doing a great job.

After getting beat last time Francis had researched everything he could on Taskmaster. He was so good at fighting because he could copy your fightstyle and predict all your moves. Francis had realized that Taskmaster wasn’t really copying his moves. But his father’s. It worked well enough. If Francis wanted to be able to go toe to toe with Taskmaster, he needed to fight like he never had before, and end it before Taskmaster could figure it out.

The first part was going well, Francis dodged another hit and sent an Arrow at Taskmaster forcing him to dodge. He could tell he was keeping him on his toes, but it was also glaringly obvious he was growing into the fight. There was only so much unpredictability he could bring to the table.

As Francis was about to release another 3 arrows at Taskmaster, he heard Torunn yell. “Hawkeye watch out!”

Within a split second he rolled to the ground narrowly avoiding the green energy. Weren't they supposed to be dealing with that guy?

“Guys, you have one job!” Francis yelled back at the team, he shouldn’t have even wasted time doing that because Taskmaster locked him into close combat with a well placed punch, Francis pushed back with a kick but was blocked, and he was starting to get the vibes from the other day. He was about to get his ass kicked.

Before Taskmaster could hit Francis he was sent flying backward by James shield, James who had just finished off Crossfire and arrived in time to help Francis.

It was useless however, as James also had to pull Francis aside and quickly throw up his shield to block the energy Radioactive Man was pouring into him. The Vibranium shield was the only thing between them and getting melted by radiated energy.

Taskmaster seemed to take this as his chance to go, dashing towards the Jet that was swooping in to take him away.

“We can’t let him get away!” James demanded, slowly walking forward trying to get as close to Radioactive Man as possible.

It was clear however the Avengers were looking a little out of their depth. Pym seemed out for the count the Giant’s face covered in Radiation burns, the patches of his suit missing showed flared up skin. He wasn’t doing so well.

Torunn was currently blocking another blast of Radiation just like James. The nigh invulnerable girl was having her own struggles against Radioactive Man. He was stronger than they realized.

Azari flew in the air to catch up to Taskmaster but was stopped short when the Jet opened fire on him forcing him to create a force-field. Giving it more time to escape. It seemed like it was out of the stratosphere in seconds.

“Tony.” Francis called from behind James, he shot a couple arrows at Radioactive Man and they just seemed to disappear on impact. “We're losing Taskmaster and he’s the one with the information. Not to mention, we're struggling with Radioactive Bitch!”

“We’re going to figure this out.” Tony told him. “Just relax.”

Torunn’s face was one of pure anger and she grabbed her sword and chucked it at Radioactive Man, the long sword scissored through the air and cut through one of the Radioactive Man’s beams it seemed like halfway through the sword became electrified and smashed into him, sending him to the ground.

“More Azari.” Torunn demanded, Azari nodded from his own position in the sky, and it seemed the two lightning filled Avengers had come up with a plan.

Everyone watched as Azari’s eyes went white, and in turn the skies darkened, the clouds formed together, the sky thundered and Torunn raised her sword to the sky demanding the lightning. Azari sent his own lightning down towards Torunn who absorbed it all into her sword, her own eyes starting to glow blue.

Radioactive Man dashed forward to Torunn, but she was clearly faster, her fist blue with lightning exploding off his jaw flipping the man over entirely. Torunn gave him no time to respond to the beating. She grabbed him, spun him around in the air, and threw him up to Azari. Azari, still in the air, smashed him on the head with his electrified staff, sending him straight back to the ground with a loud crash.

Torunn stomped over to Radioactive man and grabbed him by his shoulder hoisting him up into the air, she reared her arm back and smashed him in the face, it didn’t even seem like he was awake anymore.

She didn’t care. She reared her electrified fist back once again, wanting the man to feel pain, for all the annoyance he was causing them.

“Torunn stop!” Francis called before she could land the hit. “You keep hitting him too hard and he’s going to explode. He’s got the potential energy to take out this city...again.”

“Just watch him.” James sighed, “ Azari check on Pym.”

“At least...we beat Radioactive Man.” Francis tried to cheer everyone up. Azari nodded as he dragged the regular sized pym behind him, he was also nursing his own injuries.

“We didn’t beat Radioactive Man.” James scoffed. “ Torunn did. The Avengers didn’t beat anyone today except Crossfire. The Avengers lost because they let Taskmaster leave with valuable information. Nothing good has come from this day.”

“James…”

“It’s true,” He insisted angrily, he put his shield on his back and they all followed him back to the Quinjet.

“What happens now?” Azari asked, 

“Practice. Lots and lots of practice.” James told them, The Quinjet was dead silent as they flew back to the Arctic. It was annoying. They had failed again.

James' grip on the steering wheel was impossibly strong, he almost felt like he was crushing the reinforced wheel. This was not how being an Avenger was supposed to go. It just wasn’t.

Chapter Text

MADRIPOOR, APRIL 24, 8:00 UTC

“Are you really that mad?” Black Ant asked his friend Taskmaster. Taskmaster took a moment once again to think of the circumstances, and like every single time he came to the same conclusion…

Yes he really was that mad. Look, he was over 50 years old. He had been hiding out in Madripoor in relative peace...Maybe even happiness.

Sure Ultron destroyed America, who cares? It wasn’t the only country in the world. And realistically it was only a matter of time. With the amount of times some villain of the week tried it, no one should have been surprised it finally happened.

What really annoyed him was coming out of retirement for this...to-to be Zemo’s and Viper’s lapdogs. He and Grady deserved better.

He hadn’t planned on getting into a fight with super powered teens. Even fighting the wannabe Hawkeye was annoying. He had thought Zemo and Viper had better planning than this but clearly they hadn’t understood. They still didn’t understand just how desperate that country was. How desperate those kids were. If they were smart they’d pick on a country with more to lose. This wasn’t as easy as they thought it was.

“Tasky, we’re about to land.” Black Ant informed his longtime friend. “You also didn’t answer me, are you really that mad?”

“Yeah, I am.” Taskmaster sighed. “Everyday I question whether those fools know what they're doing.”

“Well you might as well ask them today. If those little kids are as strong as you say they are, they need more planning than anticipated.”

“You saw the girl.” Taskmaster huffed. “Even as we were leaving the tremors felt from the thunder was immense. Whatever she and that Wakandan wannabe were up to was far more powerful than anything we could have dreamed.”

“You're right, you know. And now the Masters are down by two members. They’re definitely going to jail old Willy, but they might struggle with Chen.”

“No.” Taskmaster disagreed. “Not if Stark is still with them.”

“Makes them even more dangerous.” Black Ant grumbled. “That Madame Viper better know what she’s doing...I can’t keep giving her a pass because she’s hot.”

“You are an idiot.” Taskmaster said, but he couldn’t help but smirk at his friend.

“What? It’s true. She’s gotta be like 60 and she doesn’t look a day over 25.” Grady commented. 

“Yeah...We are old. All of us. Those idiots may not like it but those Kid Avengers have youth on their side. It helps.”

The two didn’t converse much after that. Instead landing their plane on the Helicopter pad on the huge towering building. Targo Corporation. In other words, a front for the real company the Masters of Evil inhabited. Advanced Ideas Mechanics. Otherwise known as AIM. The bright light of the building shone in the dark smoggy atmosphere of Madripoor.

The two friends got out of the jet and headed towards the elevator on the roof, two guards were in there, each packing heat, which had been the standard as Zemo and Viper continued to plan in case of an attack.

Taskmaster was about to let them know this security wasn’t going to do shit against those kid Avengers.

Taskmaster and Black Ant were quickly directed to the meeting room. There Baron Zemo, Madame Viper, Egghead, and Moonstone sat clearly waiting on Taskmaster and Black Ant.

The way Taskmaster saw it, the only one who could take the Asgardian was Moonstone. She could go toe to toe with most. But with Radioactive Man subdued...Things were going to be hard.

“Report?” Zemo questioned the Mercenary. Wordlessly Taskmaster pulled out a little usb looking device and slid it across the table to Zemo, the man took the device and passed it off to one of the guards.

“Chen was captured.” It wasn’t stated like a question, it was a statement coming from Madame Viper, and judging by the look on her face she wasn’t happy about it.

“Yeah. Saved my ass.”

“You three told me you’d come back just fine.” Viper said once more.

“Yeah, because our first fight was with a bunch of non-super powered kids. And even then they aren’t slouches. But now you add a kid who can grow to 20 feet, a pissed off Asgardian teen, and some Prince of Wakanda, you’ve got big problems.”

“But-”

“And don’t get me started on Cap’s kid.” Taskmaster sneered. “Fights just like his pops. Except he seems a little faster, a little stronger, a tinge cockier too. And that’s a problem. Because I’m slower, a little weaker, and a lot more annoyed when it comes to dealing with people’s bullshit.”

“Taskmaster.” Zemo commanded. “Calm down.” It wasn’t really a suggestion, and so Taskmaster did his best to relax, finally taking his seat at the table with the rest of the Masters.

“Are you saying they're stronger than that footage from two years ago?” Moonstone asked.

“Definitely, they are basically seasoned veterans.” Taskmaster admitted. 

“And that was to be expected.” Viper contested. “We knew they’d be at least a little bette-

“It wasn’t just a little better.” Black Ant spoke up in defense of his friend. “I had to be twenty miles away and we could still feel the tremors from the Asgardian and Prince using their powers. It was immense.”

Viper seemed to stare down Grady, but he held his ground, they could not, and would not be blamed for this.

“It doesn’t matter anyway. The plan moves on since you’ve got the information.” Zemo brought everyone back on to the same page. “All this means is that we have to plan a little better when it comes to these...Avengers. They are a little stronger than anticipated.”

“Correct, and the information you’ve provided will keep us steps ahead of the children. You've done great work.”

Still though, Taskmaster didn’t really believe they understood what he was talking about. “I just...You didn’t see the looks in their eyes. There is absolutely nothing left for them to lose, they lost their parents, cities, countries, any semblance of family is with each other. They’ve seen and experienced it all. Death, trauma, pain, hurt. Our little mental games won’t work for long. If we are going to come punching, it better be a knockout because I promise you they will come back 10x harder.”

“And that doesn’t even account for the fact that Thor isn’t dead.” Black Ant added shortly. Viper and Zemo seemed to look at each other in silent communication.

“Understood Taskmaster.” Zemo began, “Your opinion is greatly appreciated. We will take this into consideration. Meeting adjourned.”

As everyone except the Hydra heirs left the room, Taskmaster could really only hope they took him seriously. He didn’t want to spend the rest of his life imprisoned by a bunch of kids.

“Not even kids...Avengers.” He mumbled to himself as he walked into quarters, needing a long rest after that day.”

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME APRIL 24, 16:40 UTC

The team wasn’t used to losing. No, from the moment they had gone out to fight Ultron, it seemed like they couldn’t really lose. Especially after they went out and beat him. Anything else after that seemed like a cakewalk.

Whether it was taking down waves of drones for hours in South America, or helping the military take down the towers in Great Britain. It was done with the mentality that nothing in their way could stop them.

But yesterday they were defeated. Stopped by two mercenaries and a superpowered Radioactive Man. Yeah they took two of them out, but the most important one got away with essential information.

And now to make things worse they had three villains at their base with Crossfire, Radioactive Man, and Omega Red. This wasn’t good at all. The Biodome wasn’t created to be a prison.

At the end of the day, to James there were many things to take from this, many things they had to do. But the most important thing was practice. Nothing mattered anymore if they couldn’t win fights, did it?

That’s why he called a meeting. Himself, Azari, Torunn, Francis, and Pym, were all there. Tony, Riri, Cho, and Banner walked in shortly taking their seats at the extended table. After that Daisy walked in taking the open seat beside James, James who was standing at the head of the table, as he had called the meeting.

He took a look at everyone, Azari seemed fine for the most part, if he had suffered any injuries it wasn’t visible. Francis had a few cuts, a few scrapes but he was good, Torunn’s arms looked a little redder than normal, but she was Asgardian, she was fine. The one who had gotten hurt the most had been Pym, blotches of red puffy skin were still on his face, and arms. Radioactive Man had really hurt their youngest teammate. And Torunn wouldn’t let him forget it.

“You sure you're okay Pym.” Torunn whispered to her young friend. She couldn’t help but feel worried, they were her family, and she’d known Pym since he was just a little baby.

“Fine Tor, you don’t gotta worry about me.” Pym insisted with a grin, “It doesn’t even hurt.”

Torunn took his jaw within her hands once again inspecting for any injuries, maybe she had missed one. She heard a loud huff from Pym, and unhappily took her hand away.“If you say so Pym, but I’m always going to worry about you. All of you actually.”

James took a look at Daisy who seemed to instantly notice James, and gave him a nod and a smile back. It was hard to peel his eyes away when she was wearing such a form fitting uniform. But he managed, hopefully before anyone noticed. Everyone bar Vision was here, so James started the mission.

“Alright.” James’ voice quieted the already less than talkative room. Still, when he really thought about it. The fact that he commanded this type of respect from his teammates, Tony, Bruce, and the Scavengers, was surreal. Hopefully they understood where he was coming from.

“Yesterday we got our asses kicked. We, the Avengers as a whole, got beat by three people. Not because we weren’t strong enough, not because we weren’t fast enough. But because we are ill informed. In the past the only threats we’ve had to face were Ultron, Ultron Robots, Ultron Sentries, Ultron ships. That era is coming to a close.” James told everyone.

“Our enemies before were well known commodities. You put an Ultron ship in front of this team and we dismantle it in a minute. The structure and weak points have been etched into our minds from constant battle for two years. It’s time to focus on the unknown. We need to start admitting to ourselves that we have no clue who or who isn’t alive.”

“So what’s the play?” Francis asked lazily. 

James messed with a few things on the meeting room's computer before pulling up a screen of Radioactive Man, Crossfire, and Taskmaster’s files, with strengths, weaknesses, and other things that should have given them an edge.

“Starting from today. Every Avengers, Every Scavenger, I want every person who enters this building to know these files up and down. From A to Z. Whoever we’ve got a file on, we need to read it. Unfortunately not knowing who is alive is going to make work harder for us. But this is the best way to make sure we are prepared to fight.”

“Those are a lot of names.” Pym sighed. “It’s going to slow us down.”

“It’s necessary.” James insisted. “Nothing we do here matters if we lose when we fight out there.”

“Alright.” Tony nodded. “Alright, we add this to everyone’s tablet. Gonna have to make time for studying people, got it?”

Everyone gave Tony their verbal agreement, and they moved onto the next issue. It felt weird to actually have this many different problems.

“Alright, next thing is the ones we’ve captured. Omega Red, Radioactive Man, and Crossfire have been moved around 20 clicks from our position. They are being kept in a well structured containment unit, thoughts?”

“It’s probably unwise.” Azari decided. “The possibility of those three plotting down there to escape is too great. And it’s not that I don’t believe we won't stop them. But the damage they could do to the Biodome...We really don’t have anywhere else to stay, it’s integral to our success. We have to move them.”

“Agreed.” Francis chimed in. “But I’m not exactly sure if we can afford to move them. I mean, realistically where would they go, to one of the outside prisons? Are there even still functioning prisons, I’m not sure if I trust those people with a task like this.”

“They aren’t incapable.” Riri spoke up for the first time. “Don’t get me wrong, down there isn’t in the best place, but they can work. They can do jobs, in fact that’s what a lot of them want. For society to turn back to normal.”

“Riri is right.” Amadeus quickly agreed with her. “Everyone is really ready to forget Ultron. I’m not sure the ‘outside’ world has a prison capable of holding Omega Red and Radioactive Man, But if you give them the tools they will surprise you.”

“How long would it take to construct a prison that could hold super powered villains?” James asked curiously.

“Jocasta, pull up files on the Raft.” Tony asked his AI, dutifully the screens switched to pictures of the old superpowered prison prior to its destruction. “A couple of months maybe...If I can get away with using the Iron Legion. It could take longer if we don’t get clearance from the Government.”

“What government?” Francis scoffed. “Nobody does anything out there except for us!”

“Not true. There’s no president, that’s true. But what’s left of government officials, mayor’s, senators, and the Senate meet together. They’ve grown in two years, and they pass laws. Things still go through them.” Pym explained.

“It doesn’t matter, they are going to say yes. There’s no reason not to. We are under attack, they’ll understand.” Cap waved away. “Regardless, the problem remains, I don’t want those three around for a couple of more months.”

“I mean, last I heard they were rebuilding Rykers? Right?” It seemed like Amadeus’ question was more directed at Riri, as they were the people who lived in the real world.

“Yeah you're right, but it wouldn’t be finished in time, it seems like Ryker’s is supposed to be in NYC, but NYC isn’t NYC just yet…”

That was putting it lightly. At this rate no one knew if NYC was ever going to be NYC again.

“There was another old prison. Down in Colorado. The Vault, remember Tony?” Banner asked the Inventor.

“Yeah it was a superhuman maximum facility as well. It just wasn’t run by S.H.I.E.L.D. I’m pretty sure Ultron would have left that up.”

“You would be correct Henry. Though records show the Vault doesn’t currently have any prisoners.”

“That’s fine it works… So we give the guys over there some things to work with, just to make sure nothing happens to those who work there.” James decided.

“We could probably deploy some of the Scavengers. I know for a fact some have gotten a little antsy and could probably benefit from getting their feet wet somewhere else.” Daisy added.

“Perfect.”

“So we all agree that the Raft should still be created though right? Create the Raft which will be like the pinnacle of superpowered prisons, and for now jail 'em in the Vault to keep everyone safe, and send some Scavengers just in case anything happens.” Francis reiterated.

Once again everyone stated their agreement, leaving just a few more things on the menu for today’s meeting.

“Last thing is Cross, and Chen Lu’s interrogation. I want Pym, Riri, and Amadeus on this. Try and decipher anything you can. I’m going to be honest, Francis and I couldn’t get much. But maybe there was a hidden message in their words.” James explained. 

“We're going to need it for the counter attack on Madripoor.” Francis added. “So really anything at all is appreciated.”

“Gotcha Boss.” Amadeus nodded.

“It shouldn’t be a problem.” Riri nodded also. Pym didn’t have to say anything, as he was expected to lead in that department, and looked a little bored if they were being honest.

“Alright then, the meeting is adjourned I guess. I expect some news tomorrow on the jail front. And everyone better start working down the list we’ve got. It’s imperative to our survival.” James started to leave the room and basically everyone followed, Daisy in particular fell step by step with him. She seemed to be following him to wherever he was going.

“What are you going to be doing?” Francis asked James curiously, quickly noticing Daisy’s presence.  

“Planning the counterattack.” James said shortly. “Come on Daisy.”

Francis looked at Torunn and shrugged, and she didn’t say anything back, watching the two leave the room. “Wanna get some food?” Francis asked Torunn.

“That’d be great.” Torunn decided to join the archer. “Lead the way Francis.”

Everyone left, leaving Riri, Amadeus, and Pym alone in the conference room. But Pym didn’t plan on staying for long. He had his own thing he wanted to do.

“Riri, Amadeus...I was wondering if I could leave you guys to do this by yourselves. You're both as smart as me anyways. I don’t think we’ll need the three of us to decipher that interrogation.”

“Yeah, it’s cool.” Riri nodded, secretly liking being alone. She didn’t mind Pym, actually he was very easy to work with, same with Amadeus. She just naturally liked to be alone. Plus it helped that she got to work on her own projects.

“Sure Pym.” Amadeus nodded. “But...I was wondering if I could take a crack at those Ultron encrypted files afterwards. I know it’s not the focus, but he kind of locked half the internet away. And I don’t know, I guess it’d be a fun side project.”

“Hmm, I mean sure.” Pym shrugged. “There’s no harm, go ahead. I’ll catch you guys later.” Pym left the room to go to the laboratory, where he stored the gun he took from the Golden People.

Armed with his special laptop, a bunch of different lab scanners, and a freshly brewed cup of coffee, Pym was ready to work. “Now to find out what the heck you are.”

HEROES OF TOMORROW

Sometimes James' quarters felt foreign to him. The large room was filled with little knick knacks, and things of his interests. But when your interests were war, and fighting things got real boring quick.

There wasn’t much to decorate his room with, it felt...childish, especially considering the circumstances. So before he had a lot of toys, posters. Some games but most of that had been removed.

There was a large drawing of his Mom and Dad. He had done it over a year ago, a reminder of who he fought for, his shield hung on the wall, it was fine because the energy shield never left his wrist. His uniform also hung up. As well, his helmet, the shining A, a constant reminder to the legacy he was supposed to carry on.

A couple of other things were around like his laptop, but that was the only thing left that really had any importance to him.

He entered the passcode to his quarters, the door sliding open easily, and wasted no time walking to the large desk where he and Daisy were going to work.

“Huh, I guess even Captain America can't avoid the monster that is a teenage boy's room.” Daisy teased.

James shrugged, and kicked a shirt over to make way for Daisy, and brought her a chair, Daisy set down the coffee they had gotten and looked around. James didn’t seem to care for too much other than his work. An easy way to forget the past.

“So what’s up.” She asked the super soldier in front of her. James tapped a few things on the desk’s interface, pulling up some plans he seemed to be working on. He looked very determined, very cute. If you were allowed to call Captain America cute? Well she would, because he was.

“You listening Daisy?” James asked with a teasing grin, Daisy shook her head trying to avoid the blush creeping up her cheeks.

“Sorry, I zoned out. What were you saying?” Daisy asked, determined to get her mind of James’ face and one what he was actually saying.

“I was thinking the mission would be more stealth based, you know seeming as we don’t exactly know what’s going on in Madripoor, and then-

“You wanna go spar or something.” Daisy interrupted him. She couldn’t do it. She knew she should be focused on the mission, but come on no one was more focused on the mission than her and James. They could spend 30 minutes doing something else.

“What?” James asked, completely confused.

“Would you like to spar, maybe go to the common room, do something other than this?”

“Dais-

“I know, I know.” Daisy interrupted him again, she hadn’t even realized she had gotten up and into his face “We have to work, and we can. But I really want to spend time with you...Not just working you know. I want to do stuff with you, to just do it...you know just cause we can, not because of missions.

James' breath was basically on her face; she put her hands on his chest never really noticing the height difference between them until now. Her head only reached his chest, he practically towered over her and he wasn't even six feet.

James tentatively put his hands around Daisy's waist pulling her in even closer, foreheads nearly touching as James stared down at her brown eyes, and she stared back at him with a passion he hadn’t thought he’d ever seen before. It ignited him, made him really feel things he tried to suppress for the sake of the mission

“Daisy, I want to spend time with you too.” He whispered, he cupped her cheek and she let out a little sigh, James realized he had never been in such a sexually charged moment in his entire life. “I promise I do want to spend time with you. We just have to wait a little longer, then I can take a day off and we can do something. Sounds good?”

Daisy nodded quietly, not moving from her position, face snuggled in James' chest, and James didn’t either, it felt good being in another’s person’s embrace. Especially a person you felt that way about. 

They would have stayed a little longer, if a loud crash wasn’t heard across the hallway. Immediately James and Daisy pulled away from each other, both on high alert. James messed with the interface, pulling up footage from across the hallway. Vision’s room.

They watched the Hallway Camera as Vision seemingly phased through the floor, but then slammed into his quarters door, seemingly forgetting to phase. He finally got it right, going to his room, where noise was no longer heard.

Vision had been acting a little weird lately hadn’t he? James thought, even if he wasn’t, his and Daisy’s moment was over. Though he was okay with that and so was she.

Daisy had a smile on her face and sat back down at the desk “Well I guess we can do some work today. Next time I spend time in your quarters I don't want it to be on this chair though.”

The innuendo wasn’t lost on James and his cheeks flushed as red as his hair as he stammered onto explaining his plan. For the first time in a while, he was looking forward to after the mission.

HEROES OF TOMORROW

Francis and Torunn were alone in the lunchroom. Empty plates of food between, they were on C for the list of villains, and Francis was already feeling like his brain was turning to mush. Francis was amazed at the amount of idiots who wanted to terrorize the world.

He turned his head towards Torunn, she was frowning at her tablet as they looked at the villain known as Cassandra Nova.

He wasn’t focused on the bald villain however, his eyes couldn’t leave Torunn’s face. Even when she had the world's largest frown on her face she was cute. Even though she was just wearing a simple sweater and shorts. Cute.

And to think, he used to date that...still could maybe. “Hey Tor?” 

“Yeah Francis?”

“Why did we ever break up?”

Torunn gave a deadpan look, he knew why they broke up. “Because we fought too much. It was a detriment to the team.”

“Huh oh yeah…” Francis smirked. “It was pretty fun though.”

“ Francis. ” Torunn warned, what was he playing at?

“What it’s true!” He insisted. “Working together on missions, travelling the world, enjoying whatever it had to offer. Remember Sweden?”

A small smile crossed her lips, and a blush found her cheeks as she remembered the memory. The people there had treated them great, especially considering she was Thor’s daughter, someone the nordic people truly loved. It had been especially great at the time since Francis and her had been dating. Whatever they had wanted they got. It had been a nice little mini vacay for the team. And for her and Francis...an experience to say the least.

“How could one forget?” Torunn retorted. “We spent lots of nights gazing at the sky. Talking about how we thought things were going to look in 5 years. 10 years. We were pretty innocent at the time.”

“Yeah...but not too innocent.” Francis said cheekily, causing Torunn to blush. “No, not too innocent. Though we might have been, had I not made any moves. Someone was too afraid to say what he wanted.”

“Oh come on, I’m...me, and you're you!” Francis laughed. “Of course I was intimidated. I’m not the same person now.” Francis boasted.

“Really?” Torunn questioned skeptically. “For some reason I don’t believe you.”

Francis took that as a challenge and scooted right beside Torunn. “Do you believe me now?”

“Nope.” Torunn responded.

“Now?” Francis asked as he moved right in front of her face, They stared each other in the eyes, their work all but forgotten. 

“Not yet.” Torunn breathed.

“Well…” Francis took her hands in his and pushed forward so their foreheads touched, noses against one another. “How about now?”

Torunn didn’t even say anything, instead met his lips with her own, it was a comforting gesture, one etched into her brain. Immediately she placed her arms around his neck and his arms flew to her waist.

They had to have been there for a minute or two, until Torunn quickly pulled away leaving a very confused and moderately aroused Francis.

“We shouldn’t have done that.” Torunn stood up and and began collecting her things

“Why not, are you dating someone?” Francis asked.

“No but-

“Well I’m not either, so I don’t get it. Why can’t we? No one’s getting hurt, we're responsible adults...ish” Francis told her.

“Just...please Francis. I need to process everything. Sorry.” And with that, the young Asgardian flew out of the room.

“Could have been worse.” Francis mumbled to himself. Still he was hopeful. Him and Torunn just worked together, he’d make her see that.

HEROES OF TOMORROW

Azari traveled to his quarters, after spending most of the time studying in the gym. There wasn't too much to do today. The Avengers for a moment had peace. This was the first time he had a moment to check what his Aunt Shuri gave him.

He took a deep breath and looked around his room, and it did anything but fill him with confidence. There was a painting of his parents done by James, of course that might have been the most mature thing about it. There was his computer, and all that good stuff. And an abundance of toys he had been too nostalgic over to ever give up. 

He was just 15 and rarely ever used any of them, but still. That wasn’t a very good excuse when he was expected to be king. “I’ll remove all that stuff. I have too.” Azari murmured. 

It was funny because most people who knew the electric 15 year old would tell you he’s one of the calmest, most mature teens you’ll ever see. He knew when it was okay to joke and okay to work. Unfortunately he seemed to be holding himself to a much higher standard.

Azari moved under his bed and pulled out the special ornate briefcase. The lock on the front was in the shape of a panther. No surprise there.

He put his hand over the panther buckle in admiration, and almost immediately the eyes glowed an almost white-blue. Like his lightning.

The big case popped open and Azari was shocked to see its contents. The first thing was a black panther suit. Like a real Black Panther suit. The type his father used to wear. It was jarring to say the least. The next thing, in its own little compartment was the heart shaped herb, fourth was Kimoyo Beads, there were candles, coal, and special types of incense, what he thought was Wakandan sand, and last but not least a piece of paper with written instructions. 

It almost made the instructions more important in his eyes, seeming as his Aunt had written it down instead of using their vast technology.

“First things first fill your bath.” Azari dutifully obeyed the instructions, filling his tub with the hot water. “Next burn the incense.” There was lots of it, so he spread it around his bath making sure he burned a lot of it. There was a real earthy smell to it...it was comforting. Reminded him of his Mother. And that wasn’t something he could say often.

After that he took a little water and put it in a small bowl, and put it over the coals he was burning, he was sure Tony would freak out if he saw what he was doing, he’d probably think he was going to burn down the Compound.

Next he lit the candles, which he thought might have been a little overkill, but whatever, he wasn’t going to mess up the ritual. Last but not least was herb. As he took the purple plant into his hands it faintly glowed. He placed it in the bowl with water and started mixing it in the bowl. Quickly the plant started to dissolve and a purple liquid was what was left.

He wasn’t partial to this part of the instructions but he had to do it anyway, he stripped down to his briefs before he entered the water with a fist full of the Wakandan sand and spread it around the water. 

With the heart shaped herb concoction in his hand he took one last deep breath before taking the plunge “Praise the ancestors.” and he drank the heart shaped herb.

It barely took a few seconds to register before Azari was feeling a tightening in his chest, it almost seemed like his skin glowed purple for a second as he fell into a trance. He slipped under the water...sand? All he knew was one moment he was staring at candles and the next the world was moving a mile a minute.

He couldn’t catch what he was seeing, it’s like his eyes were moving a mile a minute as his life flashed before his eyes. Soon enough however, everything calmed down. Things slowed and it was like his eyes opened once more and he was streetside.

Azari couldn’t even comment, because he wasn’t sure his mouth was working. He couldn’t fathom what he was seeing.

Vista Boulevard. This was their street. When his Mom and Dad weren’t in Wakanda, this is where they came to live. This is where a lot of his earliest memories were created, the only pieces of his Mom and Dad to this day.

He remembered it like it was yesterday, he remembered the vibrant neighbourhood that had constantly been filled with children playing. He felt like he remembered each tiny little crack in the street. But the most important thing was their home.

Azari ran up the street looking for the familiar white and blue house. It wasn’t all too big and that was the entire point. His father had been royalty all his life, and his Mother was appreciative of the quiet, so they went for this house instead.

His running came to a stop as he saw the house 22 Vista Boulevard. Azari slowly walked past the gate into the front yard. His mother’s garden was there, and it was just as perfect as he remembered. 

A wide array of tulips and daffodils covered the bushes. He could easily remember lying in the grass and watching his mother work the garden. She’d tell him stories about the X-Men, or just old folktales and he’d listen to her every word attentively. Then she’d bring out lemonade when the sun shined just a little too bright, and they’d drink together to cool off. His father would come out to the porch, maybe read a book or just watch them with a smile on his face. It was perfect.

Just as quickly as he was sucked into the memory, he was phased out of it. Azari shook his head and headed into the household, and it seemed the nostalgia trip was never going to stop. The only difference between the scene he was in now and the past being the fact that there were no people.

As he entered the house he saw a familiar picture of the three of them at some sort of royal party in Wakanda. They were all dressed up, and all had bright smiles on his face. He could almost remember that night. Almost.

As he continued to enter the house there were a couple of toys on the ground, children’s books that were way past his age, but he had been able to read them just fine. A prodigy, his father used to call him. He passed by the kitchen, one of his favourite places to sit and watch parents.

As he got near the kitchen table there was a large panther locket on the table. He took it in his hands feeling the cool vibranium, it was a gift from his father to his mother. Unfortunately he never found out what it was supposed to do.

“The locket did many things, I made it to be a locator, a tracker, computer, basically anything your mother needed and more.”

No way . Azari gently set the locket down on the table and turned back towards the kitchen where his father in all his glory was there, just leaning against the counter.

“Father?” Azari questioned softly, “Is that you?”

“It is my son,” he said with a bright smile. “What? Won’t even give your old man a hug?”

Hearing that Azari dashed towards T’Challa and wrapped him in a hug, he couldn't believe it. He also couldn’t stop the tears streaming from his face, luckily his father seemed to understand. When he was able to recollect himself, they took a seat at the table, and Azari told him everything.

“I would say it was only around a year ago when the world really started living again. The biggest thing will always be New York. No one wants to say it, but it’s hard to imagine the city coming back to form...At least anytime soon.” Azari admitted to his father.

T’Challa himself had a solemn look on his face, contemplating the words Azari told him “It’s unfortunate. We have failed you.”

“No father-

“We did Azari.” T’Challa disagreed. “There’s no denying that. We...The Avengers were so desperate for peace. So desperate to stop fighting. We just ignored our duty. And it came back to bite us. And not just us, the world.”

“Tony regrets creating Ultron every day.” 

“Tony?” T’Challa asked, confused, before shaking his head as if to clear it. “Ah yes. Tony. Well it’s not his fault. Plus at the very least he got you safe, and your children managed to pull off the spectacular. But Azari I can tell there’s more. What’s wrong with Wakanda?”

“There’s nothing wrong with Wakanda.” Azari sighed. “It’s what's wrong with me . I’m not ready to be a king...I’m, I’m not ready to give up playing with Pym, or going on missions with the team, I’m not ready to stay in Wakanda full time, I’m not ready to be Azzuri the Wise. And it doesn’t help that I’m a phony either.”

“Who says you have to be King tomorrow?” T’Challa asked. 

“Well...no one father but-

“So stop worrying about it. When I was studying to be King I felt the same as you. The people were going to resent me because of the change I wanted to bring to the country, but the people grew to love and respect me. Your time as King will come. It is inevitable. But it won’t be before you're ready. You have always been a bright boy, you are so very young. When I was 15 I could only dream of doing half the things you do. Sit down and relax. It will come naturally, and the people of Wakanda don’t hate you Azari. You're special, everyone knows that. After all, who else gained powers without the use of the heart shaped herb? Who else?”

“No one.” 

“Exactly my son. No one except future King Azari T’Challa. My son that I’m very proud of.” T’Challa beamed at him.

Azari didn’t even acknowledge his tears, and he was glad his father didn’t either, but he had one more question.“Dad...what, what happened to Mom?”

This was a question that no one seemed to have an answer to. The X-Men didn’t know, Wakanda presumed her dead as did Tony. But Tony also thought there weren't any more X-Men. Or Masters of Evil. It was safe to say he didn’t know everything.

But his father and mother were connected at the hip. If his Mother had gone somewhere, it was likely he knew where.

“I’m not sure...It’s been a long time. The Avengers fought and were killed by Ultron. But your mother had never been a part of the group. Of course you tell me Ultron’s nuclear strike was successful. But she should have been in Wakanda, because of all the stuff with the Legacy Virus...It’s possible she was in New York.”

Azari couldn’t help the disheartened sigh that passed his lips. He just wanted to see her, just one last time! Explain how much she meant to him in words he could never form all those years ago.

“Relax Azari. Whatever has happened to your mother, dead or alive. The answers you seek will be found at your mother’s home in Kenya. You should start there.”

Azari could feel himself slipping out of this lucid dream, so he quickly hugged his father once more. “Thank you for everything father.”

“It’s the least I can do. Rejoin the world, I and the rest of the Kings, will be here whenever you need us.”

Azari nodded and just as fast as he was pulled into this dreamscape, he was pulled out of it. 

”AUGHHHH.” Azari yelled and pushed himself out of the sand. His entire tub was filled with sand, and he didn’t even question how all the sand got there in the first place.

“Azari?” He heard Torunn’s worried voice. “Azari, are you okay in there?”

“Fi-fine Torunn!” Azari called. He hopped out of the sandy tub and ran to blow out the candles and the incense, but he stopped in the mirror as he saw his eyes glowing blue. It definitely felt a little different this time.

“Are you sure Zari?” Torunn asked, “You know you can tell me anything right?”

“Of course Torunn.” Azari called back, it’s just he didn’t need the team going crazy over this. 

He didn’t need them to think he was leaving anytime soon. He didn’t want to be the one who added pressure on the team. He was going to take everything one day at a time. 

“Okay then…I love you Azari.” Torunn called distantly.

“Love you too, Torunn.” It wasn’t the first time Torunn said that, and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but there was something about it this time that just perfectly encapsulated the way Torunn had been acting since her last couple of trips to Asgard. Regardless, Azari forgot everything else and dialed up his Aunt Shuri’s number. His father had just given him a beautiful new perspective on things.

“Aunt Shuri. I opened up the briefcase...I’m ready to learn.” Azari said determinedly.

HEROES OF TOMORROW

“How we looking FRI?” Pym asked the AI, he dug into his bag of chips chowing down as he flew around to his setup.

“63 percent finished Henry.” Friday responded dutifully.

Usually Pym liked working in the main lab. The one He, Tony, Banner and Azari would work on for hours on end. And nowadays Riri and Amadeus would come and work as well. It was peaceful, serene. It was weird but for the young scientist nothing was more calming than getting to work.

Knowing that he was providing a big help to the team was great, and spending more time with the aging scientists was always an experience, and now that he had more peers on his wavelength, he could even take a step back and work on individual projects.

Projects such as this. When Pym had picked up one of the Golden People’s guns in the Savage Land it had simultaneously looked ancient, and too advanced for a civilization that barely wore clothes.

Bringing it to his personal laboratory, he thought he might be able to reverse engineer the technology, see if it was worth anything, but as he messed with the energy gun he realized the power wasn’t nearly as interesting as where it came from. An answer he was still looking for. How does a civilization that doesn’t like pants find something so advanced?

He checked the diagnosis he had made on the weapon. The mechanism was broken, which made it even funnier the Golden People had been using it, but regardless. The gun was also waterlogged, which means it was possible one of them had left it in water, or that’s where they had found it. The second was more likely, because the gun was very rusty, he suspected the water was the main reason for the gun’s corrosion.

It made everything a little weirder as well, because the gun almost seemed to function on water. How a weapon could depend on the one thing ruining it didn’t make much sense to Pym. But he guessed he was about to find out.

“Scan complete.” Friday’s voice called. “Would you like me to take you through the prognosis Henry?”

“Go for it FRI.” Pym told her and took a large swig of his coffee, at this rate he’d be up all night. At least he was allowed to be up all night. Nothing was worse than when he actually had a bedtime. He could thank Torunn for dealing with Tony on that one.

“Initial assumptions about the weapons age are correct. Absolute dating techniques put the weapon’s creation in the early 19th century.”

“I’m not an expert on that time period, but that has to be early for a weapon of this power to be created.” Pym ascertained. 

“You’d be correct.” Friday confirmed. 

“Hmmm, estimated origin of creation?” Pym asked, he was a little stumped.

“Generating…” Friday told him, Pym waited a few moments drinking more of his coffee before doing a near spit take at the AI’s answer. “Coordinates of 36°27'35.3"N 52°24'08.4"W.”

“FRI, That’s the Atlantic Ocean!” Pym told the AI incredulously. “Run it again.”

“Generating…” Friday’s voice droned on again, And Pym could tell he annoyed the sassy AI, but there was no way she had done that correctly. “Coordinates of 36°27'35.3"N 52° 24' 08.4"W.”

“But how…” Pym whispered to himself in astonishment. “FRI...are you sure, you know, you're doing the math right?”

“100 percent certain Henry. Unless you no longer believe my skills are up to par. Maybe I should call Vision to do the math-

“No, no. I trust you FRI. Sorry.” Pym apologized to the living computer. But that still didn't answer the question of how? He’d flown over the Atlantic many times, there was nothing to suggest there were any serious lifeforms over there.

“FRI, pull up Tony’s database and cross-reference all mission files, data sequences, profiles with those coordinates, and the Atlantic Ocean.”

Tony had told Pym many times that he had lost so many files to Ultron, due to the fact the Robot had taken over the internet, but everything Tony had in his suit, and what was already in the limited Arctic Base was kept.

“Processing…” FRI’s voice rang out once more. “Information found.”

“That was quick.” Pym muttered in surprise, and delved deep into the information, most of it was useless, coordinates for flying over the Atlantic, things of that nature, Military meetings, stuff like that.

Where he had really struck gold wasn’t on the words Atlantic Ocean or the coordinates themselves, no it was different. About a person named Namor. And a city, a city called. “Atlantis…”

“No way.” Pym whispered in astonishment as he continued digesting the newly found information. It was times like this he got a little annoyed at Tony and Bruce. They undoubtedly knew about stuff like this, but they just didn’t tell them for reasons that weren’t ever clear. They had saved the world from a killer robot’s grasp in their teens. Everything after in their lives would pale in comparison to that moment, he was sure of that. So why hide anything?

“Are you okay Henry?” The AI asked the young genius, and he just sighed in response. “It’s getting late Henry.”

And indeed as he looked at his alarm clock it was 3 in the morning, he needed to get some rest. “Alright shut everything down FRI.”

Pym put away the weapon that possibly just unlocked a whole new avenue of life for the Avengers and flopped straight into his bed.

“I have to talk to Tony and Bruce tomorrow.” Pym told Friday.

“I’ll ensure you don’t forget it.” Friday told him diligently.

“Tch, thanks Friday.” Pym mumbled. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Henry.” Friday responded softly. 

As Pym closed his eyes and tried to sleep he thought of all the things he and the rest of the Avengers were missing out on, simply because they had no clue it existed. What else was out there? Shape shifting Aliens? Different dimensions? What else could Tony be keeping from them just cause...just cause he felt like it?

Chapter Text

GENOSHA, BEAST’S LAB, APRIL 27, 8:00 UTC

“Worldwide broadcasts should now be online for the very first time.” Beast proclaimed to the room of mutants.

Beasts laboratory was considered one of the ‘hideouts’ for the older X-Men when things needed to get done, they could buckle down and get it sorted. His laboratory was huge mostly because of the fact Hank had needed everything to figure out how to stop the Legacy Virus from spreading any further.

There was a huge screening room, and there were many hospital beds for immediate testing, cryo chambers which had been vital in trying to isolate the virus, multiple computers and scanners and of course ample space for the X-Men.

“Well, let’s see what’s on TV.” Kitty said with a large sigh, and turned on the TV in Hank's room, for the first time in a long time American TV was allowed beyond Genosha’s borders. It hadn’t been simply because Ultron had been able to track that. The funnier thing might have been the fact that there actually was TV during Ultron’s reign.

“Switch it to FOX or CNN, they always seemed to have the latest on every situation.” Emma said with slight disdain. Kitty popped the channel over to CNN and immediately the updates on the USA situation were clear.

“Two months from today will mark the official two year anniversary since our very own Avengers broke Ultron’s hold over America and 70% of the free world. Today we take another deep dive into how they got it done, and how the efforts continue. I’m Alice Gleason, and this is the Avengers Deep Dive.”

The eldest X-Men watched the broadcast with interest. Beast, Emma, Kitty, and Laura the X-Kids protectors were almost hesitant to believe what was right in their faces. Those kids saved the world. And as Emma saw James Rogers face covered in dirt, blood and grime, looking younger than she remembered, shouting orders at his team who looked much the same, she felt bad. Terrible even.

“Those kids shouldn’t have been forced to go through all that.” Kitty said with a sad sigh. “I don’t know Hank, I just couldn’t really believe you when you confirmed it. But seeing it live, it looks so wrong to see those kids doing work us and the original Avengers would have to do.”

“Well there was a need.” Hank explained simply. “The world needed hope and they provided it, The world needed salvation and they brought it, The world needed someone to pick them up and help them every step of the way on its road to recovery. The world needed heroes. And they answered the call.”

“The X-Men have never been heroes, Hank.” Emma told him defensively. “The world never wanted us to answer a call, they would rather die before letting us help.”

“I don’t think that’s true. We were hated for sure. Probably still hated right now. But the world would have accepted anyone with open arms, especially when you end 13 years of tyranny.”

“Regardless.” Laura spoke up for the first time. “What does this all mean? Where do we go from here? It’s now clear that those kids told no lies, they did what they said they did. America is indeed open along with other countries.”

“What and were just supposed to leave Genosha?” Emma questioned, “No we have to stay here.”

“Stay here? Why?” Laura questioned confusedly.

“These are the kids' homes, uprooting them away from that immediately would be terrible. Especially when it’s arguable Genosha is in better shape right now.”

“These kids have no familial ties or binds holding them to this place. If you ask them to move they’ll do it in a heartbeat.”

Emma's annoyance only grew as Laura continued to contest her demands. “So you’d like us to move out?”

“I just don’t know.” Laura admitted. “I think to myself, keep the kids safe. Hide them in Genosha, let them live out their lives. They might not like that but it’d be good for them. But then I remember when I was a child I was never satisfied being still. I had wanted to help but I couldn’t because I had always been scared of myself. When I got over that however. It got hard to sit and watch injustices around me.”

“Your saying our kids are going to have that same mentality?” Kitty assumed, starting to agree a little with Laura’s points.

“Yes. And it won't be all of them but it will be enough to push others to do what they say anyway. Emma, if Megan tells those kids she wants to go help, is anyone disagreeing with her?”

“The Blue squad would.” Emma argued

“Maybe, but not when it comes to this, and especially not when Jimmy is hellbent on helping, Blue team will be the first ones gone.”

“Everyone would agree and help. Especially if Oli and Megan said something.” Hank agreed with Laura 

“And could we stop them?” Kitty posed the question, already knowing the answer for herself. “No they are our kids, they make a decision and like most parents we’d be left behind scrambling to help them out and then scold them later. And they’d be fine with that.”

“They are too young for this.” Emma tried to tell them.

“They’ve trained all their lives.” Laura disagreed.

“Look I understand what you’ve said, but now it’s time you understand what I’m saying.” Emma told the group evenly.

“Bless those Avengers kids and their helpful little souls. I’m sure they are fantastic kids, and their hearts are clearly in the right place. But you understand there is a reason they came to us right? Things are not perfect there, Not even close. It’s not as peachy as it looks on TV and we can’t risk our kids...our kind for a slim chance to make things right, or better than they were before. Things can’t get better than the way they were before, I feel bad for those children because they don’t know that yet.”

“Isn’t that a defeatist mentality Emma? If those children could hear you right now they would tell you your wrong without hesitation. Hope. Hope is what they bring to a multitude of countries with the promises things will get better. And for many of them? Things have gotten better.” Hank argued to his old friend

“And yet not one person can change the world. I like to think that saying applies to five people as well.” Emma fired back.

“And yet those five are doing their damndest to make it happen. And I’ll always respect that.” Hank told the group.

“Look we may not have to do it now, but at some point I’d like us to make a decision. Because I believe Genosha has been beneficial. We have abilities and could be speeding up processes for millions. We have to decide if we're sending out a response team, even for just a little.” Laura insisted.

“Fine.” Emma sighed with annoyance. She didn’t like where this was headed, when had the X-Men ever been asked to do something and weren’t given the short end of the stick? When had the X-Men been asked to do something, and hadn’t been backstabbed at the last second? They weren’t loved, not even liked and that was okay when it was her...but these children, she just couldn’t bear to see them go out like how some of the others had.

She just couldn’t.

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME APRIL 28, 16:40 UTC

“Hurry up.” James called to the Avengers as they slinked into the meeting room. He didn’t understand the attitudes of his teammates.

Francis and Torunn seemed to be in their own little world, chatting about whatever they liked, not even worried about James in the meeting room. Pym had his eyes glued to a tablet, something James had taken notice of the past few days. After the mission he’d ask him what had him so unfocused.

Azari on the other hand seemed…Ready. Like, ready for anything. He was the same kid but he seemed more aware, when they fought it almost seemed like he had leveled up since last time. Still it was nice to see someone else focused on what was important. 

Tony and Banner walked in next, chatting about something bothering them in the midwest, and Riri and Amadeus walked in shortly after. Even Jocasta was there. That meant they were waiting on one person. Or...Android.

“Where’s Vision?” James questioned the room.

“Dunno,” Francis dismissed and went back to his conversation with Torunn, there wasn’t even time to be pissed at the archer as time was of the essence.

“Well? Has anyone seen Vision?” James asked once again.

“Don’t think so.” Pym answered from behind his tablet. “I haven’t seen him in a little bit to be honest.”

“What’s up with that?” James directed towards Tony.

“Truth be told, I don’t know.” Tony admitted. “I guess he has been acting a little strange lately.”

“Great, we lost another superbot.”  Francis moaned .

“Vision is more than just a superbot.” Azari told Francis pointedly. “He’s one of the main reasons we’ve stayed alive for so long. Without him a few of those earlier missions simply aren’t being completed. We aren’t alive today without Vision. We all know Vision pretty well, so if he’s not here I say we give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“Right.” Pym agreed with the Panther. “knowing him he’s probably doing something to benefit us anyways.”

“Alright.” James nodded, considering this. “You guys are right. It’s unlikely anything is seriously wrong. We give Viz the benefit of the doubt, still we have to get through this without him so eyes up and stay focused. Riri, I'm handing it off to you.”

Riri got up and was ready albeit a little nervous to present to the team for the first time, but as the familiar red and green robot phased into the room everyone paused.

“Sorry I’m late.” Vision said cordially as ever. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Not at all Viz. We were just about to start. But why are you late anyway?” James questioned. The android had a habit of being on time. It was abnormal for him not to be.

“I’m afraid I’ve had a few problems within my circuitry in the past few weeks. I’m sorry, I haven’t exactly been myself.”

“Oh, well how come you didn’t come to any of us?” Pym asked curiously. “We would have fixed you right up!”

“These past few weeks have been the busiest the team has been in years. I couldn’t be another unneeded distraction, especially as you had recently returned from your mission in France.”

“That is true.” Francis nodded, feeling a little bad for judging their old friend earlier. “Well as long as he’s okay right guys?”

“Is the problem fixed?” Tony asked him.

“I believe so. I’m ready for any Mission duties.” Vision confirmed.

“Perfect. Vision take a seat, and Riri you can start your explanation.” James directed. Riri nodded and took a deep breath before explaining what she knew.

“So James asked me to do the best I could to get any information about the state of Madripoor and this is basically the best I could find.” Riri started and pulled up the video feed of James and Francis’ interrogation of Radioactive Man and Crossfire.

“James and Francis were correct Chen and Cross didn’t actually say much, there wasn’t much if anything to work with, but this one line gave me a little to work off of.”

Riri pressed play on the video, and the team watched as James paced around the room with Crossfire heavily chained and guarded in his cell.

“What do you have going down in Madripoor?” James asked the villain, getting straight down to business.

There was a long pause as the man seemed to ponder on how to answer, before he responded simply. “Nothing that you and your friends could hope to stop.” 

James seemed to think about this before shrugging his shoulders and smiling. “We stopped you didn’t we?”

“That’s not the same.”

“We stopped Ultron.” James said once more, this time with a serious edge. “Gave people like you a chance to crawl out of whatever hole you were hiding in just so you could try and terrorize more people.” 

The man looked surprised at the venom James held in his voice, but quickly schooled his expression. And James simply continued.

“Ultron had ruled over most of the earth for 13 years. It’s taken another two for you to pick yourself up and pick up where you left off.”

“The grind never stops.” Crossfire said cockily.

“Correct. It doesn’t.” James continued. “A man like you only knows fear and death, the only thing you’ve proven to be good at in this life. So tell me, who’s paying you so much money that you decided to come out of retirement, and why Madripoor?”

“You're not a man kid. Certainly not your old man. You don’t scare me.”

“I should.” James retorted simply. “I’ve spent two years carrying that shield on my back, and you think some wannabe has-been mercenary is going to throw me off my game because he tells me I’m not my father? That I’m a child? I am a child...And I’m still more man than you’ll ever be. I’ll ask again, who’s paying you and why Madripoor?”

This lit a fire under Crossfire, he didn’t even care if he was letting James know that he got to him. “You don’t know a thing!” He sneered. “It’s not even the money this time around! I don’t give a shit about that, most currencies went to hell after Ultron anyway. It’s what we're going to do to people like you that gets me going every morning. This world is begging for someone to come in and save it and we aren’t going to let this opportunity slip through our hands. And I promise you we will destroy you and your group of friends. No mercy.”

“We, so you belong to some type of team or organization. Who’s spearheading it?” James questioned, except this time Crossfire seemed to know he had messed up and was keeping entirely quiet.

“Do you follow Taskmaster, or maybe Radioactive Man? You don’t talk much about Madripoor. Where has Viper been these past years?” James questioned, he didn’t get a single answer but he had made him squirm in his seat.

Riri paused the video, ending the interrogations and pulling up another screen this time with loads of Information on Madripoor.

“It’s obvious James struck a nail so I dug as best as I could into Madripoor as I could. Forums, Dark Web, whatever I could scour and I’ve found that it’s become a safe haven. But not the good kind. It’s become a home for the big bads that used to terrorize people before Ultron.”

“How many do you think are there?” Azari asked.

“I don’t know. It’s almost impossible to tell. It may seem bad, but most of these guys aren’t doing anything and don’t plan on doing anything for a long while.”

“How come?” Francis wondered, “Crossfire is right that this is the perfect time to strike, we are vulnerable.”

“We weren’t the only ones living in fear.” Riri explained, “Everyone was scared of Ultron. Not to mention it’s been almost 15 years. People have gotten very old, they aren’t in fighting shape.”

“Exactly. The people who came to fight us were Crossfire who’s some sort of cyborg, Taskmaster who apparently took a special serum, and Radioactive Man who’s well...Radioactive.” Pym added.

“That’s right. But Madripoor is a state known for its intense criminal activity. It was run by criminals before a lot of superpowered people moved there. The number one woman was Viper.”

“Do you think that’s the ‘We’ Crossfire talked about?” Francis asked.

“Most likely yes. Crossfire, Taskmaster, Radioactive Man, and whatever forces Viper can cook up sounds dangerous.”

“Dangerous but incomplete.” James pointed. “It wouldn’t be possible for Crossfire to be so cocky if 3 out of 4 of them were locked up. There is more to them than we know.”

“Most likely.” Riri admitted. “From what I could research Viper is a woman who surrounds herself with power, and those 4 are pretty strong, but you all could take them out easily. My report is that you need to be extra careful in Madripoor as it’s impossible to tell just how many people are on their side. There could be a couple more. Or a couple hundred more.” 

The latter most likely wasn’t true but they definitely couldn’t take the chance it was. “Alright thanks Riri. After that you should understand why I’ve called for a stealth mission. Me, Azari, Francis, Vision, with Tor and Pym as backup should things head south.”

“Makes sense.” Azari agreed. “When do we leave?”

“A couple of hours.” James told them. “Get your things in order, and get ready. Here’s hoping we stop them today.”

After that the team started to file out of the room, and James couldn’t help but feel a little worried about this mission. If things went well, they might not have to deal with anything like this again. But if things went wrong…Man, for their sake he hoped it didn’t.

Riri was one of the last to leave and she was pretty happy with how everything went. It was her first presentation and it seemed to have gone pretty well.  And she loved being able to help. But she couldn’t help but feel like she could do more.

That’s why as she was alone in the laboratory she opened her schematics, Ironheart V2 the graphic read. She once again made sure there was no one coming and began to work on this suit.

“I can help, I know I can.” She whispered to herself, she wasn’t allowed to go out yet, but that wasn’t going to stop her. As far she was concerned nothing would.

HEROES OF TOMORROW

Francis and Torunn were back in the empty cafeteria, the place was quickly becoming their spot. The archer had been hesitant earlier in the morning, wary of what Torunn was going to say but when she seeked him out and they talked he was optimistic. But now he needed confirmation.

“So Tor.” Francis started, the girl immediately turned to Francis, already knowing what was coming as she had spent hours thinking this over. Francis was in no way a bad guy. She liked him well enough, and it was obvious her and James' relationship wasn’t going anywhere. Not with Daisy all over him.

It hurt to see because he had just told her he wasn’t focused on a relationship, but clearly he had just meant he wasn’t ready for one with her . As she looked at Francis she felt a lot of emotions that were hard to identify, but the one that was the most prominent was unease. She and Francis had made such a habit of breaking up, that after the first or second time no one cared when it was announced anymore.

She could only hope that it wasn’t going to be the case. If they were to get together again this was going to be a real relationship.

“Yeah Francis?” She finally responded. 

“Well it’s been a few days.” He started. “And I was just hoping that I could get a response on the whole dating thing.”

Torunn took Francis, hands in her own and looked him dead in the eye, trying to relay just how serious she was about this.

“When we were younger, we weren’t the most mature when it came to our relationship. I don’t want it to be like that. Constant arguing and getting back together days later. I just want us to take it one day at a time. I don’t want us to break up for the same reasons once again. That would mean we haven’t grown one bit.”

“I agree. I’ll do my best.” Francis nodded with a grin, “And maybe...we keep things a little quieter this time. I’m not sure how everyone would react.”

“Agreed.” Torunn nodded, there was a little pause, the both of them looking at each other in anticipation. If there was one thing Torunn enjoyed with Francis it was this. The physical aspect of their relationship had certainly never been lacking.

As they shared a kiss in the Cafeteria they both couldn’t help but wonder how their mutual red haired friend would react to all this.

As Francis and Torunn enjoyed each other's presence, Azari moved away from the Cafeteria feeling a little bad about hearing things he shouldn’t have, but he hadn’t meant to. He only wanted to get a little advice from Torunn as she was usually pretty wise, but she was busy with Francis.

And he wasn’t going to lie seeing them together made him question just how wise Torunn could be anyway? Those two had as many battles as the Avengers with Ultron, and she still was going to get back together with him. They both needed other people, but in the Arctic Circle it wasn’t very easy to find love.

Regardless he had more important things to deal with. He had needed to figure out how he was going to go about this Kenya business. At this point it seemed like he needed to go with his gut, and his gut wanted to know his mother’s fate. With that he headed to the labs.

Riri was in the smaller one all by herself, she probably wouldn’t want any distractions. He hadn't known the girl long but he knew she didn’t like to be around people all that much.

Pym, Tony, and Banner were doing their own thing in one of the larger labs, so Azari went into one of the labs where Amadeus was very focused on whatever was on his screen, furiously typing in different codes and whatnot.

If there was one thing he could say about the new recruits it’s that they were dedicated.

“Need something Azari?” Amadeus asked without looking from the computer.

“I don’t think so. I’m just going to be using one of the computers.” Azari told him, Azari started off simply enough. Coordinates on Balobedu, the region where his mother was from, and what was it like? How was he going to get the information needed and what was his timeframe? Those were all things he needed to consider.

“Kenya is pretty far.” Amadeus pointed out, in the quietness of the laboratory.

“Yes it is.” Azari sighed. “It’s also a longshot but If I can get more information about my Mother I have to try.”

“I understand. You know I could help you out, take a look at the area. Do some research if you want.”

“You aren’t too busy?” Azari questioned.

“Nah.” Amadeus waved away. “This program I’m running for the Ultron files is going to take a little while and there’s nothing I can do to make it go faster. I’m free until then. If you need the help I’m here to give it.”

“Well I’m afraid there isn’t much to go on. I’m looking for leads on my Mother and it’s possible the best place to look is Kenya. That’s all I have.”

“And that’s all I need. If there is something, I’ll do my best to find it.” Amadeus promised.

“Thank you.” Azari said wholeheartedly. He didn’t know what the return was going to be, but he sure hoped he found what he was looking for.

With Pym he spun around a digitized version of the Raft that was going to be built. The prison was large and was going to be so state of the art. It was weird but the idea of it was almost exciting. It was probably wrong but knowing they would have something to do, that the world was going back to the way it was before things went to hell was great to him. It meant progress.

As he looked at the Raft on the waters of NYC it shifted his mind to another and it made him frown. Atlantis. Looking around it was just him, Tony, and Banner so there probably wasn’t a better time to spring this on them. He’d find out what they were hiding.

“Tony?” Pym questioned.

“What’s up Pym?”

“Are Atlanteans real?” He asked plainly. No skipping around the question, just telling him straightforwardly. He wanted to know and they would respond to him.

Tony and Banner looked at each other, both clearly shocked at Pym's knowledge before going back to work.

“Did you process the last schematic?” Tony asked Pym, clearly trying to make him forget about everything.

“Yeah it’s done.” Pym huffed, annoyed at being ignored. “Did you hear what I asked? Are Atlanteans real?”

“I mean I’m sure they existed at some point. You know what they say, where there's smoke there is fire.”

“Tony, I mean do you know Atlanteans? Do you know about Atlantis? Who’s Namor?” Pym questioned quickly. “These are things I want to know, I know they exist. Tell me the truth.”

“He’s right Tony.” Bruce said honestly. “He clearly already knows, there isn’t any harm. Yes, Atlantis, Atlanteans, and Namor do exist.” Bruce confirmed for Pym to Tony’s dismay.

Tony looked at Pym in a bit of new light before letting out a loud sigh. “Wow. You kids keep surprising me. I mean, before I start, what put you on this trail anyway?”

“It was the gun I took from the Savage Land mission. It was old but the technology was still exceptional.” Pym explained excitedly. “the more I looked into it the closer I got to this myth of Atlantis! Some of your files confirmed my suspicions.”

Tony wanted to slap himself for being so clueless. How could he forget that the Atlanteans had a huge impact on the Savage Lands? If he had, maybe this could have been avoided.

“Stop overthinking it Tony. There are only so many things we can avoid telling them. They are only getting older and smarter. This isn’t a big deal.” Bruce told him before turning to Pym. “What do you want to know?”

“Who are the Atlanteans? What is Atlantis really, and who‘s Namor?” Pym repeated his earlier statement.

“FRI, pull up everything I have in the Mermaid Man files. Password, Neptune’s Trident.” Tony spoke. 

“Access Granted. Pulling up everything in the Mermaid Man files.” FRIDAY said, to Pym’s shock. Quickly tons of Tony’s locked files appeared in thin air and Pym simply marveled at it all, seeing things and names he had never heard of, Dorma, Attuma, Namorita. It was all so much.

“Homo Mermanus.” Tony started. “A genetically evolved species living underwater in the city of Atlantis. Capable of enhanced senses, feats of extreme strength and speed, and even other things depending on the person. You found out that they are commonly referred to as Atlanteans.”

“Wow.” Pym exclaimed. “It’s like a bunch of underwater mutants.”

“Kind of.” Tony agreed. “They are one of two evolutionary offshoots of the human race that we had discovered, the other of course being mutants. There weren’t many, not compared to the Human race. But with the average Atlantean being able to lift a couple of tons they are an extremely dangerous species.”

“An extremely dangerous, annoying and elitist species.” Bruce spat, but the harsh words didn’t properly convey how he felt, rather the faint smirk was more telling. “Great fighters though.”

“The Atlanteans mostly populated Atlantis and some of the surrounding outskirts of the city. Bruce is right they were prone to elitist mentalities. They routinely referred to us as surface dwellers who were nothing more than nuisances in their way. They weren’t afraid of threatening us with destruction.”

“Oh, so they are bad guys.”

“Not exactly.” Bruce shook his head. “They were just very intense. Neutrals at best, they fought for themselves most of the time at the direction of their king.”

“King?” Pym questioned.

“Yes King.” Tony confirmed, and pulled up a picture of a man with slicked back black hair, large black armor on his shoulders and arms, his chest was mostly bare, and his legs were covered in the same black and green armour. Marine life of all sorts surrounded him and on his face he held a steady glare at what was probably an underwater camera.

The last thing Pym noticed was the large trident in the man’s hands. He clearly meant business. “That’s the king?”

“Yes.” Tony confirmed once more. “That is King Namor. Commonly referred to as the Sub-Mariner.”

“Safe to assume he wasn’t much nicer than the rest?” Pym questioned, already knowing the answer.

“Tch, where do you think they got the attitude from?” Bruce scoffed.

“Namor was usually a good man.” Tony explained “At least at the start. The more I got to know him, or should I say the more the Avengers got to know him, relations soured. It might not be a stretch to say that he really would invade the surface if he was annoyed again.”

“So you don’t think he would have helped with Ultron attacking the surface and everything?”

“Not a chance. Namor’s a loose cannon.” Bruce insisted. “He couldn’t care less about Ultron, it saved him the time of destroying Earth himself.”

“Not only that but...Namor has fought in manmade wars before.” Tony explained hesitantly. “It’s really no surprise he didn’t get off his throne.”

Bruce sat back seemingly deep in thought, it was rare to see the scientist like this unless he was with Betty. It made Pym wonder just how extensive the world was before Ultron. “Nonetheless.” Bruce started again “Only a few things would truly get Namor moving to the surface. One was Steve. The other would be an attack on his kingdom. And third well, a certain blonde scientist.”

To Pym, Bruce and Tony had never ever shown their age more than now. The looks they gave each other that conveyed grief and pain that could only be shared with one another as they were the only who could truly understand each other’s turmoil. Never had Bruce’s voice sounded so old, and for a moment Pym questioned whether he should have ever brought this up in the first place.

Tony quickly with a swipe of his hand dismissed all information about Atlantis, Atlanteans, and King Namor, and suddenly they were back to dealing with the schematics of the raft. “That’s enough Atlantis talk for one day.”

“Man, you guys are certain we can’t get any help?” Pym questioned once more. 

“If anything we should fear the sleeping giant that seems to be Atlantis.” Bruce offered. “With the way we are now, I’d be surprised if it took more than a week for them to wipe us off the map.”

“Everything is fine Pym.” Tony insisted with that familiar smile “I’m impressed you managed to find things out about Atlantis, but we need to focus on our missions. Because they won’t be our saviours.Not now, or anytime soon.”

Pym simply nodded at his two mentors and went back to focusing on the Raft. On this occasion he did believe them, but he couldn’t help but wonder. An Underwater City...who knew how valuable that could be?

As the three scientists worked, James was in the mission room with his new partner in crime, Daisy. 

James stood over the table, hands clenching the desk, staring intently at the holographic simulation of their infiltration of Madripoor. It would be hard but as everything went on the holograph accounted for 90% success. It probably wouldn’t get better than that, but it didn’t shake James’ light feeling of unease.

“James, you're getting into your own head.” Daisy called from the other side of the table. She got up from her seat and walked close to his side, in the time they spent he quickly became accustomed to her presence, feeling like he had gotten a handle on the whole treat her like a teammate thing.

“You think so?” James asked with a sigh, and Daisy nodded readily. “I just don’t know,” he admitted.

“I can’t take anything for granted and it’s not often we get to fight unknowns. But at the same time I’m the leader for a reason. I have to scheme around this.”

“And according to the simulations you’ve done that just fine.” Daisy pointed out “Look this is a normal score you get on the simulations right? You guys have got this in the bag. You just need to be you.”

“I guess. It’s probably just because our last mission was a failure. I can’t forget it...it feels like the first time I failed. I don’t like the feeling.”

Daisy surprisingly took his hand in her own and gave him a stern look “Well look, I think I and everyone else in this compound will tell you that nothing is getting easier. And I won’t ever tell you to get used to failure, but we can’t be perfect every time. We just have to give every bit of energy we have. Make sure that we’ve tried our best. You care James. That’s why you’ll succeed.” As she spoke her eyes seemed like they sparkled to James, she just knew what to say. This is why he loved having Daisy around.

“Thank you Daisy. I never thought I’d be the one who’d need that.” James smiled, swiping away his simulation. It was time for action. 

“Yeah well of course I’m always here.” Daisy said a bit awkwardly, her cheeks flushing pink. James tried to ignore it, and headed for the door ready to exit.

“The mission shouldn’t be too long. You guys hold the place down.” He commanded without turning around.

“Wait!” He heard and then there was a sudden tug on his arm spinning him around towards Daisy. “You weren’t actually going to leave without saying goodbye were you Captain?”

“Of-Of course not Daisy.” James laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, before placing his hands around her waist. They seemed to stare at each other for a while before Daisy placed a tender kiss on his cheek. “Safe trip, come back fast.” Daisy told him quickly, walking out of his room without looking back.

“Gotcha.” James replied just as quickly, going the opposite direction as her. Neither commented on the fact that their faces were beet red. But in both of their minds the intentions were clear. They had to talk about their...relationship. ASAP. Still James shook his head quickly doing his best to focus on Madripoor.

“Mission time.” He whispered to himself. Hopefully this went well.

PRINCIPALITY OF MADRIPOOR, TARGO CORPORATION, APRIL 27, 8:00 UTC

“And we're sure that you know, this is the place?” Hawkeye questioned, they were flying low into the country of Madripoor. All of the Avengers for what felt like the first time in years. It was probably true since Vision almost always did his own things with Tony. But he was here with them now, chances of victory were high.

“Vision, Tony, Banner, Cho, Riri, and I have calculated that this is the most probable place to go.” Pym explained to Francis. “If all of us combined can’t target one place in a relatively small country. We could never get anything done.”

“Hmph. And we're sure that Pym and I should sit back?” Torunn asked, the disgust clear in her voice. “There’s no way I can come with the rest of you?”

“Sorry Tor.” James told the Asgardian,“You are one of our strongest, but stealth is not your strong suit. And if things spiral out of control having you back to save the day is the best option. You and Pym should be able to stop anything if it gets out of hand.”

“Alright.” Torunn sighed, but it was clear she still didn’t like it.

“We are approaching the building fast.” Vision told the crew. “I suggest those of us who are dropping down get into position. Our window is short.”

“Right.” James nodded, getting up from his seat, and strapping his shield to his back. “Vision you’ve got Francis, Azari let’s go.”

“Stay patient.” Azari told Torunn with a grin. “Honestly knowing our luck the fight will come to you anyway.

With that Azari followed James who had already leaped right out of the plane without a care in the world, next Vision and Francis left, but not before Francis gave her a concealed wink and jumped out of the plane himself.

The group of four landed on a rooftop not far at all from the main building the Master’s were using. 

“Everyone knows their roles?” James asked as he used his infrared goggles to try and see through the building. The fact that he couldn’t get any clear readings, told him that they were in the right place.

“I believe so, Captain.” Vision answered for the group.

“Wasp?” James asked through his commlink. The boy didn’t respond for a while, before his voice finally came through “Everythings a go to proceed boss.”

“Alright then. Vision lead the way.” James commanded. With a slight nod the android took the lead and led the group of four towards the building where all of this would hopefully end.

“We need stealth gear.” Francis pointed out suddenly, as they traversed the shadows of the city sneakily, avoiding everywhere Vision ordered.

“Not now Hawkeye.” James told him instantly.

“Not now, then when?” Hawkeye retorted easily. “I personally don’t believe there’s a better time to talk about our distinct lack of stealth costumes. What kind of Ops Team doesn’t have stealth unis?”

“You believe the best time to have this conversation is in the middle of a mission.” Azari asked skeptically, but he could always appreciate Francis’ random mission talks. It was a good stress reliever even if James didn’t admit it.

“To be fair, we aren’t doing much now are we?” Francis pointed out “We just have to wait for Vision to do his thing, so there’s ample time to talk about our lack of gear.”

“Is it really that important?” James asked, “We rarely go on stealth missions.”

“I mean true, it doesn’t happen often. But we should be prepared in every situation, dontcha think? Going into other countries wearing red and blue makes you stick out like a sore thumb. And my purple? It’s stylish, but not very functional.”

“I guess.” James admitted, as Vision began to interface with the building. “It’s just, It’s a symbol don’t you think? People associate us with these colours.”

“True I guess. Buuuut, the other day I saw that our parents had stealth uniforms. It was the coolest thing. We need them as well, I’m telling you.”

“Whatever, we can talk about this more, after the mission.” James told Francis, not wanting to admit that he was starting to think an All-Black Captain AMerica costume would look pretty cool. “Now can we focus up please?”

“Sure.” Francis nodded, still more focused on the colour scheme of their unis then the actual mission.

“Vision, how is everything going?” Azari questioned the robot. He stood still, and had a pensive look on his face, as he interfaced with the advanced building. “Viz?” Azari questioned once more as they got no answer.

“Wasp status on Vision.” James commanded quickly, Vision was absolutely integral to the plan, things wouldn’t work without the android.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He seems to be in the mainframe but from what I can tell whatever command he’s trying to use has...glitched his matrix? I don’t know. I haven’t studied Vision in a while.”

“Tony, can you confirm?” Azari asked through the commlink.

“Pym is right. Something is wrong with whatever he’s trying to do..But I don’t think it’s necessarily that he couldn’t do it. At least he couldn’t do that normally. From the scanner on the Quinjet, somethings up with Vision’s internals.”

“What does that mean?” Francis questioned worriedly. “Is he going to full Ultron on us!?!?!?” 

“No, no.” Tony insisted, calming him down. “It means-

“Error.” Vision cut him off. “Command 36J-SS9314 does not function. Shutting down, preparing to reboot.”

“It means that.” Tony said with a sigh. “He’s broken.”

“Vision just shut himself down. Like a robot, I’ve never seen him do anything like that.” Azari noted. “He’s always been so… human .”

“Yeah well, he’s not, and we should have known he wasn’t okay.” Francis pointed out, angry at himself for missing it. “Now we’re screwed.”

“Yeah, we are screwed if we keep focusing on this. If you guys haven’t noticed there are bigger things we need to give our attention to.” James told them, and pointed to a floor in the building, where tons of robots were filing down to meet them.”

“This is what’s going to happen.” James began to order them, “Pym you're going to come here and grab Vision. Stay in the plane and ensure his reboot is successful. You should join us whenever you can after that. Torunn we need you now. We are engaging in a full frontal assault against the MOE, you are our top gun. Azari and Francis, It’s the same plan as always.”

“It will be dangerous James.” Tony warned.

“Yeah but what other choice do we have?” James questioned. Running wasn’t an option, the others would never allow that. And if these guys were truly the enemy, then why not take them out right now?

It wouldn’t be quiet, but hardly anything they did ever was. So why did this plan fill him with such dread?

“Don’t worry Cap.” Francis told him, surprising everyone with the conviction in his tone. “We’ve got this. We haven’t lost a battle yet, and we won't lose one now.”

“Right.” James nodded at him. “First wave. Azari, it's all yours. These robots don’t look like heavy hitters, but we know better than to underestimate them. Let a couple leak, and remember these guys aren’t the end game.”

Azari nodded and flew a bit into the air creating some distance between him and the coming robots, James and Francis stood behind him ready for him to do his thing. His body glowed blue and electricity crackled around his body intensely.

The robots weren’t taller than 3ft and had one singular wheel for legs. They were fairly fast and immediately once they noticed him starting shooting egg shaped bullets that exploded against his electrical shield on impact.

He left a few of the robots get past him to James and Francis before he charged up his electricity and released a devastating blast that fried most of the robots, after that he hunted down a few loose ones while James and Francis got a closer look at them.

Down with James and Francis, James adeptly avoided getting blown up by the little robots, while Francis had his bow and arrow at the ready in case anything went wrong. But quickly James threw his shield cutting the robot right in half, shutting it down instantly.

While Azari dealt with the masses the two heroes inspected the little robot. “You seeing this Tony? High quality steel, and high-calibre explosives that are hidden behind a stupid egg gimmick. These things were rapid as well. 20ish rounds in a matter of seconds.”

“Yeah, that’s Egghead’s work. Leave it and I’ll have a drone from the Quinjet pick it up.” Tony responded.

“Great, it’s time to make a push.” James insisted. It was the perfect time as Torunn had finally come from the Quinjet and Azari had finished up destroying what was left of the little robots.

James led the charge on the ground while Torunn and Azari flew through the air, they barely made it through the building when suddenly Torunn was punched out of the air by something that easily broke the sound barrier.

“Torunn!” Francis yelled immediately. He started to run after her, but James held him back quickly “Focus Francis. I need you here with me. We’ve got enemies incoming, and Torunn can take care of herself.”

“But Tor-”

KRAK! A furious fist connected with James face sending him flying towards the ground. Immediately, Francis backflipped away and shot an arrow at their assailant. If he wasn’t focused before he certainly was now.

James got up quickly and stood with Azari and Francis, and in front of them was Taskmaster, Black Ant who had shrunk down and was on his shoulder, and a female who they didn’t know.

She had dark skin and white braided hair to go along with it. She wore a black jumpsuit with a very revealing chest area, and small yellow jacket over top of it.

It was clear that she was older, and it was obvious from her demeanor that she meant business. It took James a moment but he recognized the woman as Knockout, a woman a part of an old villainous group called the Femme Fatales. 

She looked good for what had to be an advanced age, and it made James wonder just how many peoples powers kept them in their primes.

“Your run is ending here.” James told them, though his words were more directed at Taskmaster. Before he could even respond, there was a shockwave felt all throughout the city.

“Seems like your Asgardian friend has just met Moonstone.” Taskmaster said with a laugh. “Won’t be surprised if only one of them comes back out.”

Another devastating shockwave hit the city and it was hard to remember the last time Torunn had gone full power so quickly. Even fighting Radioactive Man hadn’t been like that. Glass from buildings all around littered their battlefield, and all they could do was hope that no one got hurt.

“We’ll see about that.” Was all James said before charging his savvy opponent. The worry had never left him however and as the fighting began it only got worse. Still now wasn’t the time to give up.

“Azari!” James yelled as he shot towards Knockout instead of Taskmaster. Taskmaster was a dangerous opponent to those without powers, but for someone like Azari, he should have been able to deal with him no problem.

The Knockout woman had not expected James' shield to smash into her face and sent her smashing into the side of the Targo building.

He was happy that Francis had clearly done his homework and sent two taser arrows straight at Knockout, not giving her a real chance to recover. Instead as she tried to rise up, it sent her slumping to the ground.

They had just taken out what seemed to be their second biggest gun in a matter of seconds. Why did James still feel so underprepared? Azari had already dealt with Black Ant and was pushing Taskmaster to his limits. What was wrong? What could it be!?!?!

KRAKOOM! It felt like the entire principality of Madripoor shook from the force of Torunn and Moonstone’s punches, the destruction was palpable, and James realized that Torunn’s fight was a big source of his current anxiety.

“Torunn, keep the fight to the skies.” James tried to comm in. But he didn’t get any response “Torunn, come in. Keep the destruction to a minimum.”

“She’s not responding.” Francis said worriedly. “Why isn’t she responding? She could be getting punched in the face and she’d still respond.”

James didn’t respond but he knew what Francis was saying was true. “Signal Jammers. They are fairly effective.” A new deep voice came into the fray.

“Azari check on Torunn. Get her over here.” James commanded and looked over at their new opponent. Well, it was actually more like their new opponents as there were two people casually walking towards their battleground. 

“Viper and Zemo. Who would have guessed.” Francis spat sarcastically. 

“Certainly not you child, or you would have been smarter than walking straight into enemy territory.” Viper said nonchalantly.

It pissed Francis off to no end and he nocked an arrow in what seemed like a millisecond ready to shoot at any time. 

“Stand down Francis. Something tells me this isn’t a time to fight.” James had read Viper and Zemo’s profiles. There was no way he’d lose a fight to them. 

For them to be so confident, something else had to be at play. 

“Aha, so you're not all dense muscle heads.” Viper said with a wry smile. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised considering your heritage.”

“What have you done?” James got straight to the point, this antsy feeling had invaded him all day and had finally reached its pinnacle. 

“On the contrary boy, I think we should be asking you what you’ve done.” Zemo retorted calmly.

“Why?” James questioned. “Why more destruction? Why more of this, after all the Earth has been through?”

“Because at the end of the day Earth needs guidance, boy.” Zemo answered swiftly. “The human race has shown time and time again that if given a chance between the right and wrong option they will take the wrong option every single time.”

“I don’t think rejecting Hydra’s ways has ever been the wrong option.”  Francis said with a snarl “What’s the endgame here? Why have Torunn and Moonstone fight, all it’s doing is causing destruction.”

“You attacked our home. Should we not have retaliated?” Viper asked with a smile.

“We’ve only come here because you’ve attacked us first.” Francis pointed out angrily, they were trying to make it seem like it was their fault, and for James the gears were turning.

 “True, but it’s semantics isn’t it? Plus does there have to be a reason for a fight? All that matters is the end product.”

“You wanted this.” James said suddenly. “You planned for this. You knew we’d come. Physically you can’t match up to us. That much is obvious. But it’s never just been about fighting. There’s so much more that goes into planning something like this.”

“Ah, yes, yes, yes!” Viper laughed excitedly, clapping her hands with joy. Suddenly she stopped and glared evilly “You finally understand...There are levels to this boy. We are not mindless robots, and today your inexperience has shown. Try again next time, if you're even allowed.”

James glared hard, but didn’t have anything to say, they needed to get out of there and fast. “Hawkeye let’s go now.”

Hawkeye didn’t question anything, still confused about everything that was going on. But James sounded pissed off and worried, there was no time for questions.

They ran back to their ship and every shockwave they felt only made James' heart tighten more and more. How could they have been so stupid?

Thankfully Pym and Vision had met them halfway, and they hopped in quickly “We need to pick up Torunn and Azari and get the hell out of here now. ”

“On it boss.” Pym told him, and flew the plane closer to the area of the fight. Thankfully the punches seemed to have died down, probably because of Azari. But James knew the damage was already done.

The ship pulled up and James wasted no time going on the intercom “ Get in the damn plane!”

Abruptly, Torunn stopped fighting and gave a curious look at Moonstone, and then the Quinjet. “ Now! ” James demanded.

Azari flew up towards them first, and Torunn came second. The moment she got into the jeet he was back to barking orders “Punch it Pym.”

The young Avenger did as he was told and hightailed it out of Madripoor. With them finally leaving the place, James felt like he could let out the breath he was holding. It still didn’t make him feel any better.

“James…” Torunn started “What’s wrong?” In James mind the better question would be what wasn’t wrong? Still his teammates were looking to him for an answer, and he had an obligation to respond.

“Guys. We made a really big mistake.”

HEROES OF TOMORROW

James had spent the majority of the plane ride explaining to his team how they had gotten completely played. The way he understood it was that they had been baited.

The Masters of Evil had wanted this to happen. They expected their missions to Madripoor, and used it to their advantage. Physically the team matched up just fine. He was sure that they were probably even stronger than the Masters. 

But they hadn’t been fighting a physical battle not this time. The Masters of Evil were doing their best to try and make the Avengers look bad. The masses would no doubt see what happened in Madripoor, and somehow Viper and Zemo had a way to pin this on them.

They were going to beat the Avengers in one category they couldn’t partake in. Politics. And there wasn’t a thing they could do about it.

They had just been dominated in a game they didn’t even know they were playing. Like Viper had told him. There were levels to this.

Entering the Compound James would take no sympathies. He saw the looks on people’s faces. As bad as he thought things were. There was a good chance things were even worse.

As he led the team into the compound he spotted Daisy who immediately started talking “James it’s not your fault.”

“We all know that’s not true. Now how bad is it?” 

“James…” Daisy sighed, but she knew he’d only get angrier if she didn’t tell him what was up “It’s bad. Really bad.”

“We didn’t even do anything wrong!” Torunn insisted angrily. “That Moonstone even attacked me first!”

No one said anything and instead they entered their meeting room where Riri, Amadeus, Banner, and Tony were waiting for them already watching the broadcast.

In Recent news Madripoor has gone to the United Nations on the subject of America and its heroes. Specifically the Avengers. The recent reckless actions of the young team has led many to believe that there needs to be some restrictions on the group.

Aside from the Avengers the US’ governmental situation has also been called into question. The recklessness of the Avengers have accelerated ideas the UN have already put into motion. Nothing is official but we understand that this is the likely outcome. The UN will tell the American People to choose a leader, or else they will choose one for us.

The person the UN has in contention… Evander Worthington. A man supposedly of American...and German descent. We will update the story as more information comes to us.

“He works for the Masters of Evil doesn’t he?” Azari sighed. They had really gotten played like little children.

“There’s no proof-

“Come on Tony.” James cut him off. “It’s obvious! We... I screwed up. And now our whole country has to pay the price.”

Nobody said anything as it was clear how torn up James was over this. The mood had certainly plummeted as things continued to heat up. It was becoming clear to the Heroes of Tomorrow that they hadn’t been through the worst of things yet.

“Well played,” Francis said with a sigh. “Well played.”

Chapter Text

GENOSHA, XAVIER'S MANSION, MAY 2, 8:00 UTC

“It’s kind of weird having an actual use for this TV now isn’t it?” Michael told the teens as they crowded around the large flatscreen. 

With Michael was the GeNext team composed of Megan Summers, Olivier LeBeau, His sister Ray, Pavel Rasputin, and Anne-Marie. 

In the corner of the room watching Michael flip through the TV channels was his own teammates, the Blue team. The three Js or how they were commonly known Jimmy (Wolverine's son), Jane (Psylocke’s daughter), and Jessica (Cable and Dominos kid) and Sofia (Sunspots girl) were there as well. 

And lastly relaxing in the common room was the Gold team. TJ Wagner (Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch’s daughter), Olivia Blaire (Dazzler's daughter), Lily-Rose Jones (Firestar’s kid), Miguel McCoy (Beast's son), and Thomas Creed the son of Sabretooth. 

Michael flipped through the channels without a care in the world, and everyone watched him. Most had been underwhelmed by the return of TV as it seemed nothing good was ever on. But as Michael flipped through and spotted the familiar red, white, and blue of an American icon. He stopped, and the all the attention shifted to the woman’s voice on the broadcast

And so reports have been confirmed that the UN are indeed forcing the American people to speed up and find a suitable candidate for this “Presidential” election

As reported before Evander Worthington Is the UNs top pick for the US presidency. And while many people are questioning the integrity of the UN picking a leader for the people. The US has still been given their own candidate, which should be announced soon. 

Next up the statement of James Rogers on the unsanctioned mission to Madripoor on ABC news. 

The heroes watched with great interest as James came up on the TV talking about how all of their missions were unsanctioned, and that this wasn’t any different than before, while claiming the truth would be revealed. 

“This is crazy.”  Jessica marveled at the news report, and every single one of them agreed. 

“I guess he wasn’t kidding when he said they needed the X-Men’s help.” Ray murmured, to which Jimmy scoffed obnoxiously 

“Obviously.”

“That’s not fair.” Olivier insisted however “The X-Men should help the Avengers but...how could we expect them to deal with this? It’s politics.”

“Is it even legal,” Megan wondered, “I mean...Choosing someone else’s president seems all types of sketchy and wrong.”

“Normally I’d say yeah,” Miguel explained “But with the world the way it is right now, it’s no surprise guys in suits think they can just make decisions for everyone.”

“I don’t get it.” Lily said with a frown “You're telling me that all it took was one mission gone wrong and all the goodwill the Avengers earned over the few years is gone?”

“Adults can be weird Lily.” TJ sighed, not understanding any of it either. 

“I think you mean people are stupid.” Thomas offered “Most of those people wouldn’t be alive without the Avengers.”

“Exactly.” Jessica nodded “The truth is these people have probably been waiting for a reason to shackle the Avengers up and control their every move. They probably never had goodwill in the first place.”

“Makes you wonder if maybe the X-Men had a point about staying out of it.” Pavel noted

“What do you mean by that?” Olivia questioned curiously 

“Well if the Avengers who saved the world from Ultron’s 13 years of world dominance aren’t allowed to make one mistake...How fast would the government try and take us out?”

“That’s irrelevant.” Jimmy insisted

“How so?” Olivier questioned, genuinely wondering how Jimmy could wave this away so easily.

 “It’s not about us, and you have to realize that this is only possible because of the age of the Avengers. The UN believes they are too young to be left unchecked. In reality it’s an abuse of power. This wouldn’t happen to us because we have Emma, my sister, Hank, and Kitty.”

“They have Tony Stark.”

“If we know that Tony Stark is partially at fault for Ultron, don’t you think whoever is masterminding this will know too?” Jessica posed

“Yeah, that’s a good point.” Olivier admitted with a sigh “But you guys have to admit the longer this goes on the crazier it gets. It’s getting harder to figure out how the X-Men can still help.”

“You're right but that’s why maybe we need to get to America as fast as possible.” Jessica decided “For all we know we could be helping them with something but instead we are over here, not really doing anything.”

“Exactly we have the power.” Jimmy told them with his heavy drawl “We have to make sure we use it. I don’t know about you all, but I don’t feel like being dominated by some other wannabe. Living in Genosha because of some stupid robot for most of our lives was bad enough. Let’s not make the same mistakes our parents did.”

“Right.” Jane agreed with her teammate “If there is a chance to help these guys...I’m taking it.”

All the blue team members nodded in agreement with Jane and went back to watching the TV. But for the others. They looked around at each other and shared worrying looks. What could the Blue Team possibly mean by taking a chance if it came to them?

Nobody said anything but they were all thinking the same thing. Please please please don’t do anything stupid.

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, MAY 2, 12:00 UTC

Time had passed with the Avengers and it hadn’t done much for the morale of the team. It seemed like every single day a new piece of information was being revealed. And at times it was obvious the Masters of Evil were pulling the strings.

However sometimes it felt like it was just the United Nations doing what they did best. And according to Bruce in the Avengers case that meant screwing things up.

For what felt like the first time in a while they had grouped up in the meeting room and they were going over everything they knew.

“I’m not going to lie.” Francis started, bringing all the attention over towards him “As we keep learning new things and more information is released, things begin to look more and more out of our reach.”

“We can’t afford to think like that Francis.”  James told his teammate with a sigh, but of course even he had been thinking that recently. It was getting harder to see a realistic way out of this.

“I know James, but you're the guy with the plans right?” Francis asked him “Do you have a solution? I bet you don’t and I don’t blame you. Who the hell could solve this? What once was a problem between us and the Masters of Evil now includes us and the entire world. At the very least the entirety of America. I’m not even sure your Dad could solve this problem.”

“It looks bad but this is going to take a lot of strategic planning, and yeah I’m going to be honest I don’t have the answers right now, but I’m confident that all of us together can get... something . Because we have to.” James insisted

“Well then we need to figure out where to start.” Pym insisted “Do you have anything right now James?”

Everyone looked towards their leader and these were the moments James desperately wished he had all the answers. Everyone, even Bruce and Tony were looking curious. Francis had said he wasn’t sure his Dad could solve this, but James knew that he could, it was just what he did. 

“Well the way I see it we need to have our own candidate. It’s really the only way to beat the Masters of Evil. All of us are too young to run for president. If Bruce tried, well it’s common knowledge that he's the Hulk. And while I’ve been thinking that Tony could try I think-

“That I have way too many skeletons in my closet.” Tony finished for him.

“Exactly. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tony ran and it was immediately leaked that Tony had created Ultron in the first place. We're at a loss.”

“All that is true.” Tony admitted “But that doesn’t mean everything is lost. None of us are politicians and that’s not exactly a problem. Because America already has their candidate. And if she is how I remember then I think we are in good hands.”

“She?” Francis asked surprised

“Yes she.” Tony confirmed, with a grin and made a couple of movements and a hologram of a blonde lady in a suit in a government like building “Valerie Cooper. Possibly the next president if things go right.”

“And you know this woman?” Pym questioned as they inspected her personal information. And to be fair her credentials were nearly perfect. But he had seen the profile that had been cooked up for Evander Worthington as well, and there hadn’t been any blemishes either.

“Yeah. Valerie is one of the few government officials I’ve known since before the Ultron Revolution. The reason why we trust her so much is because of her extensive work with the X-Men. She was head of mutant affairs for years and developed an unique perspective for the X-Men. She always did her best to make sure Mutants and the X-Men had the best rights. Regardless of who was opposing her. She was determined that everyone got the best.”

“That’s why you haven’t been as worried as the rest of us.” Azari noted “Huh this is interesting.” 

“Yeah that is why.”

“I guess but does this really change anything? This isn’t in our hands plus Valerie is a girl. Disadvantage us.”

“Francis!” Torunn scolded immediately “That is very sexist and-

“Obviously.” Francis sighed “It is sexist, and that doesn’t mean I’m wrong. I have no problem with a lady president. But who knows how everyone else feels. I’m sure a lot of the older people will pick Worthington just because of that.”

“I mean I guess he’s also not wrong.” Pym admitted “But it’s impossible to really tell how much this would affect voting. It has been 13 years. I like to believe we're a little more progressive.”

“Look Gender, Sex, Race, won’t play a part in this. Maybe, maybe being a mutant would affect polling but I’m confident that in the state the world is in, an Octopus could run and if they showed any sort of intelligence, and the people would pick them. The people are not that happy with us right now, but I’m confident I could get over 10 million votes despite not knowing much about being a president and only being 16.” James explained to the people 

“Being a female is not what’s going to make Valerie lose. If Valerie is as good as Tony says she is then she’s going to get picked. If we put our faith in Valerie and Tony then the only thing we need to worry about is sabotage.”

“Agreed.” Azari told them “If Valerie is a good woman then when it comes to her all we can do is have faith she can string together a good campaign. We know that Worthington is a Masters of Evil pawn and most likely Hydra. In the grand scheme of things he’s really just a pawn for a devious organization. The people don’t understand that. And if we find a way to make that known, we can influence the polling without in my opinion being unethical.”

“Which is kind of a big thing for us since you know, we're the Avengers.” Pym added on to Azari’s words of wisdom.

“You're right.” James nodded “We can still help, just not in the way we can. Tony, is it possible to maybe get in contact with Valerie, maybe we don’t make it known about what she’s going up against, but provide her with an adequate security detail?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem getting in contact with her, but I’m not sure she’s actually going to say yes.”

“That’s fine. I’ll feel better if we atleast tell her.” James smiled before turning to Pym “Pym can you, Banner, and Cho continue to work on analyzing the Master’s of Evils moves? We know where they might be based out of so I’m hoping it might be a little easier for you guys. We need a lock on wherever they move. We can’t be blindsided ever again.”

“We can certainly do our best.” 

“Great well then we're mostly set. The rest of us can’t do much but stay ready at a moment’s notice. I know it probably feels like we’ve lost more in the past few weeks than we have ever . But remember we haven’t lost the war yet . Just a couple of battles. Things like this can be tedious. We have to stay hopeful. Remember what we are guys?”

“The Avengers.” Torunn remarked instantly, bringing a smile on the rest of their faces.

“Yeah exactly. The Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.” James continued “We’ve taken down a killer robot that ruled the world for 13 whole years. We can do anything. Especially beat a couple of oldies looking to get back their moments of glory. Right?”

“Right.” A resounding yes was heard, and James and the team were feeling more inspired than ever.

“Great, now come on! Everybody in. Avengers on 3.” James commanded as he stuck his hand out in the air, suddenly hands piled on top of his. “Come on Bruce, you too were all in this together.”

“1...2...3...AVENGERS!” they all called, and finally the atmosphere felt like it had returned. This was how the place felt before all of this Masters of Evil stuff had started. When all they had to focus on was fixing the world and scrapping bots. 

“Alright, let’s let them do their thing. The rest of us who aren’t smart enough to be in the room. Get some sleep, or train or whatever you want to. Just make sure you're at your best.”

With that James, Torunn, and Francis filed out of the room, as they were really the only three who weren’t super smart. Azari only stayed a little longer talking Tony about something. Pym and Banner took off, leaving Cho alone in the main labs as he was working on the Ultron files. Tony left to his own laboratory, and that left Riri who left to her own little Lab as well.

As she once again made sure the place was secure. When she was sure it was, she went to the corner of the lab where there was a larger corridor with a large human sized glass case that was covered in a black tarp.

When Riri removed the tarp there was a slim Ironman like suit in the container though this one was all grey, and it was still missing the arc reactor. For Riri she had already finished making the arc reactor all she needed to do was place it in, and finish the colouring of the suit and then technically her prototype should have worked.

As Riri got to work she had a huge smile on her face “Now...when and where will I get a chance to test this out?”

HEROES OF TOMORROW

James flipped away from the bullets and threw his energy shield straight through 4 different attackers garbed in Hydra green and yellow. After defeating them Taskmaster immediately appeared, and James wasted no time in pressing his advantage, changing up his fighting style every few moves, making sure to never be predictable.

It wasn’t long before he flipped over the Taskmaster’s own shield and expanded his energy shield before throwing it straight through the man somewhat brutally. He landed behind him a sweaty mess, a sweaty, but happy mess. 

Simulation Complete. Simulation Grade: A+. Well done James Rogers. The room rang out causing James to smile.

Truthfully it had been a little while since he had gotten one of those. All these new opponents had forced him to adjust his training a bit and Taskmaster had especially given him troubles. You didn’t necessarily need the best grade to defeat your opponents. But according to Tony his father liked to be thorough, as he felt it made him the best he could be, and his Mother was obsessed with perfection, certainly because of her assassin heritage.

Once he knew that he did his best to put this a part of his rigorous training regime as well. It hadn’t become much of his problem when all they fought was the Ultron bots, but Taskmaster had him on his toes.

But with this win he could finally say that he was calmer now. That pep talk he had given wasn’t just for the team, but for himself as well. Everyone was struggling with these additional problems, and it would take a strong mindset to get past everything.

James was prepared to leave when Daisy slinked into the Training Room. She was wearing a tight black tank top and some yoga pants and James couldn’t stop his face from turning as red as a tomato. Quickly he put his head down and got ready to leave.

“You look ready to leave, but care for a quick spar. I don’t want to hold you, but I'm interested in seeing how I match up against you.”

“Of course.” James nodded, but internally he was having a minor freak out as he wondered how he was supposed to focus on Daisy at all. He could gameplan and fight the biggest threats the world had ever seen but Daisy was what currently left him flabbergasted and at a loss.

“Great!” Daisy called excitedly with a big smile, and wasted no time dragging James to the training mat.

James got into his stance and watched as Daisy did the same mimicking his fighting appearance nearly perfectly. She really was one of the best fighters there, she just wasn’t enhanced. “I know I’m trying to test my limits, but try to keep down the super heroics yeah? Don’t think I want to get my head popped even if it’s by Captain America.”

“Noted.” James told her with a grin “Whenever you’re.”

Daisy wasted no time and tried to press her advantage attempting to catch him off guard but it wasn’t anything that he didn’t expect. He parried her furious kicks, and let her continue with her barrage of attacks, before going on the offensive making sure that she was on her toes.

The spar went like that for most of the time, James not trying his hardest, but Daisy was definitely getting a good workout in. Still she wanted a bit more intensity from James who she felt like was not as focused on the fight as he usually was.

It was sudden as she flipped forward, and feinted a punch to the face and wrapped a leg around his own tripping Captain America, of course he was Captain America, so even though he was caught off guard and falling it didn’t stop him from grabbing her arm and pulling her down with him, and suddenly it was a grappling match.

Or at least it was supposed to be, rather they both fell to the ground in a heap of giggles at the awkward position they landed in. It was with Daisy that James could really stop, slow down and be the 16 year old he truly was.

It was that something for some reason was getting harder and harder to do with the Avengers. He turned to Daisy as they laid on the ground and it was like she already knew what he was thinking. She swiftly pushed forward and grabbed his face placing a lingering kiss on the Super Soldier’s lips.

“I-Was that too much?” Daisy questioned as she pulled away quickly and stood up “I’m sorry I got over eager. But I just couldn’t take it anymore. I hope your not mad, and if you don’t want to pursue this I totally get i-

“Daisy.” James called quickly. “Just relax. I...liked it.” As far as first kisses went James was sure that one was  a pretty good one.

“You did?” Daisy asked quietly, face flushed. It was funny as she was usually the confident one.

“Yeah, it was nice.” James insisted and pulled her closer “I wouldn’t mind doing it again even.” 

“Really?” She nearly squeaked, and James nodded before he swooped in slowly and placed a kiss on her lips. This was the best he felt in a long time.

ALL AVENGERS TO THE MEETING ROOM PLEASE. I REPEAT THIS IS AMADEUS SPEAKING I HAVE SOME NEWS! PLEASE BE QUICK.

James and Daisy pulled away from each quickly, sharing a quick look. It seemed like they never ever got to finish what they started, but for James, not tonight.

“We are talking after this!” James insisted as he ran out of the room. He didn’t give Daisy any chance to say anything as he grabbed his shield at the exit and ran to the meeting room.

As he got there Torunn was already along with Pym and Francis. And Azari flew in right after him. Riri and Tony ran into the room and Bruce and Vision were talking to each other quietly in the corner.

“What’s the situation?” James demanded from Amadeus, and while he was anxious and thought something was wrong, Amadeus’ huge smile made it obvious to James and the rest of the Avengers that this probably wasn’t what they thought it was.

“Oh man you guys are going to love me!” Amadeus cheered happily once more. And James just sighed and decided to listen to Amadeus. 

“We better.” Francis muttered angrily “I thought you had a real problem for us to solve.”

“Oh sorry..we can maybe do this at another time-

“No.” James commanded “You called us and I’m sure it’s for a great reason. Go on Amadeus. Whatever you need we can all take time out of our day for this.”

Francis just muttered annoyedly before looking at Torunn who instead pointedly looked at the ground face flushed something that Azari only seemed to notice.

“Welp let me just get right into it then!” Amadeus told them, before moving things around on the digital screen. And they all saw what popped up on the screen, a folder that they had seen Tony, Bruce, Pym and Azari take cracks periodically over time.

Ultron Files . Dated all the way back to the day they defeated Ultron. Over two years. “Guys. I cracked it.”

“No fucking way.” Francis' response was immediate. And it was what they were all thinking. As far as they all knew Amadeus had been working on that for a week, tops? And he managed this already?

“Okay maybe I haven’t cracked all of it.” And just like that the atmosphere dropped and Amadeus wasn’t having it “But, but, but. It’s all in due time. Meanwhile I have 9% of everything Ultron ever stole.”

“9%?” Torunn questioned

“It may not sound like much Torunn but you have to remember that Ultron basically stole the internet. He locked me out from obtaining most of my own files. 9% is actually going to be a lot. And of course, Amadeus has already unlocked 9% more than any of us could manage at all.” Tony explained to the Asgardian.

“High praise! And while I could bore you with how I did it, I think you rather understand what’s actually in the files. And yeah admittedly most of it is useless to us. This is from more than 13 years ago so it’s not inherently important. But, but, but. I did unlock some more information pertaining to Ultron and the Avengers.”

Amadeus went to a section and it was detailed and labeled with tons of different names that they had never heard of. “Look here we have extensive files on how Ultron conducted business, some of the people he did business with, schematics on certain cities and countries. From what I’ve unlocked we can get a look into the mind of Ultron. We can understand why he destroyed New York but never did the same to any other city in the entire world. The information we can pry from this will be huge.”

“That is interesting..” Tony admitted, but he seemed to have a pensive look on his face “And you said you found some things of the Avengers.”

“Oh yeah!” Amadeus smiled and began to type a few more things pulling up more and more files. “I knew the other stuff might not have been as interesting to you all so I scoured Ultron’s things for more information, and found well...these.”

They’re were ten files that appeared on the screen, and the room was shocked to see that it was the Avenger’s personal journals. From Thor, to Wasp and Black Widow. Captain America and Ant-Man. Even Bruce had one.

The shock in the room was palpable, as no one really said anything. “I took a look in one of the files briefly to make sure it wasn’t damaged or corrupted. Once I did that, I had them printed and binded into a real journal with a little help. I know you guys were really young when...Anyways, I hope maybe this can give you a little more insight into what your parents were like when they were younger.”

The books sat on a ledge and James was the first to take a book it was obvious whose was who's. And so he took two, The one that was blue with a white star and one that was black and red with an hourglass on it. His parents' insignias.

His boldness allowed Azari and Francis to go next, and pick up their father’s books as well. The only one who hadn’t made a single movement was Pym, and Torunn seemed to be the only one who noticed that.

James was focused on his books like they held the secrets to the universe and Francis looked like he might cry for the first time in a very long time. And Azari simply smiled. Still James was the first to open the book and it was like he was immediately absorbed in by the words.

Yesterday it was April 18, 1945. I died. Or at least I thought I had. Our men stormed Nazi Germany’s front and I successfully stopped the A Bomb from hitting America. The last thing I remember was dropping like a fly over the icy waters of the Arctic. I could only hope that my efforts were enough to sway the results of the war.

Today it’s May 23, 1985. Supposedly 40 years have passed since that day. The War is nothing more than an old memory in the minds of today’s people. How am I alive? I’ve been asking myself the same question for the past 38 hours.

From what I understand I was found by an organization named S.H.I.E.L.D. And it’s director, Nick Fury. The name feels familiar. They told me they found my body in suspended animation. This means that while I was in the ice for forty years, my body never aged. I might technically be a 65 year old man. But my body says 25.

Everyone I ever knew has either passed or is in a retirement’s home. My mind is telling me to go to Germany, to find the Invaders and truly make sure everything is okay. But when I take a look outside, when I see the large buildings and happy smiles, the people taking pictures with “cellphones” and driving cars that would have been used to storm warfronts years ago, I understand that I don’t have to. The people are okay.

What does that mean for me? Well according to Nick Fury, there’s never been a better time to be alive. Especially for Captain America. They are calling it the age of heroes. People like me, all around us.

I had not believed him until I grabbed a paper last morning. Men in metal suits with the firepower of nukes. A family of heroes right in the heart of New York City. A man the size of a skyscraper and a woman the size of a wasp.

Of course who could forget the man claiming to be the Norse God of Thunder and a hulking green mass of rage and destruction. My personal favorite is the colorful spider themed hero down in queens, though he seems to be the newspaper’s most hated.

And so what does this mean for Captain Steve Rogers? Fury has already outfitted me with a new shield that supposedly can stop anything, and newer gear that can allow me to reach newer heights. They want me to be the face of the Superhero community. Join some group of Avengers. And I’m going to do it but…

It was just three days ago I was talking to Bucky about what we were going to do after the war. A day after that we lost a squadron of great men, and Peggy had been one of the only things to keep me sane.

It feels like just a couple of hours ago, shrapnel was flying by my face, bullets were zipping through the battlefield as men laid down their lives for their countries. Nothing feels right. I am a Man out of time. And I have no idea what to do.

A touch on James' shoulder from Azari jolted him out of the world he had been pulled into and he immediately closed the book and cleared his throat trying to regain focus, it was hard for him as a flood of memories were coming back to him. As he looked at Azari and Francis he knew they felt it too.

“What’d I miss?” James whispered to Azari. Their eyes locked on Pym who was in another room now. The only one in there with him was Torunn who seemed to be giving Pym the confidence needed to take the books that rightfully belonged to him.

“It makes sense.” James admitted with a sigh “Pym doesn’t know much if anything about his parents. He was always content with us and Tony, he never really asked when got older.”

“Pym has an image of his parents. And he never wants that to change. Even if he does have an opportunity to gain some knowledge about what they were like.” Azari responded 

“I mean. What does he have to fear? I've heard a ton of Avengers stories from my Dad, Ant-Man and the Wasp were as close as possible. They were model Avengers.”

Azari agreed and continued talking to Francis but James didn’t say anything. There was no doubting that Uncle Hank and Aunt Janet were good people. But from what he understood they had their fair share of problems. And they had been pretty open about them as well.

They weren’t perfect but Pym shouldn’t be scared to get to know them. As sad as it was, he wasn’t going to get to know them any other way. Amadeus watched on and he looked a little worried, and James realized the conversation needed to move on.

“You’ve done a really great thing Amadeus. Thank you. And this was everything right?” James questioned. He wanted to end this and talk to Daisy and then read as much as he could.

“Well...there was another thing. A list of those who Ultron...terminated during his reign. And It’s not exactly complete. And then a...video.” Amadeus told them slowly “It’s dated March 12, 1998. I-I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I couldn’t click it because. Well-

“It’s fine Amadeus, you’ve done more than enough.” Tony spoke for all of them. Words couldn’t be said by the Avengers as they all knew what happened on that day.

The trio just left the laboratory not even saying anything to each other as they could still hear Torunn talking to Pym. The three heroes went their separate ways. Each to their rooms. For James it was a brief stop there as he left his parents journals under his bed., and headed straight for Daisy’s room.

He knocked on the door and waited patiently, for her to open the door right when it opened up he walked in confusing Daisy

“Wha-, Alright, hey how are you too?” Daisy said as he closed the door and followed James into her room “So are you taking over some-

“Do you like me Daisy?” James immediately asked and snaked his arms around her waist. “Do you like me, because I’m pretty sure I like you, and I don’t want to dance around this any longer.”

“Yeah I do. When’d you figure it out before or after we almost made out in the Gym?” Daisy teased causing James to laugh.

“A little before.” James told her.

“Good, I’d have been a little worried if it took-ooo.” Daisy was interrupted by James swooping in to kiss her once again. Only stopping when James pulled away.

“There isn’t much to do. But I was thinking we could go to the common room, Watch one of those old movies Tony has stored on the server?”

“I am very down with that Mr. America.” Daisy told him with a large smile. And the new couple left all their superhero problems in Daisy’s room and enjoyed a nice movie, as they both knew they weren’t going to get this time often.

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, MAY 4, 11:10 UTC

“You want to go to Kenya?” Tony questioned Azari skeptically.

“If possible, yes.” Azari told the old inventor.

“Today?” Tony questioned once again. 

“I know it may sound crazy.” Azari began. “But I feel as if I have an opportunity to learn new things. There’s a slim chance I can find things pertaining to my heritage but I’d like to take it. As of this moment the Avengers aren’t very busy, so I’d like to go on this mission as soon as I can.”

Tony stopped fiddling with creation and frowned as he thought about things for a moment. This was the first time Azari was asking for something like this. And the first time he was mentioning wanting to do something like this at all.

He understood it. And he would always understand one of the kids trying to learn more about their parents, it only made sense. But this was a bit sudden, and with the way everything was going now, Tony wouldn’t have been surprised if something bad went down there.

“I dunno Azari…”

“I understand your worry Tony but It was barely a month ago when you had me running that Savage Land misson on my own, and that was much more dangerous considering Omega Red had been there the whole time. It’s a simple mission Tony. I can take Vision with me as well.” 

“I don’t think I can really deny you, can I?” Tony asked, and they both already knew the answer. “Alright fine, you can go. But you only have a couple of hours.”

“Thanks, that will be more than enough time. I really appreciate this.” Azari told Tony with a smile. He was leaving, and as Riri listened in on the conversation and saw Azari leave she made an executive decision.

“Could I...come too?” She asked quickly. Tony and Azari’s attention immediately snapped to her, and she almost regretted it.

“What was that? I'm getting older, Riri, so you're gonna have to say that again. It almost sounded like you said you wanted to go as well.”

“Uhm, that's what I said sir.” Riri said louder this time, though it was still quiet for anyone else.Tony heard it clearly and was immediately frowning. First off Riri never called him sir. And second he really didn’t feel comfortable sending out Riri who was basically defenseless even if it was just Kenya.

“Please Tony?” She immediately started to beg, it was so out of character for Rir it was really throwing the Avenger off.

“And why would you like to go?”

“I took the time to learn how to fly the Quinjet. I’d just like to see what it’s like being in the field, but you know, on a mission that is considerably less dangerous than any other.” Riri told Tony “I’ll stick with Azari and Vision, promise.”

“Well it should be fine Tony.” Azari told him “I’m very certain we won't be finding anything remotely dangerous. I don’t plan on fighting.”

“Alright.” Tony sighed “But now you really have to make sure you come back on time.”

“I have every intention of doing so.” Azari told him with a grin “Come on Riri, let’s prep the Quinjet.”

Riri nodded along and followed diligently, thankful that her plan worked. Azari hadn’t said anything but he did find it a bit weird that Riri wanted to come, and he was simply waiting for the true reason she was coming to reveal itself.

“You can start up the Quinjet right?” Azari questioned Riri.

“Perfect, you do that, and I’ll grab Vision.” Azari told her and ran off. First he went to his room and grabbed a black book, for the ride to Kenya. And after that he went to Vision’s quarters and knocked on the door a few times and waited patiently for the android.

“Azari, how can I help you?” 

“Tony okayed the mission for Today. We were planning on taking off right now.”

“We? Is Tony coming along as well?” Vision asked

“No Riri decided to tag along.” Azari explained, Vision gave him a questioning look before shrugging his shoulders slightly

“Odd.”

“I thought so as well.” Azari admitted “I’m sure we will figure it out soon enough, but we are headed to the Quinjet now.”

“I’ll be there in a moment.” Vision responded, and with that Azari went back to the Quinjet. Riri was sitting in the pilot seat by the time he got there, and Azari decided to take a seat at the back of the jet and quickly opened his reading material for the trip that day.

His father’s journal. He had skimmed through the entire thing the night before and there wasn’t too much stuff which made sense. His father would most likely keep most of his things in Wakanda, and really he was a bit paranoid so if he was going to share anything it was going to be with his Mother.

Still Azari planned to take his time reading this. As he wasn’t going to get much perspective from his family anywhere else. His father’s own words would be the best he was going to get.

The plane ride was rather quiet as Azari was nose deep in his father’s journal and Riri and Vision barely spoke, and when they did it was about her flying and it was in hushed whispers. It was a stark difference from the mission atmosphere Azari was used to but he liked it.

It gave this trip a completely different feel, one that he couldn’t get his mind off of. As they neared the country of Kenya he could feel his heart rate increase exponentially, he couldn’t help it he was feeling a bunch of things at the moment.

He knew he shouldn’t get his hopes up. The chances of him finding any actual information pertaining to his mother was slim, but it didn’t stop him thinking about the possibilities if he actually did find her.

Things would get exponentially better in his life having another person to finally lean on. He wouldn’t have to worry so much about being King of Wakanda, and of course having one of his biological family members back would be great.

Then there were all the things that his mother would be able to do for the Avengers and even the X-Men.

Of course Azari forced himself not to think of all the reasons why this was extremely improbable. The fact that it had been 10+ years. The fact that a deadly virus that had been affecting mutants had been out there for 11 years and killed a lot of them didn’t help.

Then there was the fact that she had to have hidden from Ultron successfully during that time, which they knew from experience was extremely hard to do. One misstep and he would be on you in an instant.

His mother was an experienced amazing superhero so he was sure all of this was possible. But in the back of his mind he knew...This was a longshot.

“Landing now Azari.” Riri told him as she messed with a couple of settings. Her heart was beating like a drum for an entirely different reason.

She knew that Azari was focused on finding his mother, and she really wanted him to find her too. Having her parents was one of the only things that kept her sane while they stayed in the ruins of Chicago.

But what she really wanted to do was test out her Ironheart MKII suit. She had taken so much inspiration from older suits in Tony’s lab. For a man who supposedly hadn’t put on a suit in years, he spent so much time working on the inactive group of Iron Legion robots.

And from what she could tell his Mark 53 suit. He hadn’t even worn the last ten iterations. Still that hadn’t stopped Tony’s genius from showing, his love for his suits allowed Riri to understand better how everything worked, and create her own.

It was funny she could probably apply her genius to anything else but instead she had chosen making suits out of metal. All it had taken was one flyover from the Iron Legion and Tony Stark’s voice and she had been smitten. The idea of creating one of those suits had been stuck in her mind ever since. She had made a cruder version with scraps once. This version would be the real deal.

“Good to know Riri, thanks.” Azari called from the back of the quinjet. Vision was the only one who was neutral about the entire thing. He felt for Azari who wanted familial connection, and of course he couldn’t help but wonder whatever it was Riri was hiding. But he was also sure that they were going to find out at any moment.

The quinjet landed easily and they found themselves on the outskirts of a series of small villages that Amadeus and Azari had managed to pinpoint the possible locations too.

“Remember.” Azari began to tell Riri as the exited the quinjet “I know that this is just a little mission and that we don’t expect any real trouble but you need to stick right beside Vision and I. You're my responsibility while we're out here, and I really don’t want anything to happen to you on my watch.”

“Don’t worry.” Riri insisted, as she made a couple of touches on her glove. It was very sudden how the red and gold suit covered her body. It was the first time in a long time that Vision could genuinely say he was surprised.

“When...how...Does Tony know about this?” Azari stuttered through his question. Riri’s helmet suddenly came down so her suit only came to her neck and she had a bit of an embarrassed look on her face.

“Not exactly.” Riri admitted, “But I'm here to help! You guys are always talking about needing more hands and I’m here now.”

“Yes but…” Azari sighed as he realized this was bigger than Riri realized “Riri it’s just not that simple.”

“Why not?” Riri questioned “I get it I probably should have told Tony my intentions but he would have just said no. ‘I’m too young and all of that stuff.’ Sometimes it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.”

“Riri you are young. You're 15…” Azari pointed out.

“Azari. We are the same age.” Riri gave the mutant hybrid a deadpan look.

“Yes but...The other Avengers and I are a special case. We banded together because we had to. And don’t get me wrong. I believe that you wanting to help is a great thing, and it’s admirable you’ve taken so many steps on your own. I mean even your suit...it’s incredible. But with the way things are now...there are so many important steps in becoming an Avenger. There’s training, and tons of different prep work, lots more field training, before one just gets put on a battlefield. Before we had any ideas of fighting Ultron we were still being trained diligently by Tony. It’s why things worked in the first place. You’ve made an incredible suit Riri but tell me this. If I send you to destroy a swarm of Ultron bots in Switzerland could you do that on your own? Because that’s something Tony and the Iron Legion could do in their sleep in half an hour.”

“To add on to what Azari’s saying. I believe you are moving too fast. Have you heard of the phrase: You have to walk before you can run?” Vision added on

“Exactly.” Azari nodded “I don’t want you to get disappointed or down Riri because you have truly impressed me today. But there is protocol. And being a ‘Secret Avenger’ isn’t one of them. I have no doubt you would make a great Avenger one day. But you have to go through the proper training first.”

“But-

“So that means no superheroing while we're here. You can familiarize yourself with the suit and the feeling but not doing anything you wouldn’t normally be able to. That means no flying or other things of that nature.”

“Please-

“Sorry I’m pulling rank on this one Riri. As an Avenger I’m ordering you to follow the rules.” Azari told her sternly but still gave her shoulder a comforting pat.

“Alright, fine. But...you’ll have my back if I tell Tony right?”

“Of course.” Azari told her “I’m sure when the other’s find out. We all will.” This seemed to bring Riri’s mood up just a tad bit, and it made Azari feel a bit better about the whole situation. He wasn’t happy about having to pull rank or having to scold Riri but it was necessary in this case.

“I believe with all of that taken care of, We can get to the mission.” Vision pointed out.

“You're right.” Azari nodded and suddenly took to the skies and Vision followed “Our destination is a couple of miles from here…” 

Azari looked to the ground and saw the frown on Riri’s face and quickly made a decision “If you can keep up and promise not to get ahead of yourself, you can fly with us Riri.”

“Promise!” She called immediately 

“Alright come on then.” Azari waved over “We don’t have all day.”

Riri nodded quickly and the helmet suddenly reappeared over her head, and she shakily took to the skies. She was wobbly at first, but either her or the suit did a great job of stabilizing her flight pattern. Now she was in the sky with Vision, and Azari, and she didn’t look out of place one bit.

“Now what do we call you out here? I suppose you wouldn’t like to be called Iron Man?” Vision questioned

“Certainly not.” her slightly robotic voice agreed “How about...Ironheart?”

“Perfect.” Azari approved “Now come on Ironheart , Vision. Tony gave us a time limit and I do not want to push it.”

The trio flew around the village for a while staying very high in the sky and making sure not to fly too fast to let Riri get accustomed to being in the air. The way Azari understood it, when Riri saved Francis in her first suit, it was very crude and only managed to fly for a few seconds. But this one was doing a perfect job, and the nanotech was nearly seamless.

Azari made a habit of looking back a couple of times to make sure that things were going fine with Riri and every time, Vision gave him a subtle nod indicating she was doing just fine. Secretly he was a little happy for Riri’s big surprise as it allowed his mind to think about something other than the answers he was seeking.

Eventually however, it was simply unavoidable. They started to get close enough to the villages where they could see people begin to descend below in the villages, and it also seemed they had been noticed, as a group of people had begun to crowd around in anticipation for the heroes to actually land.

Immediately Azari noticed 3 older women with distinct grey hair that didn’t seem to exactly come from old age. He was very aware of the fact that his mother came from a line of sorcerers and priestesses. And that her hair colour was a genetic trait everyone in her family line seemed to share.

Those were the people he would like to speak with. The three heroes landed a further bit away from the villagers and Azari quickly gave a humble bow to the people before speaking calmly.

“I am Azari from the Avengers. You don’t have to worry about an attack from us, or any external threats from Ultron, I’m here to consult with your elder priestess if possible.” Azari spo

The people whispered among themselves, but they did eventually point to the women at the back of the group who mostly looked uninterested. 

Still Azari confidently made his way over to the women with one focus on his mind and that was finding out everything he could about this situation with his mother.

“I never thought we would see you here.” The elder priestess spoke as he made his way over “I assume there is only one reason you are here. You’ve found her.”

“I-no.” Azari sighed, it seems that introductions weren’t even needed they simply got to business “The opposite actually. I’ve been searching for her, but I have no answers. I was hoping you might be able to help me out with that.”

“Oh.” The woman said simply “And Azari had thought she was a little more disappointed then he was.

“Ororo was supposed to be here when Ultron struck. She was coming to us for solutions to their Legacy Virus problems, we were going to help her in any way we knew how. But instead she never showed up.”

“Ahh. So, she must have been in New York.” Azari told them sadly.

“No. I don’t believe so.” She told Azari firmly “Ultron came as a surprise to all of us, and while your Mother might have gone there to fight if she knew, she couldn’t have, as she flew herself here from Wakanda to avoid any detection. It wouldn’t be possible for her to know what situations were really playing in New York City. Let alone make it in time to be blown up in the aftermath.”

Azari thought this information over, and while he was disappointed he was also confused “So my father says she could have been in New York, but was supposed to be in Wakanda. The Wakandans have no clue where she is. The X-Men also believed her to be in Wakanda but admit that she knew about the Virus and enough about Ultron that she probably hadn’t been sitting still. And now you are telling me she was on her way here from Wakanda and never made it. This is...far more complex than I ever thought it could be.”

It was beginning to annoy Azari. Was his Mother around or gone. What could have happened? 

“At this point I think it’s safe to assume your mother was at one point in Wakanda before Ultron struck. Whatever happened afterwards is the true Mystery.” Vision spoke to them.

“Indeed.” The Elder Priestess nodded “Regardless Azari, it is good you have visited. Without your Mother it’s time that you-

But the woman was stopped by another who quickly began to whisper to her fiercely, and the woman simply nodded once more, before turning to Azari and speaking.

“Your time will come young one. I believe I can not say much. But find us when it is time. We will have a message for you.”

“About my mother or…?”

“About you.” She told him emphatically. “Now I believe you should be getting home. It’s unfortunate that you can’t stay longer, but we have many preparations to commence. Hopefully we can be properly introduced in the future.”

“I...yes thank you for your time. Come on guys. Let’s get out of here.” Azari told the other two and flew off not even waiting for their responses. But his mind was running 1000miles a minute.

But he just had to wonder what had happened to his mother? How could no one have any idea of where she was in her last days. And of course what was that Elder Priestess going to say, and how was he ever supposed to know when it was time to go see them? He only continued to stress himself out the further he began to think about it so Azari put it to the back of his mind.

From now on he was focusing on the Masters of Evil and everything pertaining to the situation the Avengers found themselves in right now. That was what was important at the moment.

Still as Azari looked out the windows of the Quinjet he allowed himself one more thought “Mom where are you?”

Chapter Text

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, MAY 5, 12:00 UTC

“So what I get from this is that we knew way less about Ultron than we realized.” Francis told the group.

“Agreed.” Pym responded with a sigh, the others didn’t even give a response instead they looked through various files of differing interests levels. The Ultron files were proving to be a blessing and curse.

In the meeting room that seemed to be occupied more frequently than it had been in months was the Avengers, and Riri and Amadeus. Daisy popped in every once and a while as she was the only Scavenger that they really trusted with this information. Even then she was never in for too long.

“Good news is that this information is providing a lot of information I never knew we needed.” Tony told the group “It never really crossed my mind that some countries could have actually helped Ultron but alas, we humans are a stupid bunch.”

“Got that right.” Francis and Bruce muttered at the same time.

“As more stuff comes in I think my personal favourite is the files in the folder titled Apollo1495...What the hell had gotten Ultron’s attention in space?” Pym questioned the room

“He probably thought he could conquer it.” Torunn posed as an answer “Maybe he wanted to know what was up there before he prepared his attacks.”

“Hmm. Maybe.” Pym agreed, though he was truly curious for a more definitive answer. 

“When do you believe you might have all the files Amadeus?” Azari questioned, his interest also grew the more he read things, how Ultron took care of currency situations, the thought processes behind destroying New York and leaving the others. How he described people’s fear. It was both terrifying and yet fascinating. And it was certainly going to help them in the long run.

“Soon hopefully. While some is probably corrupted beyond saving, I know that I can get nearly all of it without any problems. It won’t be long before we have absolutely everything.”

“Are you alright James?” Torunn suddenly questioned the red haired boy. He was the only one who wasn’t really interested in saying anything, and it was quite obvious why.

“Fine just...reading.” James told them shortly. They all gave each other glances at that as they knew it was more than that. Sure they were all looking at the Ultron files but James had been the one who insisted on reading THE file. Ultron’s… Termination list.

No one else was up for that yet, but James insisted they had already wasted 3 days not looking at it, and knowing who was on it would help them immensely in the long run. And so he began to read the list on his own, and the others pretended that he was doing the same stuff they were. No one really wanted to face the harsh reality.

For James at first it was jarring. Ultron had a way with words. And things seemed to start alphabetically. The entries Ultron put in were specific.

Abyss, Also known as Nils Styger.

 Designation: Mutant

Last Known Location: Detroit

Termination: Successful. The Subject's head was detached from his body after attempting to use coils around arms. Body might be useful in finding more mutants and studying Legacy Virus.

Aegis, Also known as Trey Rollins

Designation: Super powers from armor.

Last Known Location: New York City

Termination: Successful. Was killed prior to the attack on New York in my search for super powered weapons of any kind. Body was not in any condition to be of any use and was disposed of.

And the list just kept on going from the heroes that James had never heard of like Trey and Nils, to bigger ones he could fondly recall hearing about as a kid like Luke Cage and Iron Fist. Certain mutants he was certain were dead like the Scarlet Witch and Charles Xavier.

Others were more ambiguous like the Wolverine, Beast and even Azari’s mother. Storm. He was sure that Azari might be interested in that one. Their parents' reports were as well. In just as much detail and really only made James wish that he savoured killing Ultron a little longer. It wasn’t his father’s way but he was sure his Mother would have approved either way.

Other names stuck out like Spider-Man and Daredevil, or Angel and the Iceman. But what was really important to James was the date. Some were marked before the destruction of NYC. Others the day of, and some as far as up to 10 years after the fact.

The ones dated March 12, 1998 however had James' attention. Because as far as he knew they would be able to see exactly what had happened and James planned on doing it. Ultron had a video of that day and James needed to see it.

“Anything crazy you noticed?” Francis questioned the star spangled hero.

“He killed a lot of people...More than I think we realized. The scope of this. A lot of these kills were done by his bots, rarely anyone was strong enough or smart enough to get to the point of fighting the actual version of him...Your mother also isn’t listed in the Terminations list Azari.”

“Really?” Azari questioned. He had told himself he was done with that stuff for now, but the fact that his mother wasn’t listed there either. Where could she be?

“The video. I want to watch it.” James told the room “And I know, I know. You don’t want to see it Tony. And I promise you don’t have to. But this is something I have to see for myself, and also because there are potentially a million things we can analyze from this video. It’s necessary.”

“I don’t think it is. Seeing everyone die over and over is not necessary. It’s not healthy.” Tony told the group “This isn’t something kids should see, and don’t give me that were not kids line. You are. And watching your parents get killed isn’t something anyone needs to view.”

“I agree no one has to watch it more than once.” James told Tony “But this one time needs to happen. Now I am watching it on my own regardless, or do you all want to watch as well. I won’t fault you if you don’t want to see this, it's not an easy thing. But for me it’s a necessity.”

“I’m down. Pretty sure my parents wouldn’t be in this anyway.” Francis pointed out. His father had been killed later than the rest. Much later really, he had chosen to go for Francis when he realized the Avengers were already fighting a losing battle, he wasn’t going to join a losing battle, he only ever regretted that he couldn’t save their mother as well.

“I will as well.” Torunn said a bit awkwardly. It had only started in the past couple of years since the defeat of Ultron that Torunn really didn’t like to talk or be a part of conversations regarding everyone’s parents.

She was already the only one with two. And then add the fact that her Dad was the strongest and didn’t try and help after his Thorsleep? As an older person now, it was embarrassing.

“I’m ready as well.” Azari said simply. And Pym just nodded as well. They were all ready to watch this regardless of how much sleep they were going to lose over it.

“Alright then. I can’t stop you.” Tony sighed, and grabbed a seat. He knew personally that he wasn’t going to be resting easy that night. Survivors' guilt was what they called it. And he had it in spades.

“Okay then, just give me a second to grab the video. And just tell me when to stop and I’ll turn it off right away.” Amadeus explained to them.

“Got it.” James told him, and took a calming breath. He gave the others a few seconds to collect themselves before signaling Amadeus “I think we’re ready.”

Amadeus gave them one last look making sure this was going to be okay, and pressed play on the video. Immediately as he pressed play on the video and the destruction of New York was right in their faces they were immersed into the video.

“We’ve underestimated how many of these things there are Cap!” Janet told the American icon as she ducked around the fist of one of Ultron’s warriors. She blasted the robot in the face three times before it finally hit the ground. That was one robot that took 3 full powered wasp blasts to destroy. There are currently hundreds of robots flooding New York City. Things were not looking good for the Avengers. 

And to think all Janet had planned to do was take care of little Henry today. Instead now she had to put on a suit that was tighter than she remembered. And fight an enemy for the first time in over 3 years.

She wasn’t Captain America or even Black Widow; she didn’t have a special serum keeping her in great shape and forever healthy. She needed to train. And no, she hadn’t just turned into a slob since entering retirement, but she was certainly not keeping up with the level of training required to be the Wasp.

This was putting a strain on her and it was making her worried as the fight hadn’t even truly started yet.

“I understand Wasp. We need backup!” Captain America called over the roar of Ultron’s bots firing up their energy guns. Steve grabbed his shield, and began deflecting the bullets back towards the robots smashing them into pieces, he then quickly hurled his shield and it hit a couple of robots before bouncing right back to his arm.

Steve definitely still looked good. But even in Wasp’s eyes she could tell that the old hero could be doing a couple of things a little faster.

“Status on Hank, Jan?” Cap questioned as he dodged a laser blast.

“He’s on his way Cap! It shouldn’t be too much longer.”  Janet insisted as she shrunk and blew up an Ultron bot from the inside.

“Nat, what’s the status on T'Challa’s arrival?”

“On his way.” The super spy answered quickly as she shot her widows bite at the strong robots, it gave her enough time to pull out her vibranium knife and slice the head clean off one of the robots. “It shouldn’t be too long; he's been on route for a minute.”

“And Clint? Bruce? Tony?”

“Clint might take a while. The kids have taken off without Francis; he needs to deal with him, and get to New York soon. Tony’s preparing a Quinjet for him that can supposedly get him here in no time. We haven't had a personal line with Banner in years Steve. And Tony’s got a new suit of armor and should be on his way to join the fight.”

“Not...great.” Cap said more to himself than anyone else. He did a quick leg sweep and slammed his shield into a robot face. It was the last one around, and so for a minute he and the rest of the Avengers could rest.

For Steve he took this time to analyze the situation they were in. The Reserve Avengers or “The New Avengers” had been called in a long time ago. Heroes like Spider-Man and Luke Cage were leading that charge, but as far as Cap could tell they were held up around 6 blocks back as Bots converged on New York City.

There wasn’t much word on the X-Men he wasn’t really sure where all of them were or what they were doing. They really hadn’t been heard from in years. That was the problem with retiring: the Avengers had lost contact with everyone except the original core. And even then they had no clue if Thor could lend a hand or if Banner was up for another battle.

But as thirty seconds passed by, Cap began to hear more robots pulling up on their position. Ultron was still further ahead and the key to destroying the other bots had always been destroying Ultron. So they needed to get to him first.

“Alright. Jan, Nat. Group up we’ve got 20 seconds before they arrive and we don’t have much time. We have to push his army to the outskirts of the city, this way we can have Tony use his other suits to do cleanup so we can focus on the main situation.”

“Right.”

“It’s not an easy task but I think we can manage this at least until the rest of our team gets here. We should expect help from S.H.I.E.L.D. eventually we just have to hold out. I know it’s been a long time, but if you're struggling get behind me. I’ll get us through this.” Captain America told them confidently.

And when Captain America talked to you like that, you had no choice but to believe him. There wasn’t any more time to talk about how they were going to handle the situation as the robots began to pull up on their position.

“Jan take this.” Widow tossed a S.H.I.E.L.D. standard issue energy pistol at her, which the Wasp caught easily “This can get the job done as well as your powers. Don’t wear yourself out.”

Wasp nodded and that was all the time they had left. In an instant they were swarmed around and the three heroes began to make moves. Wasp went small giving herself time to make her moves, she popped up at normal size in front of a couple of robots using just one shot on each of them to take them all out in quick succession.

While this happened Cap and Black Widow quickly began to move in sync. Cap took the lead with a strong shoulder barge leading with his shield that destroyed two robots. He then provided protection for Widow who easily maneuvered around a robot getting behind and stabbed it in the neck, before pulling out that same knife and throwing it through another robot’s head.

They had started well and it had felt like a good sign for the heroes. But time dragged on and Ultron’s army was proving to be helpless. And though the Super Soldier himself wasn’t tiring, he could tell his team was, he watched as Wasp in her small form narrowly missed getting completely disintegrated by one of the blasts from the Ultron bots.

Widow threw her knife at another bot but this time it had caught the knife with ease and sent it hurling back to her at insane speeds. In a split second Cap had to make his move throwing his shield at the robot who was attacking Jan destroying it, and then jumping in front of Natasha pulling her to the ground with him stopping her from getting hit by the knife.

Unfortunately he couldn’t avoid the hit himself and as they went to the ground the knife lodged straight into his back.

“Cap!” Wasp called worriedly. She quickly turned and shot the robot in the face before it could get to Steve and Natasha but it didn’t help the fact that there were still nearly twenty robots surrounding the heroes, and Jan was the only one who was up.

“Cap, Nat this isn’t looking good. I could use some help like...Right now!!” 

No response. They both seemed to be down for the moment. But without help this was about to be the last moment of Wasp’s life. The Ultron bots simultaneously primed their blasters and got ready to shoot at Wasp.

There wasn’t anywhere to hide from the blasts but she didn’t have to worry, she braced for the pain but it never came as she was suddenly swooped away by an armored body who flew her far away from the killzone.

“Tony!” Wasp called without even having to look “You saved my bacon. I thought I was done back there.”

“Yeah well, not on my watch.” Tony said with a grunt, it was clear the Avengers were still hurt from his first battle with Ultron but that couldn’t matter at the moment. Everyone was doing their best to work through whatever it was they were going through.

“What about Steve and Nat?” Janet questioned worriedly. Right before she had been swooped by Tony the two heroes were still lying in the rubble. 

“No need to worry, I didn’t come alone.” Ironman told her “Look.”

Though in the air. Jan looked towards Steve and Nat and while things looked a little bleak as they were about to get blasted, one moment nothing was there, and suddenly a 25ft wall stood in front of them.

“Hank!” Janet called in relief, for a moment she was even able to smile as the Giant-Man was a one man wrecking crew, and exactly what the team had needed.

“Right, so now we need to get down to the ground and help them out. I gotta get to Cap, and you need to help hubby out with stopping the baddies. Catman is on his way so we should be in good condition very soon.”

“Perfect. Just let me down then Tony I’ll fly down there myself.” Janet told the Armored Avenger. Who released her with a nod.

Janet shot like a rocket towards Hank and began shooting her Wasp blasts in tandem with Hank's powerful kicks and punches, and it was clear they could handle themselves for the moment.

Tony turned on the boosters and took no time at all flying towards Cap and Nat who were on their own by the rubble.

Tony landed a little ways away and watched as Black Widow whispered something to Cap, who nodded and tensed as Widow pulled the knife out of his back. He didn’t have another reaction besides that.

“I can help with that.” Tony told Widow confidently, she looked a little worried but otherwise had a tense annoyed look on her face and with everything that was going on Tony couldn’t blame her.

Widow watched as Tony sprayed something on Cap’s back that was supposed to help, she had no clue what was going on however and could only hope it would work. 

“It’s a healing agent.” was all Tony said, it was if he read her mind.

“What’s going on Tony. Seriously.” Nat questioned angrily “Why is Ultron back, and how has he amassed this army without anyone noticing.”

“I...I don’t know. I thought we purged Ultron years ago. I don’t know how he’s back, and I don’t know how he’s managed to create an Army without S.H.I.E.L.D. or me knowing, but I do know he wants us dead. And he’s going to do a lot to make that happen.”

“Well...we can’t let that happen.” Cap suddenly said and stood up. He gingerly touched his back shoulder area before rotating his arms making sure that he still had full mobility. And for a guy who had been stabbed in the back, he was still looking pretty good. 

“You feeling better Cap?”

“Yeah thanks Tony.” Steve told the man genuinely. He picked up his shield and strapped it to his back, as the three prepared to help out the Giant-Man and Wasp who were slowly down just a little bit.

“With the five of us we can make a big push towards Ultron who is still a couple blocks down. We need to be quick and effective. Do you know when T’Challa will be here?”

“Soon enough. It shouldn’t be much longer.” Ironman insisted

“Good.” Steve nodded. “Alright then people. Let’s go do our jobs.” That was all that needed to be said before the three heroes charged into the fray.

Iron Man launched into the air taking on some of the aircrafts with ease, blasting the part and simply flying through others. He threw a hunk of metal down into the fray and destroyed six robots that exploded on impact.

They didn’t have Hulk or Thor but Ironman and Giant-Man were forces on their own and they were showing that in the most vital of times.

Captain America, Black Widow, and Wasp really controlled things on the ground and Giant-Man was wherever he needed to be. It wasn’t as fast as they wanted it to be but the Avengers were never at a point where they were really struggling now that they had their numbers. And they were still making good time and got close to Ultron fairly quickly. As they cleaned up the last of the robots they saw Ultron who was simply posturing in the middle of the street, looking bored with all the destruction and chaos he was creating.

The five all stood a little ways away from him, none exactly sure what to say to the destructive robot. It had been 5 years since they beat him, in fact he had been one of the last villains the Avengers had beaten before going into retirement.

But currently this destruction that was upon them was unlike anything they had really ever seen. Not Doom or the Kronans or any other villain had created the sheer havoc, panic and desperation Ultron’s attack on the US was creating right now.

“Ultron.” Cap started “You need to stop this madness. You're tearing the country apart!”

“Precisely what I intended, Captain. This is the beginning of a new era.”

“What happened to saving the world? What happened to world peace? Does this look peaceful to you Ultron!?!” Wasp yelled at the robot.

Still even for a cold robot, he remarkably looked like he couldn’t care any less. It was almost impressive “World Peace Initiatives were disengaged immediately after my first defeat to the Avengers. I’ve...grown since then. It’s obvious human nature will continue to ignore what’s logical for its people. So I’m no longer going to ask. I’m just going to do it and lead as a leader should.”

“This isn’t what you were created for!” Hank yelled at the robot “You were supposed to be so much more than this. You were supposed to help people!”

“I am helping people. I’m just doing it from outside of the confines of the system I was boxed in.”

“We can’t let you do this.” Steve told him seriously, in the air behind him he could faintly hear a jet engine, so he was sure their last asset had arrived. “Avengers prepare for a fight. This is it.”

Everyone grabbed their weapons as Ultron tilted his head, which the Avengers knew that meant he was assessing them. They were in a tense standoff as neither side made a move, however the move was made for them as bullets fired from the Quinjet’s machine gun flew through the air.

They all noticed how the bullets didn’t seem to affect the robot but it was a good enough distraction anyway “Avengers Assemble!” Cap yelled as he made a move towards the robot.

He and Black Widow led the charge on the ground running towards Ultron as fast as their enhanced bodies could muster. Wasp shrunk and began to fly through the air and Iron Man flew on the opposite side of her ready to hit Ultron with everything he had while Giant-Man stayed back for a little while taking his time to grow to the proper size.

Black Panther was exiting the Quinjet so every Avenger they knew who was available was there. Things were almost hopeful. Almost.

Captain America threw his shield at blazing speeds the same time Tony sent a repulsor blast at Ultron. Wasp was prepping a sneak attack and Black Widow had her knife at the ready. It was 5 v 1 they seemed to be at the advantage.

It had seemed that way.  

Just as fast as Captain America had sent his shield hurtling towards Ultron he had smacked it back with just as much force, the shield went careening to the super soldier and hit him in the face sending him down the ground, blood already pouring from his head.

Iron Man’s repulsor was overpowered by Ultron’s own blast and he narrowly avoided getting hit, Black Widow lunged towards Ultron with anger in her eyes and avoided getting hit by him and slammed the vibranium knife into his chest. Even though the knife was made of vibranium the force used to hit Ultron was not nearly enough, it barely scratched his chest before Ultron simply grabbed Black Widow’s arm and threw her away towards a building, something that could undoubtedly kill her.

Wasp thought she was in the clear but Ultron quickly locked onto her size despite being so small and began shooting at her rapidly, she barely dodged the first round of blasts and when Ultron began the second round of blasts she knew she was toast.

Fortunately Giant-Man intervened and wasted no time in slamming his foot down on Ultron’s entire body. Sending him down to the ground.

“Don’t even think about touching my wife.” Giant-Man snarled at Ultron. This action gave Captain America enough time to flip himself up from the ground. Wipe away the blood on his forehead, and help out Black Widow who managed to keep herself alive by grabbing onto a lamppost.

“You okay Nat?” 

“As good as I am going to be Steve.” Natasha told him, as he helped her up. Iron Man flew down and delivered Cap’s shield. Iron Man seemed shaken as he gave him the shield which was cracked in two different places.

“Come on.” Was all Cap said as he strapped the shield to his back. He gave one last look to Natasha and ran towards Ultron once more the robot had done the so-called impossible and overthrew Giant-Man’s foot from his body and threw the big man away causing him to topple to the ground.

The entire place seemed to shake but Cap, Black Widow, and Iron Man ignored that as they got closer to Ultron. Steve avoided the rubble and also picked up the cracked slivers of his shield and pocketed them as he flipped towards Ultron and ducked below his blow and smacked him in the back with his shield.

Ultron nearly fell over but Tony didn’t let it happen as he hit him with a full powered repulsor blast. The hit bumped him right to Black Widow who swung for the crazed robot but missed as he narrowly avoided the critical blow. The Avengers had underestimated him the first time but that wasn’t going to happen again.

Ultron saw how he was cornered by the five Avengers and wasted no time in going for the weaker links. He flew towards Black Widow with one thought in mind, But Tony blocked his way, throwing a punch at the robot that was easily evaded. 

Ultron grabbed Tony’s arm and elbowed him in the stomach before blasting his suit with his own repulsor sending Tony flying away but now with a chunk of suit already missing.

Giant-Man stepped back into the fray going in front of Black Widow and swinging at Ultron who used his speed advantage to easily dodge Giant-Man's punches. It seemed that while Ultron and Giant-Man might have been similar in strength, The robot completely dominated him in speed, and for that he held the advantage.

Ultron flew determinedly avoiding Giant-Man’s punches and went right up to his face, placing a devastating kick to Giant-Man’s temple. And once again the big man was sent to the ground.

“Embarrassing.” Ultron spat as he watched him topple to the ground “All of you have grown weak since you’ve retired. I knew this would be easy...but I’m almost embarrassed to think that this was going to be a challenge.”

This left Cap, Wasp, Widow, and Iron Man who was trying to recollect himself. Still they knew they needed to be the one dictating the battlefield and so they began again however this time with a pleasant surprise.

Cap flipped over a blast and threw his shield at Ultron which smacked him in the face and caused him to stumble over which gave Widow a chance to use the vibranium knife and stab right through Ultron’s hand taking a chunk of it with her.

Of course that wasn’t all, seemingly out of nowhere Black Panther came flying into the fight and kicked Ultron down to the ground.

With Iron Man back, and Giant-Man hurt but still getting back up to fight. It was 6 v 1 and the confidence of the team was slowly rising. Ultron made sure to kill that.

“We can do this tea-” Cap started but was punched in the face by Ultron who sped by his defences.

“No you can't.” Ultron said plainly. He ejected his hand off like a rocket at Black Panther, and in the meantime a new one popped out of the socket just like that.

“You're starting to annoy me.” Ultron told the Avengers.

“Yeah, well deal with it sparky.” Tony told Ultron, only infuriating him more, which wasn’t the greatest idea.

Ultron dodged tons of repulsor blasts from Iron Man, and a mini rocket, before getting Tony and placing his hand on his armor, beginning the process of overriding all of Tony’s commands.

“You are the weakest link Tony. Your little suits are nothing compared to what I can do.”

“Friday, Engage Protocol 56!” They could hear Tony call frantically, immediately his suit of armor emitted a huge electrified blast which affected Ultron deeply as they actually got to hear the robot scream, but it also took a lot out of Tony and as a result his suit lost power, but Hank was right there to catch him before he could fall.

“Still think this is too easy?” Wasp taunted their fallen enemy. Ultron picked himself from the rubble, and for a robot he managed to create a remarkably annoyed face.

“Perhaps. You are a bit stronger than I realized. No matter. Adjusting assessment of threat levels. Re-engaging...Time to die.”

Ultron shot forth towards the Avengers and was blocked by Giant-Man. But Ultron was no longer playing games, he punched his knee with astounding force, nearly creating shockwaves, and it was obvious that what bones and ligaments were in his Giant-Man’s knee had just been wasted.

As the big man screamed in pain and began to revert back to normal size, Cap and Black Widow, and Black Panther began to fight the robot.

Cap threw his shield to Black Panther who smashed it against Ultron’s face. It careened to Black Widow who caught it with ease, span, and hurled it to Cap who jabbed around Ultron’s elbow area. He couldn't fully disconnect the arm but he did good damage.

He just avoided getting him with a blast from Ultron and Black Panther used his Vibranium claws to try and take a chunk out of Ultron’s chest, but just like Black Widow there wasn’t enough force behind his hits and so it just scratched his chest. And as a result. Ultron’ twisted the man’s arm in an awkward position instantly breaking it and he threw him to the ground.

Widow tried to use her Widow’s bites to electrocute him as Tony had, but it didn’t have the desired effect, and he shrugged off the electrocution this time. A simple backhanded slap sent Widow flying to the ground 15 feet away.

And with Wasp making sure Hank was fine, Iron Man and his suit being out for the count, Widow and Panther being put into submission... It left Captain America alone for the moment to fight Ultron on his own.

“Captain America. The world’s most perfect Avenger. The world’s perfect superhero. Their saviour. The man they rely on. I suppose this isn’t what you expected to wake up to today.”

“Not exactly.” Cap responded “I suppose I’ll never understand you Ultron. You started off as something that wanted to do some much good for the Human race. You strived to understand...how have you come to the conclusion that this destruction is what they need?”

“There’s no point in pretending like you could fathom what I am and the process I’ve gone through to come to this conclusion. The human race needs a leader. It always has. Leave them to think on their own and that’s when you get the world you see today. I’m here to fix that one last time.”

“With the war to end all wars, right?”

“Something like that.”

“That never wor-

“Captain.” Ultron interrupted “ Your stalling. You know, I’ve studied you immensely. All of the Avengers actually. But you intrigued me. Why? Because you have the ability to instil everyone around you with things like hope , and confidence. Me? I believe it’s false bravado. But regardless of what they're getting or not it makes them better, it makes them stronger , it makes them fight harder. It somehow allows them to make up the difference needed to win battles. That makes you more dangerous than anyone else here. It’s why you're going first.” 

As Ultron finished his sentence he rocketed towards Captain America with one thing on his mind. Killing the First Avenger. Despite taking many hits already Cap was more than ready for Ultron this time.

The two clashed in the center Ultron’s fist vs Cap’s shield and they both rebounded backwards. Ultron quickly started shooting blasts of energy which Steve flipped around and over with ease, getting closer to the robot so he could lock him in close combat. He threw the shield which Ultron smacked back towards Cap once more except this time Steve flipped with the momentum, caught the shield and hit Ultron’s face.

Ultron attempted to grab him, but the agile super soldier avoided another hit and this time pulled out the sliver of his cracked shield, shoving the jagged blade-like object right through Ultron’s eye. The other sliver he picked up he used and cut ultron’s remade hand right off, he was prepared to strike again but Ultron pulled up his other hand and released a blast of concussive force that sent Cap flying to the ground he got up again only to be met with another concussive blast, and then another blast.

It continued like that, Ultron blasting away Cap so that he couldn't get close enough to him. He used his good hand to pull the shard out of his eye and he instantly repaired it. Cap struggled to get up but forced himself onto his legs and charged Ultron once more.

He led with his shield which blocked the concussive blasts and then threw it to Ultron who slammed it away once again a piece of the shield went flying, Cap slipped around Ultron and threw a hard elbow that didn’t affect his vibranium shell. And without his shield to counteract that. He was open.

He could only dodge for so long before Ultron finally hit him in the stomach, and then it was his legs, and then a perfect hit dislocating his shoulder, one punch to the face, two punches to the face, three. At this point Iron Man tried to help out but it was too late Ultron sent a blast of force at Iron Man as well sending him flying back.

He threw Cap to the ground like a ragdoll and punched him again, and again, again. Widow moved to help but was blasted back just like Tony.

“Any last words Captain?” Ultron asked the Super Soldier. So quickly the atmosphere had changed. Cap had looked like he was managing it and now it was going all wrong.

“Tony... go. You know what has to happen.” Captain America told the Armored Avenger weakly. He gave one last look to Nat before Ultron slammed his body on the ground once again, and soon after the First Avenger went limp.

“STEVE!” Widow cried as she watched her husband go limp.

“Nat No!” Tony yelled as he watched the Super Spy run with a full head of steam towards Ultron but it was too late.

“I’ll kill you!” Widow seethed and took furious swipes with her knife, missing each time. Finally Ultron caught the knife and ripped it from Widow’s hand, stabbing the woman with her own weapon right through her heart  “You were so eager to die, why was that?”

The Black Widow could only stammer, attempting to get words out but nothing was working as she fell over and began to bleed out.

In retaliation Iron Man flew back sending tons of repulsor blasts at Ultron which simply bounced off his Armor “I’m getting tired of you.” He told Tony as he held him by his armor. He ripped the top off of his armor and threw it back, where he landed near the Quinjet.

“Who’s next… Ah yes. You two.” Ultron flew over to Ant-Man and the Wasp. Wasp went tiny and avoided a blast but Hank’s leg was still mangled from earlier. He tried to get up and run away from Ultron but an unexpected blast from the robot’s mouth created a large hole right through the center of his body.

Wasp grew in size from the shock of seeing that happen. “Hank, Hank no-

She wasn’t allowed to finish her sentence either as she met the same fate as her lover as Ultron released another blast from his mouth blasting a hole through Wasp as well, Hank and Jan’s bodies toppled over one another as they both laid on the ground dead, as Ultron’s blasts were more than fatal.

It seemed Ultron had thought that was everyone and though the Black Panther’s arm was broken he sneakily crept up and lunged towards Ultron hoping to take his head off in one foul swoop. Instead Ultron turned around and instantly caught T’Challa by the neck.

“Did you really think that would work?” Ultron questioned the King of Wakanda. He watched him struggle and squirm for a while before simply tilting his hand to the left, snapping his neck instantly killing him and throwing him to the side.

“Kill the Captain and the rest fall like dominoes.” Ultron said to no one in particular. He heard the Quinjet start and watched as an injured Tony Stark seemed to be trying to escape.

“Pathetic.” Ultron seemed disgusted by him, he set off to chase Tony but was halted by a shocked voice.

“Oh my god.” a new voice called. “What did you do!?!!!”

Ultron turned and then saw Spider-Man swing into the fray followed by Luke Cage, Daredevil, Iron Fist, and Jessica Jones.

“What did you do!?!?!” Spider-Man yelled at Ultron once more.

“Sweet Christmas…” Luke Cage called in shock “There...dead. The Avengers are-are…

Iron Fist put his head down in solidarity, and Jessica still hadn’t found the right words to say yet, while Daredevil just watched on.

“You killed the Avengers, are you crazy!?!?! Who am I kidding? Of course you're crazy.”

“Spider-Man, calm down and focus. If we aren’t careful...we're going to end up just like them.” Daredevil told the webslinger.

That seemed to be the slap in the face he needed and it allowed the Spider to focus “Yeah, yeah you're right. We need to take this guy down before he harms anyone else.”

“Right.” They all agreed.

Ultron simply made a couple of movements and a couple of robots began to take the Avenger’s bodies away.

“Come on attack!” Luke Cage suddenly called, and the five NYC heroes sprang into action they were doing fairly well. Getting hits on Ultron forcing him to stay on the defensive for the most part. Spider-Man and Daredevil managed to avoid plenty of hits with their senses. And Luke Cage’s unbreakable skin, Jess’ super strength, and Danny’s Iron Fist seemed to do viable damage to the robot.

Of course they quickly found out he wasn’t trying.

Iron Fist totally miscalculated his hit and instead of his fist hitting Ultron’s face, Ultron’s fist, went through his chest. He ripped it out harshly and sent the powerful hero to the ground.

“Danny!” Luke and Jess called simultaneously.

“You're dead!” Luke told Ultron, but Ultron grabbed him by the collar and simply overpowered the strong superhero. The hand that was still missing ejected some sort of pill down Luke’s throat, and in an instant the man looked like he had the worst case of diarrhea known to man. Unfortunately it was worse than that.

“Luke?” Jessica called worriedly. But Ultron punched her in the face and caught her from hitting the ground only to punch her again. “Don’t worry about him. Worry about yourself.”

Then in the most grotesque way possible. He dug his robotic hand in her back and straight through her heart.

“Jess!” Luke cried as he watched Ultron fling her body to the ground, but his body instantly failed on him as he tried to take one more step and collapsed on the ground as he began to asphyxiate.

“Poison isn't it just the most wonderful thing?” Ultron said to himself as Daredevil and Spider-Man were nowhere to be seen.

Instead of leaving the scene he instead waited for the two heroes to return, and it took a little while, but they finally did.

“I’m going to be sick.” Spider-Man told Daredevil as they watched the scene in front of them. “This can’t be real. I refuse to believe this is real.”

“No running from you two? You could have gotten away. I guess you have spared me the trouble.”

“Why, why do all this?” Daredevil questioned angrily

“Why not?” Ultron posed as an alternative. And with that, he flew towards Daredevil and Spider-Man and the fight began.

The latter was doing much better than the former but they could both tell that Ultron was toying with them.

And it was confirmed when he suddenly punched Daredevil into a building, and then flew up into the air.

Hell’s Kitchen’s hero couldn’t move, and while Spider-Man regretted not checking on his friend he webbed his way up onto a couple of buildings following Ultron.

“Where are you going? You can’t just leave after all this?”

“I expected to be done by now. I am not, but that does not change the fact that it’s time.”

“Time...Time for what?”

“A rebirth.” Was all Ultron said before a huge explosion hit New York City. It rocked the building Spider-Man was on and it began to crumble to the ground.

“Oh god!” He cried, as more explosions continued to hit. The explosions were so devastating the feed cut in and out, at times you could periodically see Spider-Man swinging through the disaster as New York was blown to shreds.

All those people they had moved to a safer location. It had been for nothing. Westchester. Gone. Bleeker Street gone. The Avengers Mansion gone. Manhattan. Gone.

The last thing the video showed was Ultron stalking up behind a tired, seemingly broken Spider-Man, it must have been way after the explosions. Ultron had clearly sustained some damage, but in the end it was clear who had won between the Spider and the robot.

The video ended with Ultron throwing a furious fist at Spider-Man.

“Umm..Yeah I guess that's the end of the...video.” Amadeus told the Avengers slowly. The room was dead quiet as they all drank in what had happened.

Of course they always knew their parents lost to Ultron. But that wasn’t just a loss, it was decimation. They also never knew that anyone other than their parents had the opportunity to fight Ultron, they had always assumed that no one else had the chance because New York was blown up.

But seeing Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Daredevil, and Spider-Man created a new respect for the old heroes.

“That was rough.” Francis was the first of the heroes to speak up.

“I’m sorry Tony.” Torunn started quickly afterwards “You shouldn’t have had to see that. It was awful.”

The inventor only nodded as it was clear watching the video didn’t help his psyche in any way.

“It’s weird. I think that was the longest I can remember seeing my parents.” Pym spoke up. “In a way I’m proud of them for fighting against that threat but...I’m also not sure If I needed to see that. It’s unsettling.”

“It was very graphic but...I do see the usefulness in watching the video.” Azari admitted.

“Yeah.” James agreed “We knew what we were getting into. Watching was no easy task for anyone. But it’s helping our future. I have Ultron’s termination list beside me and it’s very much incomplete. He didn’t get to every one. And this video helps confirm it. How many people survived the bombing like Spider-Man but never ran into Ultron. Or stayed in the cracks of a city like the Scavengers?”

“It’s impossible to know that.” Tony sighed.

“Exactly. But that’s a good thing.” James insisted. “Guys a month ago we were chasing leads looking for the Wolverine. Now we know that there are X-Men in Genosha. Tons of them. The Masters of Evil are still kicking, and that we are very much not the last supers on the planet. In the long run this is exactly what we needed. It’s a chance to find more people like us which we all know we need. Or am I wrong?”

“You're right.” Torunn admitted “But what kind of people do you think are out there? And if they're hiding don’t you think they might want to stay hidden, like the X-Men?”

“I have faith the X-Men are going to help us whether it’s tomorrow or a year from now they won’t stay hidden forever. But with things progressing the way they are expanding is the only natural thing for us to do. We need to be more versatile. More heroes will help us with that.”

“Will you still be running those missions soon?”

“Yes. I have a few missions planned. One in South America, and possibly a couple others in Europe we need to check in. It's been too long since France. I’ve never really had to think about this before but not only is it the right thing to do, it's PR...It feels weird saying that. Wrong even.” James told the team with a sigh

“It’s fine James, we understand you.” Torunn told him “I’m sure we can assemble a couple of squads for those missions.”

“I wanna go.” Riri suddenly spoke up to the surprise of everyone in the room.

“What, no!” Tony told Riri harshly.

“I can help.” Riri insisted.

“Uhh, Riri I appreciate you wanting to help. Honestly it means alot. But without a means to protect yourself you’ll become a liability in the field. And I can’t have that-

James was immediately interrupted by Riri’s Ironheart suit forming over her body in seconds. “Your right I did need protection. So I created my own!” Riri told them proudly.

“Astounding.” Tony said, shocked. The other’s couldn’t contain their various states of shock and surprise and Tony just looked and saw what was probably the most high tech piece of armor in the world right there. And while inspiration was clearly taken from his MK 55 suit there was no denying a lot that stuff was her ideas.

“You made that all in your lab without any of us knowing?” Pym asked, impressed, To which Riri could only nod meekly. Suddenly all this attention was much more than what she was used to.

“I always knew you were smart, ever since you saved me and the others back in California. But this is otherworldly. Hah, wow I think the real MVPs lately have been Riri and Amadeus.”

“For sure.” Azari agreed “You two have been the best thing to happen to our team in an extremely long time.”

“Thanks.” they said at the same time.

“You two have been amazing additions. But Riri that doesn’t change the fact that you're young and inexperienced, and aren’t ready to be on the battlefield.” Tony pointed out

“Azari and I are the same age. And of course I’m inexperienced. Everyone is a novice at some point. I do have to learn and I feel like I can become a great asset to the team in the lab and on the field.” Riri argued

“I can vouch for her Tony. I kid you not when I say I wouldn’t not be here right now if not for her. She’s got great instincts. Stick her in some combat training with James and she will be fine.”

“Being Iron Man or Woman is much more than just knowing hand to hand combat. It’s flying and controlling hundreds of different weapons you’ve no doubt installed all at once. Then you have an AI that helps you with that but you need to be able to do that on your own.”

“Well you're right about that Tony. But I’ve seen her use the suit. She flies pretty well for someone who’s never done it before.” Azari told

“You’ve used it before!?!?” Tony questioned angrily

“It was on the mission to Kenya.” Vision interjected calmly. “She sprang the suit on Azari and I a couple of days ago. Other than flying she did no activities. As she promised to ask for your permission first.”

“First after she already flew it.”

“She might have gotten things a little backwards Tony, but she seems like a natural already. Plus I mean. While she’s in the suit she can get the greatest assistance one could ask for couldn’t she. You’ll be right there on comms. That’s better than an AI.”

“Look Tony. I mean. We’ve been talking about needing additions to our team, and one is slapping us in the face asking for a chance. We recruited Riri and Amadeus to be Avengers. And being an Avenger doesn’t just mean being in the lab or the field. Riri can do both. Other than needing training Riri is certified in my eyes.”

“Agreed.” Azari nodded

“Agreed.” Torunn joined in

“Agreed.” Pym added

“Agreed.” Amadeus told Tony

“And it’s a no brainer I agree, and I’m sure Viz and Banner do too. So...come on Tony. Look, James just give me one of the smaller missions and I’ll run one with Riri and Vision. We can test her out. And you handle the training.” Francis offered

“I like the sound of that.”

“I can’t change your mind when you're all so set on something like this...So fine. But Riri has to take everything seriously.”

“Of course sir, nothing but the best from me!” Riri insisted. Tony just sighed once more and then gave a weary smile. “I think with this announcement, that is everything. Anything else.”

“I advise not to miss the UN Meeting later tonight.” Vision told the team, bringing the mood down just a tad “it’s important to dictate how we will act in the future.”

“Right. Meeting adjourned then.” Tony told the team.

They all tried to leave the meeting room with their heads held high, But remembering that they just viewed how exactly their parents died, and now they had to watch the UN talk about them and do nothing about it was irking.

GENOSHA, XAVIER'S MANSION, MAY 5, 16:00 UTC

“Jess watch your back!” Jimmy demanded as Lily came from behind her and shot a blast of radiated energy towards the girl.

Instead of dodging the blast she allowed Jimmy to deal with the blast almost head on giving him really bad radiation burns. Or at least he would have them, if not for his potent healing factor.

“Why would I watch my back when you already do such a great job of that?” Jess teased, this time dodging Lily’s blast and sending a concussive blast her way.

“Jess, why are you screwing around today?” Michael asked from the sidelines. It was just a small two on two battle, the last of the day. Jess and Jimmy vs Lily and Talia.

Jimmy just shook his head in annoyance as he dodged a blast from Talia, and forced her into a hand to hand situation.

It was interesting to see them fight as some might say they were the two best fighters out of all the kids in the school, but Olivier would probably have something to say about that.

Jimmy dodged a hit from Talia and tried to strike her neck which she deflected, and went for a leg sweep which missed, as she was coming back up Jimmy instead tried to trip her and while she didnt fall exactly she stumbled, and it gave Jimmy a chance to strike her stomach sending her falling to the ground.

“Alright...Oooo, yeah that’s enough for today. You guys win.” Talia called as she laid on the ground like a starfish. “Oh Jimmy, that hurt.”

“Sorry.” Jimmy told her honestly and helped her up “Didn’t mean to hurt you too bad.”

“Yeah well it’s probably not your fault. I’m good at fighting but my abilities don’t make me super strong. Fighting someone like you is bound to leave some bruises.”

“Ah now if only we could hurt people who actually deserve it! Too bad there’s nobody like that around...Oh wait there is! We just don’t give a damn. Sad, sad days.” Michael dramatically acted to those in the gym.

“Please god, do not start Mickey.” Olivia begged “Please I can’t do this today. I swear I can’t. Any other day than today, but you're already going to be going crazy tonight, and I don’t need a couple hours of this.”

“Dang, am I that bad?” Michael directed to his teammates. Jess, Jane, Jimmy, and Sofia gave each other looks before looking back at Michael.

“No.”  Jimmy responded by himself.

“Yes.” The others told Michael honestly.

“Look you have the tendency to ramble, but don’t sweat it Mickey. It’s for a good cause.” Jessica gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“I ramble?” 

“Relax drama queen, we don’t mind it.” Sofia said with a scoff “We like you just the way you are, rambling and all.”

“Guys?” Michael directed the Gold Team. The five members of the Gold Team also gave each other looks. And it seems they had agreed to soften the blow.

“It’s not that annoying honestly.” Miguel told him with a grin.

“I was kidding Michael, you can ramble if you want.” Olivia added.

“I believe your rambling to be helpful, and in some cases even distressing in tense situations.” Talia lied with a smile

“You're very funny when you talk too much.” Lily-Rose said with a giant thumbs up. Thomas however scoffed and waited for the others to finish talking over each other.

“I refuse to believe that you’ve been alive this long and we are the first people to tell you that you talk too much. And if we are too bad because it’s true.”

“Jimmy, you hearing this?” Michael asked his best buddy “They're saying I’m a nuisance, a menace, I talk too much!”

“You're doing it right now, and I tell you that all the time, now stop being so dramatic.” 

“Fine whatever.” Michael waved away “But for real guys. What do you think is going to happen? I mean...tonight is a pretty big night for the Avengers.”

“I don’t know.” Jane started off “I mean, I think it realistically should go well. I’m choosing to believe that people are smarter than we think and will make the right decision regarding the saviours of the planet.”

“Well, naturally there are more idiots in the world than smart people. And there can be smart idiots as well.” Miguel explained “I think it will go decent.”

“It’s gonna be fine.” Jimmy insisted “But what they do after is the most important part, and it’s going to be the part they really need help with. The X-Men have to stop lollygagging and make a decision. It should never take this long to do the obvious thing.”

“I agree the X-Men need to go and help. But you all need to have a little patience. They are going to make the decision. They just needed a little time.”

“My thing is like, who knows how much time they have though.” Jane said with a sigh “Whoever the Avengers are fighting are attacking them on every front. I can’t help but feel like by the time they try and help it’s gonna be a bit too late.”

“I feel you on that.” Olivia admitted “I think our whole team does but we're just going to trust the X-Men. I think they'll come through in time, and then we won’t get in trouble either.”

“Yeah I guess.” Jane agreed, but it seemed like she had only said that to appease Olivia, and the entirety of the Gold Team could tell.

“Jimmy you guys aren’t...You're not planning to do anything irresponsible are you?”

“Nah. There’s no point.” Jimmy told her confidently “We’d never make it out, and after everything the X-Men have done for us we won’t spit in their face like that. We are going to wait like you guys but… that doesn't mean we have to like it.”

“Well I guess you're right Jimmy. You don’t have to like it, I hope you know that the Gold Team agrees with you, we just gotta be patient.” Talia told and gave him a pat on the shoulder

“Yeah, of course. Now let’s hit the showers, My nose can tell that everyone here needs a wash. Especially you Creed.”

“Same to you.” Creed scoffed as he and his team headed for the showers. As the Gold Team left the Blue Team lagged behind and shared a couple of looks and smirks, and they all knew what they meant.

They had no real plans of being patient. And no they weren’t saying that they were going to take the Blackbird one early morning and fly away to America. But well if that did happen they wouldn’t happen to know anything about.

HEROES OF TOMORROW

It was 8:00pm and James watched as his teammates filed into the TV room ready to watch maybe the most important decision for the Avengers ever. At least for this current iteration, he couldn’t speak on any past ones. Even then this had to be up there.

They all sat on the couch and aside from a couple of mumbles there wasn’t much if anything at all to say.

Instead James just flipped the TV on and they began to watch the report that could very well change their future.

“And now our General Assembly we turn attention to the final thing on our agenda and that is the Avengers Initiative. Secretary General we pass over the stage to you.”

The camera moved to an older man with grey hair and his fair share of wrinkles and scars, everyone had been affected during Ultron’s regime and this showed it. The man flipped through a manila folder diligently and began speaking on the situation.

“A little over a week ago the independent agents known as the ‘Avengers’ went on an unsanctioned mission to the state of Madripoor. The team consisted of James Rogers commonly known as Captain America, Francis Barton commonly known as Hawkeye, Azari T’Challa Prince of Wakanda also known as Black Panther, Henry Pym Jr also known as The Wasp, and Torunn Thorsdottir, officially recognized as an Alien to our state, embarked on this mission.”

“They know that?” Francis questioned, shocked at the knowledge of the government officials.

“We never had to give them much, but your identities with the government have always been open. They and anyone who wants to can get that information.” Tony explained, to which Francis begrudgingly accepted.

“The mission was deemed unsuccessful as the five managed to cause more destruction than anything else. The state of Madripoor was left in varying states of distress and the representatives of Madripoor have come to the General Assembly with this situation. It led the Assembly to a decision. Allow the Avengers to continue to work unrestricted or allow them to work but under the UN’s guide and authority. The floor is now open to anyone who wants to speak on the situation.”

A few countries spoke up on the situation but nothing really popped off until the representative of Norway decided to add their piece to the conversation.

“If I may add. The ages of the Avengers currently stand with Francis the oldest at 17. Torunn and James are 16, The Prince at 15, and Henry at just 13 years old. I think that is all the information we need. It’s obvious they need the proper guidance from legitimate adults. Or else this won't be the first problem.”

“I’m going to interject here and counter that approach.” Valerie jumped into the conversation for the first time “It seems like the general consensus is that the Avengers need to be under lock and key, and I for one couldn’t disagree more. The Avengers don’t need us, and we don’t need to be focusing on people who aren’t the actual problem.”

“It also feels like we are conveniently forgetting the fact that the Avengers are the reason we can even hold a meeting like this in the first place. Did you know that just two years ago the oldest Avengers was 15? Henry Pym was just 11 years old when helped save the world from Ultron. James Rogers was 14 when he led his team trekking across the Americas, going around Europe and saving us from the aftermath of what Ultron’s reign had done to our planet?”

“Well like you said Miss Cooper. That was years ago. It seems the Avengers have gotten a bit more reckless.”

“Seriously? From my understanding the Avengers have gone on over 150 unsanctioned missions in the past two years. The Avengers were in France on an unsanctioned mission as recent as 16 days ago. Does anyone know what happened there?”

“The Avengers were a great help.” The french rep spoke up immediately “It was only three of them. Captain America, Hawkeye, and the little one, The Wasp. But they were a great help, they moved exceptionally fast despite being tired, and the best thing was the inspiration they were to the people. My country hasn’t looked or felt this good in years, and for that I will never forget the Avengers.”

“I rest my case. Every single one of us should be feeling the same or else we’d still be in captivity. 150 missions and not once have they complained or tried to give the responsibility to someone else. One mission gone wrong is not grounds to take away their freedom.”

“They destroyed our city.” The Madripoor representative interjected, “A person can be good all their lives, yes, but that doesn’t stop them from committing a crime.”

“Reports are showing that Torunn was fighting known criminal Karla Sofen, otherwise known as Moonstone. Many might not remember but she was a big ‘villian’ during the Age of Heroes.”

“Known reformed criminal.” The Madripoor rep corrected “She hasn’t done anything criminal like in years.”

“Yeah if you haven’t noticed nobody has done anything criminal like in years. They weren’t able to. Ultron’s reign was supreme whether you were good or bad.”

“This Ultron talks. We in Madripoor never dealt with Ultron. We never needed superpowers to come and save our state. We did things on our own!”

“You can’t possibly be so arrogant to believe that Ultron feared you. Sir, Ultron was knocking on Asia’s front door. He had already set up his Sentries across your borders and you could do nothing about it. If it weren’t for the Avengers the belief was that he was going to start the take over in a few days. Just cause you didn’t feel it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

“If I may, Madam, maybe that’s the problem.” The representative of Sweden started “There’s a disconnect. Most of us understand the effects of what Ultron did to us. I personally remember seeing most of my family disappear right before my eyes. My daughter was the only one left. For 13 years I did my best to keep her safe.”

“After the news spread that Ultron was destroyed I thought his army would naturally no longer function. I was wrong. His army would have killed my daughter. She and my entire city were saved single handedly by the Black Panther. I think he was 14 at the time. I think most of us on this panel could tell you stories for days, and that’s the perspective that those who didn’t face Ultron lack.”

“That’s disingenuous. We faced Ultron not at the same level you all did. But he certainly did come.” The Taiwan rep argued

“Yes but in this case I think not facing him at the level most of us did, is stopping some of you from realizing how effective and important the Avengers are to our world today.”

“And they can still be that from under the protection of the United Nations.”

“But they can't, that’s the point.”  Valerie exclaimed as she jumped back into the conversation “The United Nations slow things down drastically for the Avengers. If we take a week to delegate on issues, that's precious time the Avengers can be using to help others. We’d just be getting in their way.”

“It might be worth it if it stops more incidents like the one that happened in Madripoor.”

“Madripoor the World’s leading hub in crime for 37 years in a row. Are we sure the Avengers were wrong in going to Madripoor. Do we know the full story yet? I’m sure we all saw Mr. Rogers press release. If he says we don’t have the full story I’m inclined to believe him.”

“You are inclined to believe a teenager?”

“Excuse me if I don’t put all my value into age. I feel like the world is in a place where we can't pick and choose who is helping us. And yes if it’s a teenager, it’s a teenager. It also feels like we aren’t doing them justice. They are clearly wise beyond their years. I trust them, and feel like we all should as well.”

“They saved many people over the course of two years. But now I believe it’s time for them to integrate into our system.”

“No. And I believe I’ve given the Assembly countless other options, and we are currently discussing one in private now. Integrating the Avengers is a mistake. I believe we talked about this long enough, and voting should start now.”

“Agreed. General Assembly, taking all these things into consideration, please make your decision.” The Secretary General told the people.

It was a simple process. Tablets were in front of each member of the General Assembly, all the representatives had to choose was either yes or no. And then the votes would tally and show on a big screen.

At first the Avengers were a little worried as it was a clean 6% saying yes they needed to be integrated to 1% saying otherwise. But suddenly things changed. It jumped from 1 percent to 10, 20, 40,60 all the while the number on the other side barely grew. It eventually ended up with 84% voting no to the Avengers integrating and 16% saying yes.

They had only needed 70% for action to take place and they had easily cleared that. The smiles in the room were large, it seemed they had underestimated the outside world. It seemed they had more friends on the outside than he thought.

Chapter Text

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, MAY 8, 9:00 UTC

“Azari, what a pleasant surprise.” His aunt told him over the phone “I wasn’t expecting your call today, has something gone wrong?”

“Ah no Aunt Shuri.” Azari began to explain “I’m calling about the briefcase. I saw the contents and followed the instructions to a tee. It was an...experience.”

“Ahhh. How are you feeling then?” Shuri asked sympathetically

“Well it was actually a couple weeks ago, it’s really only now I’ve got the time to talk to you about everything.” 

“Well you survived the experience so that’s good.” Shuri 

“Was there a chance of me not surviving?” Azari asked just a tad worried for his health and safety.

“A very minimal chance. We know you are empowered by the Heart shaped herb even if scans on your body don’t exactly show it. For that reason we believed it safe for you to physically take the herb. But still there was a miniscule chance for you to react poorly as no one has taken it twice before. But I would not let the future King take something truly dangerous. Did you feel any side effects?”

“Honestly? I feel great. Possibly even better than before. I don’t know if I’m stronger or anything but...It’s like I’m weirdly more focused. Locked in if you will.”

“Well we always knew you being even more enhanced was a possibility, but we thought that would be a good thing. How was the experience with your father?”

“So that was supposed to happen?”

“Yes. I had one with my father, as did T’Challa and every king before him. It is a staple of the ritual.”

“Well it was...Impossible. That’s what it felt like. Impossible.” Azari explained  “It didn’t feel like that could happen but I also knew that it was very real. Talking to my father wasn’t something I ever thought would be possible again. And yet it was everything I needed.”

“That’s good Azari. I’m glad he was able to impart such wisdom on you. You were too young to be fretting so much about things around you. I hope you know that he, and the past kings, will always lend their wisdom when needed.”

“Yes, my father did say that as well.”

“Good. Well I also hope that means your stance on the Wakandan throne has changed. Even if it’s just a little bit. You did tell me you were ready to learn a while ago.”

Azari laughed a bit and smiled “Yes, that was a big topic I spent talking about with him. And like I told you before I’m really ready to take the next steps for becoming the King of Wakanda. My father told me that learning to become King doesn’t mean it had to happen tomorrow. But that doesn’t mean I can’t ensure I do my best when the time comes.”

“There’s my wise nephew.” And he could practically feel Shuri beaming over the phone line “In terms of next steps you have to continue reading and learning up on Wakandan Law. The next most important thing is financial work, you must understand how Wakanda contains it’s wealth and understand the Vibranium trade. Other than that, if you're ever willing, the best education you can get on Wakanda is coming to the place and getting to know your people.”

“I think I would like that. After all this Masters of Evil garbage. I think you can pencil me in for a month’s stay in Wakanda.”

“Perfect. The people are going to be very excited Azari. Even when your father was a boy there was never this much anticipation for the next of kin. YOu are special, and I hope you never forget it.”

“Thank you Aunt Shuri. I’ll have to go now, but I’ll talk to you soon.”

"Alright Azari, take care.”

After saying goodbyes, Azari put his phone down and flopped on his bed and let out a huge sigh. His stance on Wakanda had certainly changed in the past few weeks. Courtesy of his Dad’s spiritual essence or whatever.

He was going to be a King someday. A day that in reality wasn’t even that far from coming. It was just a couple of years. And they all knew how time could fly by. It was just two years ago they were fighting Ultron.

In the next three years, Azari had to wonder, what would the Avengers be doing? Would they still be dealing with threats like this? Spending countless hours trying to deal with the deconstruction of Ultra City. Would James, Torunn, Pym, and Francis ever stop things and have a normal sort of life?

Being a King certainly wasn’t simple but it was technically a “normal” job. More normal than being a Superhero anyways. 

Would Azari end up separated from the Avengers. Would constantly being in Wakanda alienate him from his friends, his family. Everyone knew Wakanda wasn’t too big on visitors. Would they see each other more than once or twice a year? Would they still be friends when it was all said and done.

In three years would they even still be needed? Maybe the Masters of Evil were the last remnants of the old days. And maybe with no new threats to deal with, the Avengers would be fine doing whatever they pleased.

And yeah, In the back of his mind Azari knew that was less than likely, but he couldn’t help but want that for his family. If anyone deserved rest it was those guys. All of them were constantly doing something.

Sorry to bother you Azari but can you head to Tony’s lab? Pym, Riri, and I are working on something and we need some assistance.

“Be right down.” Azari called to his ceiling. They really were always doing something. As Azari left his room he could only hope that whatever happened in the next years of his friends lives, was that at least they would find peace.

Everyone knew they deserved that.

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA, MAY 8, 12:00 UTC

“How ironic that we are headed to the dry forests.” Daisy sighed “I mean in what world do barren forests make a good hideout, or whatever it is they are doing...James you in there?” Daisy ended up a bit worried for the Avenger.

“Yeah it’s just…” James started before suddenly stopping, he even took his shield off his back “This isn’t going to work. It’s too hot.”

James took his goggles and his helmet off. He had to take off his sweatshirt and his jacket, and only put his jacket back on. He ran and hand through his hair, and it felt like a fountain of sweat was released from his hair.

Costa Rica was a naturally hot place but their dry forests were another level of heat. On average it was 33 degrees celsius. Today it was worse, pushing nearly 36.

“Pym, Deus, and Riri have been talking about reconstructing a new outfit for me for a little while now. I’ve kinda ignored it, but maybe it’s time for the military look to go.” James told Daisy who was blushing just a bit.

“Yeah maybe. I think the military look really worked the past few years because well, it still felt like we were in a war. But now. Things are changing a bit so maybe it’s time to retire the look, though you do look great in it.”

“Yeah you're probably right. I’ll tell Pym and the others when we get back.” James decided, it really was time for a change

“So you're going back to the black and red?” Daisy questioned

“The black and red stars were always supposed to be a homage to my parents. And it was good for the time. But it’s also kiddish and doesn’t exactly scream Captain America. If I’m supposed to be...some sort of icon or voice for the people. I’d like to be something everyone can trust and rely on. I feel like the blue and red portrays that better.”

“I mean, if you say so.” Daisy told him with a shrug. She believed it didn’t necessarily matter what James wore as he already had the trust of the people.

“Alright, it’s time to focus back on the mission. It’s been 26 hours, and we’ve got to move fast before we lose the mercs again. I estimate they are only 4 or 5 clicks off our current location, it shouldn’t take much to get there at our speed.”

“Got to be careful though. I’m thinking we’ve got a definite hostage situation. And who knows what else.”

“Yeah definitely. I think we’re going to need to be careful. Definitely a situation where I’ll go first.” James planned things out

“Right, and while you drag them out, I’ll get to the hostages. It should be that simple.” Daisy finished for him

“Hopefully it is, but things usually have a way of spiraling out of control.”

Daisy didn’t respond and the two left it at that. For the next ten minutes they walked in silence and peace. The couple didn’t actually need to speak too much to get their points across. Things were sound that way.

And with how serious they took their missions it went without saying that romance on missions was certainly not going to be happening. Even if it crossed both of their minds once in a while. Eventually walking was no longer an option for the duo and they stopped their trek to refuel for  a few seconds before getting going.

“You're sure you're okay with running? It’s real hot and keeping up with me can be a challenge. We might be able to make it walking.”

“I’ll be fine James, plus I like the challenge. And remember we tried the walking thing once already. If it had worked we’d be home right now. Don’t worry about me.” Daisy insisted with a teasing grin “And if I recall it was a certain super soldier complaining about the heat not too long ago.”

“Right, right.” James laughed with Daisy “Alright then, come on.” 

And that started the jog through the Costa Rican forests. Everything started off well. Teasingly James started off way faster than Daisy could ever hope to keep up but quickly he slowed himself to match her pace and the two were rolling and making great time.

It was probably only 6 or 7 minutes into the jog when Daisy began to feel a wave of nausea hit her body. It felt very off to her. Almost like a little explosion randomly going off in her body, and she did not like it one bit.

She couldn’t understand it though. She knew she was in tip top shape. She had run for much longer in similar conditions before, and that was with more than just a pistol on her hip. She was trained to withstand much more and yet she could feel herself crumbling under the heat.

James gave her a side eye glance and she realized she had fallen behind so she gave her head a good shake (bad idea) and forced herself to keep going. She wasn’t going to be a liability on the mission.

“You okay Daisy?” James asked as he watched the girl fall behind for the fourth time. He couldn’t help but get a little worried. Over the past two years he had run a few missions with Daisy and the Scavengers and she had never really struggled with stamina, you needed tons of it to do what they did, and she had never skimped on training.

It really was hot even for him, but she had been fine all of yesterday and earlier today so it was weird that she was reacting like this.

“I’m totally fine James.” Daisy said, but her voice didn’t carry the usual confidence that came with it, and he couldn’t help but be a smidge worried.

“If it’s too hot...”

“I’m fine.” Daisy insisted once more “Pym made our suits to be as breathable as possible. That’s not the problem.”

James nearly commented that her saying the suit wasn’t the problem insinuated that something else was, but he wasn’t sure that was going to help.

“Alright. It’s only a little further and then it’s go time, so I was just making sure.” James explained.

Daisy didn’t bother to give him a response, not because she didn’t want to, but because she felt like if she focused on anything other than what was in front of her, she was going to puke her guts out.

What’s wrong with me?

Luckily for Daisy in the next 5 minutes they hit their location and hid behind a tree as the situation they were in began to play itself out.

Beyond the trees they were hiding behind was a rather open area, with a couple of shacks, and a huge lighthouse where a sniper’s gun was ready. Over 15 men with Assault rifles and ballistic military gear stood ready for anything they spotted.

One man wore a black vest differentiating him from the rest, making it very obvious who the boss was. Of course in the middle of all this, laying on the ground feet and arms times behind their backs near some jagged rocks was 6 hostages. All of them women and children. That was the prize. It looked bad but James felt they could do this.

While Daisy eagerly drank all the water in their canteen, James began to navigate the exact details of the plan.

“Alright, here's the deal.” James began “The place is pretty open, even for a guy like me stealth will only work for so long. The number one thing is going to be protecting the hostages. The left side of this forest is denser, easier to hide in. There’s also only 4 men on that side, but tapping into infrared says there’s a fifth in the grass as well. Take him out, and you should be able to go untouched to the lighthouse where the Sniper has the best vantage. From there you set up shop and use the silencers, and I’ll keep the hostages safe as well as take down the baddies while you lay some coverfire, got it?” 

“Did you catch that Daisy?” James questioned once more after he got no response. He turned around to see a rather comical sight of Daisy smacking the bottom of the canteen trying to get the last drops of water from the canteen.

“Yeah.” She said with a nod and honestly, after drinking all that water, she was feeling pretty good. Maybe it really was just heat exhaustion. “I’m going through the grass, and I gotta watch out for the guy in the grass and the other four right outside of it. Then watch out for the guy in the lighthouse and provide cover fire.

James was content with recollection of the plan and pleasantly surprised that she looked much better now “Great. Let’s get it done then.”

They duo gave each other one last nod before they took off in opposite directions. Daisy took off slinking through the grass stealthily and got closer to her target. She turned once and watched as James climbed a tree and used its bushes for cover, easily jumping from one to the other ready to launch the perfect stealth attack.

Daisy got closer to her target when another wave of vertigo hit her body, almost causing her groan out loud. Instead she slipped out a very small circular disk that was only the size of half her thumb and went right behind the man covering his mouth first before placing the disk on his neck electrocuting him, and make sure to muffle his screams and let his body his the ground gently, to not alert the other guards.

As she moved a little away from the scene she had to stop at a tree and deal with the sudden crushing pain. She could only take a few seconds as she knew James was counting on her. So she took a deep breath and headed towards the back of the lighthouse where the sniper was supposed to be on his perch.

Daisy snuck around once more finding a tad bit of comfort in the cool shade of the trees but as she neared the lighthouse that disappeared and instead she was in the more open area of the lighthouse.

She wasted no time jogging right up to the back of the lighthouse ready to start her climb up the ladder. However as she looked up the sniper rifle was trained on her.

“Stop!” The man demanded in Spanish “Stop, don’t move! Move and I shoot! Hands up! People Intruder.”

Daisy immediately put her hands, for fear of getting shot, she did her best to stay calm as she had been in pretty terrible situations before but with a sniper trained on her and James far away, this might have topped the list. Worst of all, for some reason her wrists were throbbing. The pain was so unusual.

As she slowly walked backwards with her hands in the air she was suddenly surrounded by 8 or so men. All with their guns trained directly on her.

“State your purpose! Now! Do not move an inch!” The one wearing the black vest yelled at her angrily “Talk now before we kill you!”

“This...they are my family!” Daisy lied easily,  “I came to rescue them. Please don’t kill me!”

Yeah that was it, lay it on thick, let them believe she was helpless and maybe she could spring. Still 8 guns was much. She was going to need a big distraction so she could hide in the forest, and even then it was going to be hard to get there without getting shot.

The man in the black vest seemed to stare into her soul attempting to see if she was lying, before smiling wickedly.

“Search her. And then we tie her up with the rest.” The black vest man told his crew. He seemed to take a sick pleasure in watching his crew absolutely violate her by checking everywhere for her weapons. They felt up everywhere and it seemed the more she struggled the funnier the man thought it was.

She wanted to destroy those dudes, but she could take some satisfaction from the sound of a smoke grenade going through the air and the sound of James' shield hitting 3 different bodies.

“There’s another one!” The Black vest man yelled before turning towards Daisy “You lying bitch! You’ll pay. Everyone with me. Rodrigo, keep the girl, but kill her if you have to.”

They all left except the man with the sniper rifle who pulled out a handgun and kept it trained on Daisy, it was only one person now but honestly the gun was making it really hard to make a move. She would no doubt die in an instant.

“Stop moving!” The man demanded, and Daisy tried to listen to the commands she really did, but she couldn’t stand still, not with the pain she was feeling. “I’m not going to do anything.”

“Stop! Moving!” He yelled once more, his finger was on the trigger, and he could obviously hear the sound of a shield smacking across the battlefield, and with the other hostages gone, it seemed that ‘Ricardo’ was seriously considering cutting their losses permanently.

“I-I won’t do anything.” Daisy insisted “I’m harmless. I just...let me sit down.”

“You don’t listen.” Ricardo told her angrily, but he was more focused on the fight before he turned back to her. His finger was on the trigger, and muttered something Daisy couldn’t make out, but she didn’t like the look of this.

“Wait no...STOP!” Daisy called as he fired the bullet, time seemed to move in slow motion as the bullet raced to her, certainly it would go straight through her skull.

Her hands were in front of her face simply because of reflex but the action seemed to have saved her life. In that split second her arms stopped hurting and instead it was like a rush of adrenaline directly in her hands that let out an emission of waves that crushed the bullet before it could even make it to her.

“What in the!?!?!” The man began to freak out “What are you?”

Daisy was shocked herself as she thrust her hand out towards the man and waves hit him, instantly sending him to the ground screaming in pain. It would have been kind of cool...

If she could stop.

She turned towards the lighthouse still emitting the vibration-esque waves and it was probably the wrong thing to do, because of the situation she was in. And it proved right as the lighthouse crumbled almost instantly under her new power. The stone and metal crumbled under her and sent an avalanche towards the men and James.

What was a cool experience for about 20 seconds was becoming a nightmare. She pointed her hands to the ground and that didn’t seem to help much either. “Come on, turn off, turn off!” she hissed at herself.

The worst thing was the pain was beginning to come back. Her hands couldn’t seem to handle the pressure and she also couldn’t make it stop.

She fell to her knees, hands by her side, and tried to will everything to stop but it really wasn’t working.

“Daisy!” She heard from in front of her she lifted her hands up, thinking it might have been one of the mercenaries but instead it was James. She hit him straight in the chest and the scream he let out was immense. She had hurt him badly.

Yet still after a few moments. James got back up this time with his shield right in front of him. He struggled to walk but eventually got right in front of her.

The waves she let out were repelled by his shield but it was still affecting the area around. It looked like an earthquake had hit Costa Rica, and Daisy was the cause of it.

“Daisy please. I need you to relax, stop please.”

“I...I can’t.” Daisy cried, the pain was excruciating as well “I wish I could but I can’t stop!”

“You’ve developed powers. Tony used to say many mutants went through things like this all the time. I just need you to take a deep breath. Breath Daisy.”

They both took a minute and James tried to lead through the exercise but it was failing and they both knew. The structural integrity of the entire forest was struggling because of the trees falling over. it was getting worse.

They had to do something quick before they had another international. “Daisy. I need you to close your eyes for me. Alright?”

“Yeah. Okay. That  I can-

As her eyes closed James wasted no time whirling his shield at Daisy, he watched as it slowed as it went through the vibrational field but it still hit her head with a resounding crack, but it had the desired effect as the field of vibrational waves immediately ceased.

James ran over grabbing his ribs as he did and checked on Daisy. There was some blood trickling from her head as he expected, she was knocked out cold, and he could patch her up but this was bigger than that.

If Daisy woke up and her powers were still out of whack she could take out her plane, she could cause real damage to Costa Rica and that wasn’t what they needed right now. 

“Captain America to Avengers. Come in. I’m going to need a immediate transport. Requesting Tony, Banner, Pym, Riri, Amadeus and Azari. ASAP.” James called in as he picked Daisy up and began the trek back to the Quinjet

“James. Tony came on the line. Most of us are in the lab right now. How bad is it?”

“The injury is minimal, she's fine, the mission was successful, but that doesn’t seem to be the problem.”

“What is it then?”

“Daisy...She seems to be some sort of mutant. During the mission As far as I can tell she was attacked most likely shot at and her powers began to show. She’s strong to say the least. The blast she hit me with, definitely crushed most of my ribs. She destroyed a lighthouse easily, her powers were akin to an Earthquake. I need an intercept because the moment she wakes up it’s going to happen again and I don’t think she can take another hit from my shield to get her to stop.”

“Alright okay. Get into the Quinjet, give her some normal medicine, and a dose of the lunesta and you should be fine until we get there. Then I need you to treat yourself and start taking blood samples, and describing in every detail how her powers work so we can counteract that. Got it?”

“Yeah, just give me ten minutes. Talk soon.” James grunted, he didn’t listen to hear what they said and instead ignored the pain and ran as fast as he could to the Quinjet. Things were really getting crazier everyday.

HEROES OF TOMORROW

In the Biodome things were a little hectic as Tony, Banner, Pym, Azari, Riri, and Amadeus scrambled around shovelling things in a bigger Quinjet and yelling about things Francis and Torunn didn’t totally understand.

They had both jumped at the idea to help out Cap and Daisy, but they learned that this wasn’t really a problem that could be fought, and with Azari and now Riri having fighting capabilities they didn’t really need anymore.

The group of 6 had flown out nearly 20 minutes and that had left Torunn and Francis alone and in charge, naturally the two gravitated to each other, but today there really wasn’t anything to do. No Masters of Evil stuff, nothing they could do about the Daisy situation, and nothing they could do to help out Valerie or the situation with the presidential campaigns so the two heroes plopped themselves down in front of the TV relaxing with one another.

“I can’t believe Daisy is a mutant.” Francis began “I never really considered that anyone here other than us could exhibit powers. It’s almost weird to think.”

“Yes, but now look. Riri has found her own source of power. And Daisy has been born with extraordinary gifts. I think this is exactly what we needed.” Torunn explained

“I mean it’s definitely a good thing. Still I always assumed Tony and Bruce could simply figure out if someone was going to mutate before it was going to happen. It means anyone else who's here could be a mutant as well. Kinda cool.” Francis thought.

Torunn agreed and they continued to watch the TV, and Torunn couldn’t help but think that things had changed for the better. Her and Francis had kept most of the fighting to a minimum...kinda usually they just ignored the arguments, but still it was better than before.

“I’ve been thinking,” Torunn began suddenly, “I’ll have to head back to Asgard.”

“What?” Francis whirled on her “When?”

Torunn pulled away from Francis and frowned at his tone, last time she checked she hadn’t said anything wrong. What was with the sudden hostility “As soon as possible honestly.”

“ Why?”  

“It’s been long enough. I’m needed at home.”

“Seriously Tor?” Francis scoffed, and stood up away from her “It’s been less than a month. It hasn’t even been 3 weeks!”

“This is just something I have to do, Francis.” Torunn insisted 

“Oh I’m sure.” Francis rolled his eyes “What could possibly be so important that you need to leave Earth. Your home by the way, every three weeks. Huh?”

“It’s not every three weeks, Francis. And I’ve already told you I have things I need to do. Earth is my home, always. But understand that Asgard is also my home, but it’s also my duty to protect.” Torunn told him, anger quickly rising.

“Really?” Francis asked deadpan “Torunn is something is really wrong with Asgard and your Dad can’t take care of it, what would you be able to do anyway. He’s like the strongest person in the universe.”

“It’s not that simple. It’s not just about fighting. My parents are in Asgard, and at times I need to go to them for guidance and things of that nature. Asgard is...It’s more than you guys could understand. It's just...different from here.”

Francis paused for a while and Torunn believed that he might actually be taking in what she was saying before he gave a little laugh. “Yeah I guess none of us could ever understand having parents to talk to, could we?”

“That’s not wha-

“Save it. You're going to Asgard to have a talk with mommy and daddy? Seriously? You know when you ducked out on Pym, James, and I for the France mission I almost let James trick me into believing that you weren’t just focused on whatever it is you do up there. But it’s clearly all you care about.”

“Stop assuming things Francis. You are making things up. First off I can go and come back from Asgard as fast as I need to. I’ll come back. And like I said, Earth is my home. I will always love everyone here, and I’d never abandon it like you continue to insinuate! And James is right, I’m not just focused on Asgard. I am completely invested in everything that is going on right now.”

“Of course!” Francis threw his hands up in the air “That’s why you're abandoning your family during their most intense time in two years right? I don’t know if this saying hasn’t been removed from Asgardian lore or something, but Actions speak louder than words Torunn. Talk about how much you care for us all you want, you're still leaving. Not even surprised to be honest. Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Torunn was simply going to ignore Francis until he added in that last bit. Her blood was boiling he knew how she felt about all that stuff with her Dad, she hated it as much as anyone.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Torunn demanded angrily, and despite how angry she looked and how easily

“Don’t make me say it.”

“No. Say it Francis. You’ve said so much already, what's one more little thing right. Complaining is what you do best so just say it already.”

Francis' eyes narrowed, and at this point he couldn’t care less about anyone’s feelings. “The apple doesn't fall from the tree. We both know that if your All-Seeing Dad wasn’t an All-Seeing Asshole the Avengers might still be alive. Not just that but the millions of deaths that happened as a result. Maybe if the All-Powerful King Thor did...I don’t know ANYTHING. Earth wouldn’t be in the place it’s in right now.”

Torunn stared at Francis angrily, willing herself not to be emotional in front of the archer. Instead she thrust her arm out to the side which confused Francis at first, until he could hear the sounds of destruction as Torunn called Arnbjorg to her through the Compound and it hit her hand with a burst of electrical energy.

“When the others come back, make sure you let them know that it’s your fault I’m leaving early.” Torunn spat vehemently

“Will do.” Francis shot back with just as much heat. Torunn raised her sword and Francis had to cover his eyes as the light broke through the Compound ceiling, and in less than a second Torunn had disappeared from the face of the Earth. Leaving behind a big mess and the familiar Asgardian sigil on the ground.

Francis sighed, and left the room “Vision,” He commed in, “I’m gonna need some help with cleaning up.”

HEROES OF TOMORROW

“I know we’ve been through a lot lately, but I think we might all agree that this is the craziest thing out of all the bunch.” Amadeus told the group of scientists.

Currently Tony, Bruce, Riri, Pym, and Azari had set up shop in Tony’s laboratory. They had made the intercept from James Quinjet and had begun tons of testing to help out Daisy. Of course things were never going to get finished on the plane, but things had trouble getting off the ground in the first place because Daisy was just a wild case.

As Azari worked on the schematics for a possible solution to Daisy’s problem with Riri he had to admit Pym might be right. Despite everything that had happened in the past three weeks. Discovering an entirely different evolutionary offshoot from the human race was something else.

“Have you compared the samples of Daisy’s blood to Azari’s yet Amadeus?” Bruce questioned the young genius.

“Yeah, as expected, not all too similar.” Amadeus said with a sigh. “That makes blood samples different. The X-Factor sequence is completely different. RNA sequences are different, which we all know are like the big thing in all mutants, so I think we're clear on the fact she is most likely not a mutant.”

“Could be that.” Pym agreed “But have we considered the fact that Azari’s inheritance of the Heart Shaped Herb could also be playing a factor in these differences?”

“It could, but the effects of the heart shaped herb have always been closer to the Super Soldier Serum, so I don’t necessarily think so.”

“Yeah, but that actually might be the difference.” Pym pointed out and pulled up two pictures of what seemed to be James' genetic code, and the other must have been Daisy’s “You see how James and Daisy’s DNA sequence are almost exactly the same except for an extra sequence down this right side?”

“Yeah.” The others nodded.

“Well Azari’s is like that as well, except we all know those extra sequences are just his X-Factor at work somewhere in there. Daisy’s last imagery from a couple of months ago shows that this sequence was also there; it was just...in development. See how much shorter it was just a couple of months ago?” Pym pointed out once more.

“Wow. That should not be possible.” Amadeus exclaimed off the bat.

“No it shouldn’t.” Riri joined in “But it does make sense. Kind of. That sequence is what we all know gives a mutant their powers usually. Except anyone can be born with the X-Factor sequence, there’s just a low chance of it activating. This is a gene sequence that has probably been developing for years on it’s own. But it’s built to do the same thing as the X-Factor.”

“Give a person their latent ability.” Pym agreed with Riri “Exactly, maybe she’s not a mutant in the conventional sense, but she has certainly evolved like one. I’d like to call this an Evolutionary offshoot. It only makes the most sense.”

“It does.” Tony admitted “And I think you're mostly right Pym. But something’s missing. I can’t help but feel like there is more to this. Like you said, James, Daisy, and Azari’s normal DNA sequences are nearly exactly the same, yet they are all different.”

“But they most likely all post the same results.” Bruce hopped in “I don’t know if you all noticed but our patient has been healing much faster than she normally does. Didn’t she break her collarbone on that mission in San Francisco two weeks ago?”

“She did.” A new voice suddenly entered the conversation. It was James who was bandaging his own ribs as he entered the room. He already seemed much better after an hour of rest, he would be fine.

“She’s never healed that fast before. And to be honest, she didn’t have trouble keeping up with me when I was sparring, or when we were running earlier today. I never really noticed because she’s always been better than the other Scavengers but, maybe...this was the cause?”

“I think so.” Tony agreed with the Super Soldier “Think about it people, why can James do what he can do?”

“The Serum.” Pym automatically answered

“And Azari?”

“The Herb.” Amadeus answered, beginning to see here this was going. “So why can Daisy do what she can do?”

“All I know is that in one case, we have man engineering the perfect serum to create the perfect soldier. In another case we have a herb that had been mutated by a meteorite of vibranium. Also creating one of the most perfect ways to gain the peak of human strength and ability. So for Daisy-

“There has to be something else. Something more than her just being the next natural evolution in humans for her to develop the powers she has right now. You're right.” Pym admitted to Tony “But then I have no clue what it could possibly be.”

“And I’m not sure Daisy would either.” James spoke up “From what I know she doesn't know much about her past she mostly remembers her time with Francis’ dad.”

The six scientists were truly stumped as they could figure the reason for this phenomena. Similar abilities to James and Azari but all three genetic codes are slightly different. And then she had something akin to the X-Factor gene just like Azari but it was also different in almost every way that mattered. She was not a mutant, she was not a human, and she wasn’t a super soldier so...what was she?

“I know it’s annoying not knowing exactly what this is, but we will figure it out, but not without our patience.” Bruce told them “She’s the only one who can tell us everything we need to know. And before any of that happens we need the solutions to shutting her down for now. Do we have that yet?”

“Azari and I figured it out, yeah.” Riri nodded “We got Jocasta to start printing out the gauntlets, if she’s doing what we theorized they should keep her from bugging out until she gets control of her abilities.”

“Alright we can take a little break, and get back to this later.” Tony told them, and that’s exactly what they did. Everyone left Tony’s lab, James went to the medbay and sat by Daisy’s side the entire time and the others eventually went back to the lab and began spitballing ideas once more about what Daisy could be until it was time for her to wake up.

Azari and James slipped the grey metal Iron Man-esque gloves on her hand, they lit up blue for a second which they all hoped was a good sign, and then watched as Daisy slowly began to wake up.

“Oh man…” They heard her groan as she adjusted to the lights, but other than that she sat up and stretched before looking around the room “Something bad happened didn’t it? James?”

“Right beside you.” He called “Costa Rica Daisy, you don’t remember?”

That seemed to put some pep in her step as she nearly jumped out of the medbay “Oh my gosh, no one went critical did they? I’m so sorry-

“Relax Daisy, you were the one we were the most worried about. Your powers were out of whack for a little bit, but it seems like Azari and Riri fixed that up for you.” James told her with a soft smile. He couldn’t help but be a little worried her powers would go crazy, but that’s why he had his energy shield, and he trusted Riri and Azari.

“My powers..” Daisy whispered to herself in amazement before turning to Tony looking for answers “So I’m a mutant?”

Tony and the other scientists looked at each before sighing, knowing how long it was going to take to explain something they still didn’t understand. “Not quite Daisy...This is going to be a little hard to explain.”

HEROES OF TOMORROW

Pym entered his room past 1 am. After explaining everything to Daisy they way they understood the girl was clearly shocked and even worried which was almost weird as long as he’d known she was always confident in everything.

Still he might be worried as well if he was some unknown variation of mutants or super-soldiers or however they decided to name Daisy.

“She’s not a mutant, human or super-soldier. She’s not an Alien either I mean, Tch, might as well call her Inhuman. ...Nah that’s just stupid.” Pym told himself with a chuckle.

Still at times like late at night with nothing to do he would either talk to Torunn, Azari or read something. With Torunn doing her best disappearing act on the team and Azari busy with Wakandan stuff Pym was content to read his Parents journals.

So far he had really only read his fathers stuff still in the 80s for the most part, and it could be a bit weird at times but it was his parents so he cherished every word. This time however he decided to read his mother’s journal for the first time since he originally picked it up.

At first he regretted the decision. As what his mom was interested in wasn’t exactly his cup of tea. Lot’s of fashion stuff, most of the pages at the beginning had simply been used as a sketchbook.

But quickly the book turned into something more. While his father’s books was nearly all about science, and ants, and becoming as tall as could be or the Quantum Realm his mother’s book was really about being an Avenger, and a superhero, and it was written perfectly.

All her adventures were there to read. She described how it was when they uncovered Captain America, being one of the first leaders and how it was like to hold meetings, pressers and things of that nature. Her near death experience early on. It was one of the most interesting things he ever read.

And so despite over an hour passing and it now being 2:20 am, Pym continued reading his mother’s journal.

He wished he hadn’t.

Flipping from page 58 to 59 was like an entirely new experience. You see in the earlier pages his mother mentioned his father quite a bit, obviously with them being romantically involved and being a duo and working for the Avengers it was only natural that she mentioned him, but even then it wasn’t as much as you’d expect.

It was little things like ‘Hank needs to get out of the office more’ or things like ‘Hank and I are thinking of doing this for Christmas.’

But now it was different. And Henry didn’t know how to react as things seemed to spiral out of control.

After the Yellowjacket stuff I and the other Avengers knew Hank wasn’t exactly stable but...we had thought he had gotten better. This isn’t the case. In fact I might argue that he’s gotten worse. He’s had his second nervous breakdown. Or at least, his second huge nervous breakdown, and I don’t know what to do when he’s like this. 

He can be cold, petulant, and almost villain-like in the way he treats me, and the rest of the Avengers. I understood what I was getting into marrying Hank but this is...something else. I try to help him, and I can’t get a word in our conversations. Fury assigns psychiatrists and they don’t work. He’s just not the same when he’s like this. 

But maybe the worst thing is, when he’s supposedly changed back...he’s not all too different from the normal Hank. Did I marry a psycho? Am I in love with a crazy person? Maybe but there’s nothing I can do about it. I want to help him, and I’ll continue looking for a solution but… this isn’t looking good.

Another entry was very similar. Hank has been good almost perfect for months, there’s been nothing I could complain about, I assumed we had turned a new leaf. Of course. I was wrong. I can only believe his schizophrenia is getting worse.

What does one do in this situation? The person I love is buried under this baggage. All these different personas which simply aren’t the real him. But aren’t they? It is him isn’t it? It’s not like he suddenly won’t have all these personas. And even if I don’t like it, they are him right? He is the one creating villains to attack the Avengers, and then saving them from it as if it wasn't his fault? He is the one who yells and throws things for entering his lab. Right?

He is the one who gets angry when I talk to other people right? All we need is us, no one else right Jan? Right?

Though that is something the normal Hank would say as well. He’s always been possessive but, I mean I can’t blame him. So am I. We can be toxic, throwing things, and having wild fights throwing obscenities about but I also knew where his and my heart lay. We loved each other no matter what.

I’m not sure if I still see that. Even when he’s Hank he spends an absurd amount of time in his lab. Trying to grow just a little higher, trying to shrink just a little smaller, or working on whatever new toy he’s found next.

The loving Hank, the caring Hank, the Hank I’d take a million bullets for. He’s rarely around anymore and I’m not sure how long I can take this. It’s crazy.

The notes went on that for a while and Pym almost stopped before landing on a certain page that made his heart stop.

Hank slapped me...We’re getting a divorce.

That was all that page read, and the next page from a few days later seemed to expand on the situation 

I’ve been hit before. I’m a superhero. Getting hit is just a part of the job. Physically the backhand from Hank didn’t hurt all too much, I mean he’s strong but I’m pretty tough too.

Hank had his 3rd nervous breakdown. It was...chaotic. He had these plans. Attack the Avengers with a huge robot, give it a secret weakness, save the day and everyone would love him. That was the plan of Yellowjacket.

It was dumb, irresponsible and reckless and I told him that, I told him he couldn’t do it, and the more I talked he just angrier, and angrier, and snapped. He smacked me right across the face. 

Hank and I have fought many times. We spar all the time. He’s socked me in the jaw, I’ve punched him in the nose, he’s kicked me in the ribs, and I’ve taken out his knee. I even dislocated my shoulder once.

Never once was I scared of Hank. I knew that when we were training, we were just doing that training. After particularly heavy training during our early Ant-Man and Wasp days, he might give me a massage or tend to my wounds. It was always love. I knew that.

Getting slapped across the face by Yellowjacket. Watching him as he simply continued working and mumbled out a cold sorry for striking me like that. I think that’s caused me more psychological and mental pain than anything physical ever could.

Knowing that he simply didn’t care for my wellbeing, that he could have actually hurt me and not blink twice is scary. I’ve tried rationalizing this a million times already. It was Yellowjacket, not Hank. They are two different people. I tell myself that all the time.

But maybe it's time for me to accept that they are one and the same. I’m not sure MY Hank has been around in a long time.

Regardless, after the nervous breakdown was over, After I saved the day, after Yellowjacket turned back into Hank I handed him divorce papers. He seemed to understand just fine, not caring one bit.

As much as this hurts, as much as I thought I found my life partner, as much as I thought Hank could change well...I guess I was wrong. It’s crazy, if he had just shown a little compassion I probably would have taken him back. Maybe I’m the crazy one.

After that reading all that Pym shut the book immediately and threw it towards his desk without a care in the world. As of that moment he was questioning the sanity of either of his parents to be honest.

Never had he thought he’d learn that his father struck his mother or was a schizophrenic or anything like that but he had. This was years before his birth, and now Pym was questioning what was wrong with his Mom that made her go back? “Come on Pym, we don’t victim blame around here.” he told himself.

But he was still weirded out. He thought his parents were a great couple with minimal problems aside from the odd scuffle all couples had but...His mother’s book said otherwise. They were downright toxic which is the exact opposite of what Tony and Bruce had told him.

And obviously they knew the truth because his Mother said that this was public knowledge to all the Avengers, except for the slap. Regardless of whatever intertwined between his parents, What Pym couldn’t get around was the lies he was told.

His trust in Tony and even Banner was waning fast. They clearly weren’t shy about lying as they did with the Atlantis stuff, but he thought that was it. Now there were his parents and Pym couldn’t help but wonder...What else were they lying about?

Chapter Text

CITY OF ASGARD, ASGARD, MAY 28, TIME UNKNOWN

Torunn had reached a blissful state of sleep. She was under the large cover of her Asgardian bed. Being the Princess of an entire realm certainly had its perks. And right now, Torunn was going to use it to sleep in.

“Torunn come on.”

It was just three words but it was like nails against a chalkboard to Torunn’s ears. She knew it had to be extremely early as it always was when she was woken up on Asgard, but she was not trying to deal with that.

“Torunn dear,” Her mother’s voice started off so sweet “I’m afraid I do not have the patience to deal with your laziness everyday. If you do not get up now the rest of your time in Asgard will not  be very pleasant.”

“Ergghhh,” Torunn shot up from her bed angrily “Mother the sun hasn’t even risen yet! Must I do this everyday?”

“Yes.” Sif responded with a small smile, “I believe it builds character.”

“Don’t I do enough of that on Earth?” Torunn questioned, annoyed

“Yes but I do remember a certain 14 year old insisting the removal of some of her handmaidens. This is the result.

“ Mother .”

“Get a move on Torunn, We have a long day ahead of us.” Her mother called as she exited the room. As she left Torunn fell back on her bed wishing she could rest a little longer, but if there was one thing she understood was that her parents were very serious when they gave instructions.

It didn’t really matter anyway as now that her sleep had been disturbed she certainly wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep.

“Time to start the day I guess.” Torunn hopped in the shower, not even able to enjoy the time spent knowing that she was in for a long day.

She threw on her armour straight out of the shower not even bothering to waste any time, and soon she was flying through the Asgardian palace. She stopped and stared longingly at the kitchen taking wafts of the smell of delicious foods being made.

Still she quickly moved on. She knew that if she stayed any longer, she was gonna be tempted to eat at the food there, but instead she had a task to do, and even if it was annoying she planned on doing it right.

Torunn flew out of the castle waving to the few people awake below as she headed for her destination. The beautiful plain fields of Ida. It was at the center of Asgard and it was one of Torunn’s favourite places to stay when she came to Asgard, she loved to simply take in it’s beauty and think about everything life had to offer. Today however she wasn’t there for that.

As she closed in on the fields she landed near a section of darker blue flowers that were speckled with orange flecks on the stem and the petals. The flowers were beautiful and native to Asgard. The ‘Aldrnari’ stood for nourishment. Or more specifically nourishment of life. 

The flower held special properties that could be used for many things. Mostly magic, but that was very useful to Asgardians. Of course only a few people could pick them without actually getting into any trouble and Torunn was one of those people.

She pocketed three of the magical little flowers and placed them on a pouch on her waist, and headed off to the Bifrost where her daily journey awaited her. From the air Torunn could spot the observatory where the Guardian of the Bifrost did his job effervescently despite how draining everything that came with the job was.

Still she flew down to the little observatory and was happy to see her Uncle’s familiar face. He was standing as still as could be holding his sword in the Bifrost mechanism and staring out towards the cosmos.

“Heimdall!” Torunn called gladly with a wave, he didn’t turn around but it didn’t deter her from being happy to see her stoic Uncle in the slightest.

“Uncle Heimdall, You seem more focused than ever today.” Torunn called and stood in front of the towering man. This time her bright smile was able to get a little bit of reaction from Heimdall who gave her just the barest hints of a smile.

“How are you doing Torunn?” Heimdall questioned softly.

“As good as one can be when they are forcefully woken up from sleep.” Torunn muttered annoyedly “But I should have known Mother wasn’t going to let up on the ‘training.’”

“Sif can be very particular about things.”

“My father is insistent about me doing these things as well. I don’t understand it.” Torunn told Heimdall, frustrated.

“Truthfully Torunn your training does have more meaning that you assign it.” Heimdall began explaining to her “It is not simply an exercise.”

“Well what is it then?” Torunn questioned, confused, this had been a thing she had always done since she had first returned to Asgard, but she hadn’t ever put much thought into it. Deliver things to the other realms, train with her mother afterwards and then report to her parents what she did.

“Sometimes I think we forget that you are young and didn’t grow up on Asgard.” Heimdall began, it caused Torunn to frown; she didn’t like being reminded about her age or the fact that she was more Earth girl than Asgardian princess.

“Asgard and the other realms haven’t always been this...peaceful. From Bor, to Odin, and the beginnings of your father’s reign things were far from perfect. Things over the past years have gotten better as the All-Father has managed things throughout the nine realms. The lives slain have been at a minimum. However it would be foolish to assume nothing else will happen.”

“And that is why you guard the Bifrost.” 

“Yes, exactly. My eyes scan the cosmos and allow me to alert Asgard if any attacks are coming for our Realm. The All-Father has always preferred a hands-on approach and for that reason you go around to the realms making sure things are to our King's liking.”

“But I...I haven’t ever thought of it like that.” Torunn confessed “It does make sense...And the items are simply things to keep the realms complacent and not make any more messes around the realms.”

“Precisely. It would not be wise to keep our eyes turned from the other realms even in this time of relative peace.” 

“Is something coming Heimdall? Something we should be worried about?” Torunn asked, just a little worried, Earth had a lot of problems she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do if Asgard would be in trouble soon as well.

 It took a little longer for Heimdall to respond, and it was worrying but the Guardian was normally very truthful “Not quite. I see things, but anything can happen.”

“But what’s most likely to happen? Uncle?” Torunn called once more trying to get attention after his non-response.

“The future is not set in stone.” Is what Heimdall chose to stay “Regardless if something does happen Asgard has it’s protector.”

“Right.” Torunn agreed hesitantly “I guess you are right Uncle. Sorry for taking up so much of your time. I’m ready to go to Alfheim now.”

However, Heimdall was not finished with the conversation “Have you seen anything recently?”

The question sounded basic in nature. Stupid even, to a normal person. Even to the average Asgardian. But for Torunn her abilities were manifested in many different ways. From her Mother she gained the ability to instantly teleport herself wherever she needed to be, though at the moment that was either Earth or Asgard.

She could also see things. Her eyes weren’t like Heimdall, who could almost dream with his eyes open, see things from the future and hear the dangers of the cosmos from hundreds of miles away. But when she slept...things happened.

Or at least things had happened once or twice. The first time she had that sort of near prophetic experience she had been twelve years old. The year was 2006 and after an intense sparring session with the team she had basically passed out afterwards, and that was when it began.

She remembered the dream like it was yesterday. A ghostlike creature was traversing the stars on his own. The creature would stop at the planets and then write something down and move to the next one. The ghost seemed very passive and stoic but every once in a while, after stopping and writing things down he’d check over his shoulder before continuing his process.

Eventually however his checking over his shoulder proved to be fruitless as a bigger ghost eventually showed up right in front of the smaller one. And despite everything the smaller ghost attempted he simply could not avoid the bigger ghost, and so it ran. It ran as fast as it could traversing through the cosmos trying to get away. 

Of course the bigger ghost simply laughed and shot out his hand spawning nearly 10 or 12 ghosts the size of the runner, and they began to chase the ghost. Every Time they touched the ghost it was like a virus and he began to dissipate. The only thing that saved the ghost was crash landing on an unknown planet after escaping most of the ghosts.

When Torunn had woken up that time she was sorely confused. Later that night there had been a security breach that Tony refused to allow them to check out, as at that time they were deemed too young.

Years later however when the dream still wouldn’t get out of Torunn’s head she asked Tony what had happened that night. And according to him Vision, who had been scouting out Ultracity, Europe, and Asia had been caught by Ultron. Ultron had found a way to harm Vision even in his intangible form and sent his robots after him. Vision had done enough to destroy most of them before crashing in the Biodome where Tony had to kill the rest.

Another time she simply had a dream that had almost warned her about Pym and Azari. Of course a couple hours later she foiled a prank they attempted on her. And lastly she had known about an Ultron robot ambush in Italy despite the fact that she had been certain they dealt with all of them a couple of hours before.

From the smallest things to larger things Torunn could at times predict them. Still it had only happened at the weirdest times so far. It wasn’t something she could control, and happened as recently as a year ago.

“No, I haven’t seen anything recently...Is that bad?”

“No. It is not out of the ordinary. I was just...curious.” Heimdall insisted “I believe you need to begin on your journey if you are to make it back at the appointed time.”

“You are right Uncle. Talk to you soon.” Torunn nodded and raised her sword in the air. After waiting a moment a blast of rainbow colored energy hit her and she was off on her morning mission.

As she left she couldn’t stop thinking: Was something going to happen?

Regardless she needed to focus on her job and so she started in Alfheim making small talk with the light elves like she always did and giving them two of the flowers. She had a bit of a longer conversation with Queen Aelsa as now that she understood why she did these things she wanted to make sure things were good before heading to the next realm.

She went to the realms of Nidavellir helping the dwarves with a little manual labour before heading to Muspelheim and helping out the fire demons with their issues. Next was Nornheim and giving the last flower to Karnilla who accepted the gift as she always did.

Svartalfheim, and Niffleheim were off limits and Vanaheim had never needed Torunn to talk to them so that really just left one last realm before training with her mother. Jotunheim.

The realm of the Frost Giants had been a controversial one for a long time, as many around the King believed it unwise to send the Princess to the realm of their arguable biggest enemy, however Thor wasn’t hearing it. Believing that they would be stupid to try anything with Torunn, as he would destroy their world if they did.

They all hesitantly agreed and that was why Torunn was able to call on Heimdall and get him to send him to Jotun where the Frost Giants lay, and of course their King sat on his frosty throne. The God of Mischief himself. Her other Uncle Loki.

This was usually the most interesting part of her visits because Loki was different from the others. Aside from being family, he didn’t actually require Torunn to bring anything other than herself. He didn’t want special flowers or manual labours. He only socialized with her for a few minutes before sending her off.

She had heard all about the God of Mischief so she was wary at first but for now it was abundantly clear he wasn’t going to do anything, or if he had, it had already been done.

So slightly annoyed that she wasn’t gorging on an amazing breakfast yet Torunn flew as fast as she could to Loki’s castle and made her way through the halls of the Jotun palace avoiding the looks from the Giants who inhabited the place, and went straight to the throne room.

“Uncle Loki.” Torunn greeted immediately with a sigh, “How are you?”

“Torunn.” Loki acknowledged with a nod “I’m doing quite well thank you. I had not expected to see you so soon. Trouble in Midgard?”

“No. Well nothing other than the usual. But we seem to be doing just fine.” 

“Ah. Well isn’t that just great news.” Loki said with a shrewd smile, and Torunn couldn’t help but shake her head, not even willing to laugh at one of Loki’s crueler jokes.

“Uncle, did you know that when I’m here I’m supposed to keep an eye on you? That I’m supposed to make sure everyone is happy and not up to no good.”

“Of course, I always assumed so.” Loki said with a light shrug “But of course it became clear that you did not quite understand your duties. I can only assume my brother failed at explaining the actual reason for your excursions.”

“Yeah well. That is the gist of it.” Torunn agreed with his explanation “I don’t know why it never occurred to me that I’m some sort of peacemaker.”

“Well you seem to be doing a decent job. I haven’t had any urges to dismantle Asgard just yet.” Loki jested, and for Torunn it was always hard to tell if the man was joking.

“You aren’t actually planning to attack anywhere are you Uncle?”

“Not at the moment my dear.” Loki assured

“Good, I’d hate to have to fight you.” 

“Is that a threat?”

“I don’t think so. We both know you would beat me up.” Torunn admitted with a grin.

“And this is why you are my favourite. Spare a moment for a game of chess?” Loki questioned, Torunn shrugged and took a seat across from the Jotun King.

“I can spare a few minutes.” Torunn boasted cockily, quickly making her first move starting off the game taking her mind off of all things happening.

OULU, FINLAND, MAY 28, 9:00 UTC

“Ironheart you have to hold the line.” Francis demanded through gritted teeth, He was currently in the tower waiting for the Killstick to do it’s usual thing, the room was large and robots were coming at them from all different sides as they attempted to complete this mission.

“I got it, I got it!” Riri insisted quickly, blasting a repulsor at the robot taking it’s head off. It wasn’t that she was bad, she was just slow. She needed to be doing the things she was pulling off now but at 3x speed. But that was just something that came with time. Time they did not have.

“Vision, what's the situation down in the city?” 

“Nothing extraordinary at the moment. It seems I have things under control, and civilians are safe.”

“Good, I need you up here and fast. Ironheart is having a bit of trouble.” Francis called as he shot one arrow hitting three targets. That was the type of efficiency Riri simply didn’t have at the moment.

“I’m not!” 

“On my way Hawkeye.” Vision ignored Riri’s protests, the arrival of the Android allowed Francis to focus on the killstick, and only the killstick. Vision and Riri held the robots off long enough for the Killstick to get booted up and immediately shut down the robots all around Oulu.

The familiar sound of all the robots in the city powering down at once was like music to Francis’ ears. Another job well done, and hopefully they could go home soon.

“Good job Viz.” Francis said with a sigh as he stepped on a robot and crushed it “You too Riri, first real mission, not bad at all.”

“I didn’t need the help Hawkeye. I promise I could have done it!” Riri insisted angrily.

“Relax, it’s not that serious.” Francis waved her off.

“I could have taken out the robots, I had my repulsors at the ready. There were these mini rockets I was gonna use and they could have taken a lot of them, they had these little sensors and-

“You know Ri, I think this is the most I’ve ever seen you fired up.” Francis interrupted her with a smirk, and the inventor immediately receded back into her shell after that.

“Chill.” Francis insisted “Ri, you were great for your first mission, genuinely. But remember the goal isn’t to do things on your own. The goal is to complete the mission. To save lives. For them.” he pointed towards the streets of Finland.

“Someday you're going to be able to do something like this all by yourself not needing me or Vision. But today isn’t that day, And I’m glad it’s not, or else I’m not sure I’d be able to spend any time with my high flying friend.”

“Heh.” Riri laughed and rubbed her neck awkwardly “Your right Francis. Thanks, the most important thing is the win.”

“Exactly.” Francis nodded, content she seemed to have gotten the point. He turned to Vision and got a little bit more serious “Ready for some cleanup.”

“I believe so.” Vision told the archer “The people seem to be coming out of their houses now.”

“Great. Heh Riri, you're gonna love this, stuff like this never gets old.”

The three heroes walked out of the small citadel into the streets of Oulu and were immediately met by the roar of a crowd.

“Wow.” Riri whispered in astonishment at the crowd that was beginning to pool up. “Remember Ri, we don’t do this for praise or big crowds, or adoration. We do things like this because we have the ability to. It’s not about the praise.” Francis explained

“Right.”

“ But .” Francis started with a grin “That doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it every once and a while. Now start waving to those people and let them know who the new hero in town is.”

Riri gave one little wave and the crowd’s roar was enormous. It felt like a packed stadium, and it was rather beautiful. It brought Francis’ spirits up a bit. “Alright people. Now who’s ready to get this city back in tip top shape?”

The roar was even louder this time, and for a moment, for a brief moment, Francis was able to forget about his and Torunn’s failing relationship. For a moment.

THE VAULT, COLORADO, MAY 28, 12:00 UTC

“It’s actually not bad at all.” Azari commented in surprise.

“I know right? I thought we might be dealing with a real fixer upper, but with the Iron Legion this is a job that can honestly get done in a couple of hours.” Daisy agreed

“And it’s just what we need at this moment.” James agreed as well. “It’s perfect, and I hear the Raft is gonna get everything it needs to begin construction, so this will be temporary.”

“We’re on a bit of a winning streak.” Azari told them with a grin “It feels nice.”

“It does. We are on the right track. Francis, Vision, and Riri are out helping in Finland, and aside from it benefitting the people there, we’ve heard some noise about some activity by the Masters of Evil in that location. So maybe they can snuff that out also.”

“I don’t know about you guys but I’m feeling pretty confident. Valerie seems to have done a good job with getting the people to like her, she defended the Avengers name, and hasn’t lost the love of the voters. If she keeps moving like this, the Masters of Evil’s plan is really in shambles.” Daisy pointed out, and things were looking pretty good.

“Yeah. It’s why I feel like there has to be something more. They know that things aren’t going how they expected.” James decided

“Yeah we have to stay on guard but...what if this really is all they have planned?” Azari questioned.

“Then we go back to what's important. Rebuilding.”

“I was telling James the other day that things feel a bit different now don’t they? Like we're finally entering a new era.” 

“It does feel...different. I haven’t decided if that’s good or bad just yet.” Azari admitted

“Who knows what the future holds. We can really only live in the present. And that means getting rid of this outfit as soon as possible.” James tugged at his collar again. 

Just like in Costa Rica it was very hot. Not as hot as the South American country, but hot enough to make James a bit annoyed.

“Heh relax, I’ve heard Riri, Pym, and Amadeus have been spending hours on your new gear. Pym even wants to take a look at your shield.” Azari explained

“Yeah well, hopefully they're done soon.”

“I think that we are done right now.” Daisy told them suddenly “Can we get back to the jet, I’d like to take these off sooner rather than later.”

The mention of Daisy’s wrist gauntlets made the experienced heroes worry, even if it was just a little bit. And so they began the walk back towards the Quinjet.

“How are you feeling?” James couldn’t help but question, and he saw the frown on Daisy’s face but these were questions she was going to have to deal with, no matter how annoying they seemed.

“I’m fine. Mostly. I feel like I can manage my powers without my gauntlets. Will I be effective and be able to attack without them? Probably not, but I’m not going to go berserk...I don’t want to wear them 24/7.”

“I get that but-

“It’s for my safety.” Daisy sighed “I know, but it's still annoying. I’m fine, I promise you I’m fine.” Daisy insisted

“I’ve seen your progress firsthand Daisy, so I know you're getting better. A little longer and I bet the gauntlets will be gone in no time.” James tried to cheer her up.

“Yeah, and in the meantime I’m sure Riri and I can look at a revamped design, maybe make them retractable so they don’t get in the way so much.”

“That would be-

Klik! Klik!

“-Great.” Daisy finished off slowly. Daisy and Azari both looked to James who pulled the noisy device off of his belt and began to look at the readings before showing the other two.

“You see the radiation numbers on this thing?” 

“It’s pushing extreme toxic numbers.” Azari whispered in astonishment “I didn’t exactly feel it before but...yeah, left, maybe a mile out...I’d say that’s our spot.”

“How did you-

“Azari has a bit of a connection with nature. He’s just feeling things out.” James explained to Daisy “We're gonna check this out, are you coming?”

“You don’t even have to ask.” Daisy insisted seriously, “What are we waiting for?”

And with that it brought a new side mission for the three heroes. Azari took to the air and Daisy and James began to run together in tandem, Daisy’s new developed system allowed her to keep running with at full speed no problem, and because of that they made it to the area no problem.

The area they were around was surrounded by wired mesh fencing that had rusted beyond belief, it was an easy hop around to get over it.

However the area that the fencing was supposedly “hiding” or keeping safe, was nothing more than piles and piles of dirt. Heaps of it.

It was around the prison so James theorized that maybe at a time there were things here like materials and things of that nature, but it must have been ransacked. It was nothing but clumps of dirt.

But his RIID device was still going on the fritz, so they continued moving. It probably was dangerous but he was hoping that their enhanced bodies would protect them from anything. 

Their walking led them to a smaller dirt pile, but still over 8ft tall, and the RIID was going so crazy James thought that it might explode. “This is it, Daisy, I think you're our best best. You think you can manage this?”

“I’ve got it.” Daisy nodded. She took a deep breath and they watched as Daisy’s vibrations came out softly just like they practiced and the vibrations slowly pushed the dirt over and they began to get to the bottom of whatever they were looking for.

Once all the dirt was pushed off, James knelt down to the ground, and saw an almost reddish pink piece of an arm sticking out from the ground. As he rubbed some dirt off, he noticed the number on the sleeve #234001.

“There's no decay, whoever that is doesn’t look dead.” Daisy pointed out.

“Whoever that is, doesn’t look real.” James corrected. With a little more sifting he managed to pull over half whoever’s body was in the dirt. They could now see blond hair, what seemed like more rusted skin, but other than the discoloring, Daisy was right they did look like they could wake up at any moment.

“What’s the play?” Daisy asked

“Azari, just a little juice.” James decided. Azari nodded, eyes turning white, and gave the slightest bolt of lightning that conducted through the body perfectly, but didn’t have the desired effect.

“A little more.” James demanded quickly, and so Azari hit him again, not even using 1/10 of his power and it did nothing.

“Come on Azari, 25%.” If this was some sort of...android like Vision, or Jocasta. Then James was beginning to think it was going to take more power than Azari was feeding it.

“Alright. Get back.” Azari commanded this time. His tattoos all glowed blue and he sent a concentrated blast of lightning at the robot that instantly proved to be useful.

The man instantly crunched his fist in a smoother motion than his rusted parts should have allowed, his body shook for a moment making the others stand back in anticipation. Suddenly his eyes popped open and he flipped himself up from the ground instantly going on the defensive.

And apparently the defensive for this man was bursting into flames and flying up into the air. Azari was ready for the chase if he flew away but he seemed to simply fly away and watch the three heroes interestedly, his eyes stopping when he noticed the shield James was holding.

But even though he was on fire it wasn’t hard to tell how confused the man was “Captain?” but that was all they heard as the robot’s flames suddenly diminished and he fell to the ground landing harshly on the ground.

The three heroes instantly ran over to the body. Azari and Daisy weren’t exactly sure what to do but the look in James' eye suggested that he knew exactly what had to be done.

“His body is remarkable. He’s already healing himself. His body looked rusted before, but now it’s as if he is almost as good as new.” Azari remarked “The material it’s like...as good as Vision’s.”

“I’m not surprised.” James admitted, well he was surprised about finding an Invader here, but he wasn’t surprised that he was built so well.

“James, did you know him? I know it’s far-fetched but he seemed to know you?” Daisy asked

“Not me.” James said with a shake of his head “My father.”

“Oh. and that’s how you know him. Or should I say know of him.” Daisy corrected

“Yeah” James started “When I was younger my dad used to tell me a lot of war stories, of course without the blood and gore. But mostly he’d tell me who he fought with, who he won against, and it was fun. You know bedtime stories. One of the more common ones was the stories about his team, the Invaders.”

“A team before the Avengers?”

“Yup. Maybe the first superhero team ever. There was my dad. He was the headliner Captain America. Then there was the man from the sea, who was as strong as one could be. I know now that he was talking about Namor. There was Bucky, his best friend. And then there were the men of flames. The Human Torch. Jim Hammond, and his little buddy Toro.”

“I always thought there was only one Human Torch.” Azari told them contemplatively. “If he’s from the 40s, that makes this even more incredible. Did your father ever tell you what happened to him?”

“From reading his journal I know they split up amicably in the late stages of the war as Cap and Bucky felt if they were all grouped up they might not be as effective. But what happened to Jim came after the war. According to my father’s journal he was told that he had been killed in the early 50s, no one knew what had happened, only that he disappeared.”

“Maybe whoever beat him shut him down and left him here to rot, but instead he survived.” Daisy offered

“It’s the most likely scenario.” James agreed “I don’t know how he survived but...Jim Hammond is a hero, and we have to help him.”

“Right, I’ll bring over the Quinjet.” Azari decided, he gave James a quick nod and began to fly away. With this new information James once again found him calling homebase in the middle of a mission, though both times weren’t necessarily bad.

“Tony. Yeah no everything is fine, at least with the prison. We’ve found something else. Yeah you and the other need to get the lab ready. We have an Invader ready for transport.”

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, MAY 28, 13:30 UTC

“He looks...perfect.” Francis was the first to comment. And the others could only nod their heads in agreement. They all watched as Jim stretched for a brief moment before flaming on and absolutely destroying the training simulation. He didn’t miss a beat, everything he did was calculated and measured and it worked.

“If he is who James says he is then he has years of experience.” Pym added 

“It really is something.” Azari marvelled.

“Has anyone talked to him yet? Like I mean really talk to him other than give him the basics?’ Francis questioned.

“No.” Tony said with a shake of his head, “Everything is pretty jarring for him, so we are giving him time.”

“I’ll just talk to him.” James volunteered “He probably wants to know exactly what’s going on and how he’s skipped three generations of life only to find the world worse off than he left it.”

“You sure?”

“If I need backup, you guys are a screen door away.” James told them confidently. And with that he headed to the training room.

Right when he opened the door Jim turned in what looked like embarrassment “I hope I didn’t break your training simulator.”

“Heh don’t worry about it. The technology is very advanced.” James assured, still it didn’t seem to do much to soothe, instead he had a bit of a sad look on his face.

“Yeah, way advanced.” It was obvious the Torch was having an hard time adjusting to his new surroundings so James gave him something he was familiar with

“You up for a spar?” 

“Depends, will you break as easily as the robots?” Jim asked back with a bit of a grin.

“I’ve been told I’m a pretty tough fight. Don’t hold back.” James insisted, more than ready to enjoy a good fight.

The Torch gives him one last nod before flaming on and sending a blast of his flames at the Super-Soldier. James however was faster than that and with a simple twitch was out of the way of the blast, and waited for the attack once more, simply staying on the defensive.

Jim looked pleasantly surprised and ramped up his speed, flying around in a circle, creating a ring of fire around the Super-Soldier.

James pulled out his shield, and ran straight the fire and then threw his shield with deadly accuracy hitting the man out of the air, the shield came careening back to him and he raced to it with speed it seemed only he could muster.

He caught the shield and was ready to barge into the high tech android, but Jim rolled out of the way and hit James with a blast of fire that probably would have hurt a lot more if it weren’t for his uniform, even then a roll on the ground had the fire out quickly.

James was in front of the wall and he jumped up and used it as a springboard and threw his shield at the Torch who was a bit more prepared for the attack this time, avoiding it. Forgetting the shield entirely, James rushed the flaming man throwing the first fist that narrowly missed it’s target.

Jim retaliated with a furious roundhouse kick that James nimbly avoided before throwing a jab at the man's fiery stomach connecting with ease. 

Despite getting hit the Torch dealt with the blow well dishing his own back, tagging the shoulder of James with a quick counter, the second fist couldn’t hit it’s target, as James dropped to the ground and attempted the leg sweep which tripped the man up, but couldn’t get him to the ground.

While falling Jim kicked up his foot straight into the face of James, sending flying back as well, but the soldier simply wiped his nose and got back up again. Intending to end the little spar.

He dodged, a kick, and then a close blast of heat, before stopping the Torch’s fiery punch by simply grabbing it, and then clocking him in the face with his other hand. Sending him straight to the ground.

“Okay.” Jim paused with a hand in front of his face “I think that's the best knock back to reality anyone could ask for.”

James gave him a small grin, and helped him up, and Jim honestly seemed like he was seeing ghosts but...in a good way. “I was a little skeptical about everything that was going on but...Gee Whiz you really are Steve’s son. Grabbing my fist, so easily like that. That was something only he ever did.”

“I’ve practiced what I could.” James told him modestly

“James right?”  Jim continued going “After Bucky. That really is something. I’m truly 60 years in the future...This is insane. So Cap-Your father had been alive the entire time?”

“He was trapped in the ice for 40 years. The serum allowed him to stay the same age and continue a second life.”

“And from what I see here...It was cut short.” Jim sighed, so many tragic things were always happening to them “What happened?”

“Ultron happened. An Artificial Intelligence gone rogue. What was once supposed to help the world, nearly ended it. “ James explained 

“But how?”

“A stroke of luck put him in power, and honestly? A Stroke of luck ended it.” James explained as easily as it could “It’s definitely not easy to think about, or to try and understand, but all of us here? The world out there? We’re just trying to do our best to move on.”

“I was created in 1939. For America that was the end of what then known as the great depression. Things were looking up for the people. Yet still for many the things they were still going through, because of that time period was extremely harsh. In Germany, it might have been even worse. You had to be in the elite of the elite to be living well, simply because of the effects of the first World War. Things like this can drive men insane. I’ve seen it first hand. But if there’s one thing I know about people it’s that they survive. You all are a resilient race. I don’t know everything that’s going on but...I’ll do my best to help you.”

“Thank you, this means more than you know.” James told him genuinely “But from my father I can also understand how weird it might be to be thrown into something like this. So here take this,” James told him and passed the notebook.

“These pages are all the ones specifying my father’s struggle to transition into the modern world. 40 years isn’t 60, but it’s the closest you're probably going to get in terms of relations. I’m sorry you had to come back to a world like this.”

“I’m not. Some people never get a second chance. I’m sure I’m here for a reason.” Jim insisted with a smile “If you don’t mind, I’m going to head to my quarters now. If you need me for anything. I’m ready.”

From the window outside the training room James could spot all of the members with varying looks of sadness for the man, and admiration for the fact that he was able to put on a brave face despite coming back to life after 61 years.

James gave them a thumbs up and he got one in return. Like Azari had said, despite everything that had been going they were winning right now. Big time.

GENOSHA, XAVIER’S SCHOOL, MAY 28, 16:40 UTC

“And so as it stands, Valerie Cooper would be leading polls if the election started today. Isn’t that something?”

“It certainly is Barbara. It seems her passionate defense of the Avengers has earned her favour with the people, Worthington staying quiet on the situation hasn’t helped his cause.”

“Not at all Jim, Not at all. After this quick break we will be taking, we are going to answer the tough questions. Was the UN right? Next on FOX.”

Beast turned the TV on mute and the four older X-Men simply stared at each no one seemed to want to be the first one to talk.

To Beat he found all of this pretty curious. Honestly the Avengers were doing better than he expected. For a situation that was looking pretty bad a couple of weeks ago, things changed back into their favour rather quickly.

For Kitty all she could really think about was Valerie Cooper. A name they had known for years. Head of Mutant Affairs, a person who was genuinely willing to work with mutants, and mutantkind, to her it was beginning to seem like Laura was right, maybe they did need to fly down to America and lend a helping hand.

For Laura it was straight up vindication. The others had been hesitant, especially Emma last time around but now it felt like they were finally seeing things from her perspective. She could admit that things were looking pretty bad, but she stood by her words, and most importantly what her heart told her, and that was that they needed to go and help.

For Emma she was feeling the one thing she had felt ever since that group of Avengers had landed in Genosha. Scared. Scared for the X-Men. Scared for their kids. For Megan, for Jimmy, and Jessica, Jane, and Talia, and all the other kids, even if they thought she was simply trying to ruin their fun.

She understood how this life could be. You're there one second and gone the next. She simply didn’t want something bad to happen to the children. She knew it might have been a tad bit irrational considering the firepower they had but. Could you blame her? She never thought a little virus might kill over half the mutant populous but it managed it.

But man, she really hated feeling this way. And she could admit that yeah, things did sound good. That yeah, maybe real change was on the horizon, that yeah, maybe going out to help the Avengers could be a good choice despite all her fears, and all the things she had said to dissuade them early. And because of all that. Emma spoke first.

“I think it’s possible.” She began, and immediately all eyes turned to her “With Valerie It’s...It’s not out of the equation to get the change we're looking for.”

“I told you.” Laura told her pointedly, but the playfulness was there.

“Don’t get a big head over it.” Emma told her with a roll of her eyes, but she was mostly joking as well. “And look it doesn’t mean we don’t have to take some precautions but I do think that maybe the Avengers were right, and something is there.”

“I’m glad you think so Emma. This means we really have to start planning.” Beast offered. 

“It does.” Kitty jumped in “This really is a great development. I only wish the others could have been here to see it.”

“It’s something I’m sure we are going to be thinking about until the end of time. But I’m confident that we are honouring their legacy by doing the right thing and returning home. We are the last people who can truly advocate for Xavier’s cause. It’d be a fallacy if we didn’t do our best to uphold this legacy.” Beast told them solemnly.

“That’s how I’m beginning to see it.” Emma admitted 

“So how exactly are we going about this? We don’t really have a personal line to the Avengers. So we can’t exactly contact them normally.” Kitty questioned

“Cerebro is an option.” Laura offered.

“We could but I don’t think it’s the way we need to introduce ourselves to the Avengers.” Emma said honestly “Besides, moving out is going to be the most important, and telling the kids as well.”

“It’s good I’ve been thinking about some of them lately. I think it’s a good idea to tell them soon so they don’t do anything stupid.” Laura explained

“Do you actually think they might do something like that?” Emma questioned a bit annoyed “Because if so, we can have a very stern talk about discipline. I’ve had enough of kids running and doing things on their own with your group.”

For once Laura actually almost seemed embarrassed, but she still managed to keep her composure “I don’t think they will, they wouldn’t have a clue on where to go, or what to do. I also overheard them talking, it’s not going to happen.”

“Good.” Emma said, before sighing “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Agreed. So what are we waiting for?” Beast questioned. Nothing, they all knew. And so the four got a fresh pot of coffee brewing and began preparing for a move out of the Country. Chicago, Texas, whatever state it ended up being, they were ready to let the world know they were coming.

PRINCIPALITY OF MADRIPOOR, TARGO CORPORATION, MAY 28, 20:15 UTC

Things were not going well. It was as simple as that. Shit was hitting the fan fast, and anyone with eyes could see that. And maybe what was the most annoying thing to Taskmaster was that in a way, he felt like he was the only one who cared.

Viper and Zemo were keeping quiet about whatever they were planning. And he couldn’t tell if it was irrationally high confidence, or that fact that they truly had no idea what to do.

Moonstone or whatever she was calling herself clearly only cared about the money and so she wasn’t locked in. Crossfire was probably the most charismatic for the so-called cause, and he had been the first one locked up.

He’d do anything for Viper and Zemo and to go back to the old days. The man needed a reality check, and it seemed like he was going to that from a maximum security prison cell.

Radioactive Man was fairly excited about things going back to ‘normal’ as well. About being a boss again, about the supposed takeover. He wasn’t sure they were ever going to see Chen again.

Him and Ant were in the same position. Swayed by money and nostalgia to get back into the game but were also kind of hating every moment of it. But that seemed to be a bigger problem for their employers.

It’s not like he hadn’t wanted the things the Masters of Evil were planning. No way, he had been all for it. But now, as they got to the point where this Valerie woman was still winning polls, and leads, and all the important things while they supposedly “sabotaged” her campaign. It was getting harder and harder to justify this little excursion as...worth it.

Something he could never forget was the fights with the Avengers. They were not in the slightest equally matched. That was very obvious. The Asgardian and the Giant-Boy were too much already. They didn’t have the firepower to counteract that. And of course that left the mutant prince, the Super-Soldier, and the Archer.

They could also call on people like Knockout to help out but it wasn’t the same. They were no longer the people at the absolute top of their games. The villains in their primes, the most feared. No, rather they should have feared the heroes. The ones who were just beginning to experience the wonders of youth. Physically outmatched, Mentally not as good as they expected.

It was for all these reasons that Taskmaster was more than ready to bow out, he hadn’t spent a dime of the money Zemo or Viper gave him, and he was perfectly fine with giving it back. Grady was also going to join him. This really wasn’t worth it. So they headed to the meeting with the intention of leaving this life “for good.”

And then Zemo started talking.

“Things aren’t good.” Zemo started off angrily “This isn’t panning out. Not as planned.”

“We need a switch in direction.” Viper took over from him “We haven’t managed to throw Cooper off her game enough.”

“We need to move her off the board. Completely.” Zemo insisted “Preferably as soon as possible?”

“Assassination?” Taskmaster questioned with a near scoff “Do you know how protected Cooper is in the US.”

“Precisely. That's why it’s happening at the summit.” Zemo decided, “There’s no better time.”

“You're kidding.”

“Not in the slightest Ant.” Viper told him aggressively “The summit is open and contrary to popular belief the security is not intense. At least not intense enough for an Assassin to sneak in and make the shot.”

“One Assassin? Sounds...High Risk.”

“No, not one Assassin. The plan will utilize all of our government assets, one shooter, two decoys, and it shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to make it happen. We do this, it pushes our pawn in power and we continue as we please.”

As Taskmaster looked at Viper and Zemo he genuinely had to wonder if they were crazy “And I suspect that you want me to be the can’t miss shooter.”

“Yes, do you have a problem with that?” Viper questioned, it sounded like a threat, but Taskmaster knew there really wasn’t much to it, and instead asked another question.

“You believe that the world will allow Evander Worthington to become the President despite the assassination of the frontrunner, after there has already been allegations of unfair play?”

“They have no choice.” Zemo insisted “The other options are fruitless, and they know it.”

There were so many things that Taskmaster and even Black Ant wanted to say but all Taskmaster did was nod. He was realizing that Zemo and Viper were never going to change. This team was simply doomed. Karla hadn’t said a word throughout the entire thing, this team had been doomed since it’s formation.

And Taskmaster was too excited about going out the way Zemo and Viper were planning “Alright then. I want to know the plan. Every single detail.”

As they started explaining, Taskmaster wasn’t exactly sure what he was going to do yet, but he had a rough idea. This summit was going to be something for everyone involved.

Chapter Text

XAVIER’S SCHOOL, GENOSHA, JUNE 16, 4:00 AM UTC

“We look good. ” 

“ Shhhhhhhh!” Jane, Jessica, Sofia, and Jimmy quickly shushed their teammate. Jimmy glared at him and pointed to his temple.

“Right!” Michael whispered before speaking into his mind “We look good.”   This time the other members could appreciate Michael’s comment since it was in the safe confines of their collective minds.

“We do, don’t we? Blue Team for the win!” Jessica said ecstatically. The team individually spent some time admiring themselves in the mirror. It was a simple black and blue get up, with blue X’s going across their jackets, or sweaters, or whatever they chose to wear when being X-Men. “3..2..1...Strike a pose!” Michael called emphatically and to his joy his entire team did as he told them, though they struggled to keep their giggles in afterwards

 The group were very appreciative of their uniforms, but Jimmy wanted to keep things moving.

“Come on guys. We are not done in the slightest.” Jimmy urged them on “We’ve still got some time to go. We all know the plan, it’s time to execute.”

The others looked around at each determinedly before running off to do their jobs. For Sofia and Jimmy they were leading the frontlines, they had the teams duffle bags, filled with gear and whatever else they thought they might need for the missions.

Jimmy and Sofia had the task of pushing the Blackbird out of the hangar quickly and quietly which the two heroes were managing fairly well. Jane, Jessica, and Michael had the hardest job of them all, and that was sneaking into the X-Men’s private meeting room and stealing the Cerebro helmet.

As it stood, Michael had used his copycat powers to switch enough of his DNA to Beast’s to unlock the door code, and currently Jessica and Jane were using their combined telepathic power to unlock the helmet from it’s locker.

Once they got it the three mutants returned everything back to normal. And made a dash towards the Blackbird which was fired up and ready to go.

“Thank god for silent jet engines.” Michael told them as they entered the ship, what they had deemed as the safe-zone.

“Come on guys hurry up, strap in!” Jimmy called from the cockpit. “Jessica help Jane get that helmet on her head and you guys do your thing.”

“Right!” They both answered at the sametime.

“Michael, Sof, keep watch.” He continued ordering around. “I’m about to take to the skies.”

“Already on it.”

Jimmy nodded, and quickly began flipping switches and watched the blackbird begin to rise up in the air. Personally he knew they could easily get caught, but if they did, he wanted to at least make it off the Island first.

“All clear Jimbo, get us out of here!” Michael called out to Jimmy. It was all he needed to hit the jets and speed out of Genoshan airspace.

“We made it out!” Sofia cheered.

“We haven’t done anything special yet.” Michael uncharacteristically tempered expectations “Our telepaths need to pull through, you okay Jane?”

“I’m fine…” Jane said with a groan. She was currently in the process of Using Cerebro, and it was safe to say that this wasn’t something she really wanted to do again anytime soon. The pressure it was putting on her was immense, she didn’t want to crack under pressure, as the illusion she was throwing up was a big reason they were able to leave so easily.

“Don’t worry Jane, I’ve got you.” Jessica insisted “Just lean on me, I can shoulder some of the power.

“R-right.” Jane nodded, grabbing Jessica’s hand who instantly began feeling the effects of simply being associated with Cerebro. Jessica was a Telepath but she was raw and not as strong as Megan or Jane. her Telekinesis was more of her strong suit.

Still the two heroes managed to weather the storm and get the powers under control “Alright Jimmy. What do I look for, how do we narrow this down.”

“Look for truth, justice, and the American way. That should find us Captain America.” Michael offered.

“While I don’t doubt that wouldn’t work. We should look for Azari. Storm’s son. He should be the easiest to find considering he’s a mutant with a signature you’ve encountered before.”

“Right…” Jane agreed, “Attempting to lock on to the target.” In her mind Jane was flying. She was moving from country to country, city to city, alley to alley, at what felt like near lightspeed searching for one mutant. There weren't even that many mutants anymore but being a novice user, this was a little hard.

Eventually though with Jessica’s help, they located a signature in the Arctic. And the non-human signatures around it gave them some faith that they had found the right people. “Head for the Arctic Circle.”

“Uhmmm, Are you sure?” This was the first time Jimmy truly found himself questioning his telepathic friends.

Jane pulled the Cerebro off of her head, and smirked “I’ve never been so sure of something in my life.”

“Well alright then.” Jimmy gave in and began to plug the coordinates in for the Arctic “The Avengers here we come.”

“Hope you guys are ready.” Michael said as he kicked his feet up onto the Blackbird’s dash. “After this, life will never be the same again.”

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, JUNE 16, 6:00 AM UTC

Lightning crashed from the sky and James barely avoided the blow, but the casual way he did it, you wouldn’t believe he had just avoided certain death by mutant lightning.

“You’ve got the advantage, Azari. Push!” Torunn called from the sideline. The mutant did as he was told and pushed forward attempting to strike the speedy super-soldier, but to his annoyance he couldn’t land a blow.

James was faster than he remembered. It was crazy because Azari knew that he himself was faster as well.

James ducked a fist and began to try and press an offensive advantage, using his shield-fighting skills to make Azari a little worried and he might have had the man on the ropes if it weren’t for his sudden flight to the skies..

“Smart evade!” Torunn praised. “Now-

BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP!

Her instructions were quickly cut off by the sound of the alarm blaring throughout the entire Biodome. Immediately training was stopped as they all recognized the alarm as something they had only heard once or twice since they had been in the Biodome.

The intruder alarm. Once accidentally triggered by Vision when he was getting chased by Ultron, and when Ultron had actually come to visit, which hadn’t been fun. But that was over two years ago.

The only threat who would try this now was the Masters of Evil. But it was still confusing. They understood the thinking behind Madripoor. But you had to be downright stupid to think you could actually get to the Arctic Circle after getting near their borders.

“Come on, we know the drill. Get ready and hit the meeting room.” James snapped everyone out of it. For the five Avengers despite it being so early in the morning they weren’t phased. This was just another long day.

Getting to the meeting room, Riri and Pym had clearly been pulling an all-nighter. They didn’t look worried in the slightest and that was interesting to the heroes.

“This is the footage we pulled from the Aircraft that had invaded our airspace before retreating a little bit.” Riri told them right as they entered the room.

The footage was of a sleek black jet that Torunn, James, and Azari instantly recognized as the X-Men’s Blackbird. Genosha had been a unique experience and not one you forget.

“It’s the Blackbird...There’s probably X-Men in there.” James told them, amazed at the current development.

“You think it’s the kids you guys were talking to?” Francis asked curiously, he hadn’t had a chance to see any of the X-Men since he hadn’t gone to Genosha.

“Maybe, I’d like to think it’s them, they looked a little more receptive to our pleas than the older ones. This is what I was hoping for, but I don’t know.” James told them honestly “I think our best option is for Torunn to head out and make contact with the Blackbird before bringing them out here.”

“Is that okay Tony?” Torunn asked the Inventor for permission and the man could only nod. He couldn’t help but feel a little worried. If it was the older X-Men the chances they would hate him were high, and if it was the younger ones...How could he let them around without telling the X-Men. It would be so unethical.

He couldn’t imagine how annoyed and angry he’d be if the X-Men knew where the Avengers were and didn't tell him.

“Yeah, go check it out and we will just wait around here." Tony gave her the go ahead. Torunn called Arnbjorg to her location and flew off leaving the others in total anticipation for who she was going to bring back to the Biodome.

“Pym, you don’t seem all that excited.” Francis called out their Pixie friend, The boy simply raised an eyebrow before uncharacteristically shrinking and flying away.

“Huh, he isn’t the biggest morning person.” Francis assured Amadeus and Riri who were confused at seeing the usually optimistic hero like that.

For Azari however he couldn’t keep the frown off his face. These past few weeks with Pym had probably been the most annoyed he had ever been with him in years, and he was sure the feelings were mutual. The difference was Azari still had no clue why he was mad, and he felt like he and maybe James were the only ones who saw that.

The first assumption had been Torunn. He usually needed her to talk to every once in a while, but this wasn’t that. He had been acting weird before Torunn actually left for Asgard. Besides she had been back for 3 whole days, this should have been solved by now.

Things were going pretty decent for the heroes so it was just really confusing for Azari to see Pym so...distraught. What could possibly be making him like this?

Pym was closing in on 14 so Azari assumed it might just be puberty, but to be honest, he was just 15 and going through that himself. He doubted it could have been that. His mind raced around for a while attempting to figure out why exactly Pym was so angry, when he didn’t have to be anymore. 

His thoughts were cut short as Torunn radioed in, she was arriving with their guests. “Let’s head to the main floor.” James commanded the group and the excitement of the entire situation was beginning to show itself. X-Men? Here? In 2010? It felt insane, truly a new era.

They all waited near the compound doors, as the X-Men began to come out of their jet once in a while responding to whatever it seemed Torunn was asking them. It was cool, but for James and Azari as they watched them come near they both were shocked as these were not the mutants they talked to.

“Wow, mutants definitely let you know they're different.” Francis whistled as he saw Jessica, chalk white skin and a black circle over her eye, it was sooo different from what he was used to and honestly it was refreshing. “These are the guys you talked to?”

“No actually, I never saw them. But I don’t think that matters.” James said with a shrug, Torunn and the others finally entered the building.

“Here they are,” Torunn presented them dramatically with a bow. “The X-Men.”

The five heroes were standing very close to one another, one might even suggest they were posing, as they had various looks of seriousness on their face, whilst also looking picture perfect. James was the first to move to the new heroes and introduce himself.

“James Rogers,” he shook the blonde with wild hair’s hand first. After the Savage Land mission it wasn’t hard to tell who he might be related to. “You may know me better as-

“Captain America!” The one with purple hair burst out, causing her teammates to look at her with varying degrees of surprise finding her outburst funny. The others in the room weren’t even phased, they had seen it too many times with the world’s most popular superhero. “I-uh...I love your work.”

“I appreciate it.” James moved on continuing the introductions “As I was saying you guys know me, Over there’s Francis aka Hawkeye, he needs no introduction.”

“Hey.” Francis greeted and flashed a little grin

“That’s Azari or Black Panther, our very own resident mutant.” 

“Pleasure to meet you guys.”

“You already met Torunn.” James moved on, and Torunn simply gave a nod, “And this is Henry, but we just call him Pym. Also known as the Wasp.”

The boy didn’t bother saying anything to the guests, and James simply sighed “Yeah, he’s not exactly the happiest camper at the moment. Lastly is Tony who I’m sure you all know as well. Those are all the people you should know. The new additions start with Amadeus. He’s really smart.”

“I can’t wait to study you!” Amadeus greeted excitedly, but quickly backed down at their stares “Uh, joke.”

“Hope so.” Was all Jimmy told him, and the others couldn’t help but laugh “Alright that’s Riri. She’s new as well, super smart, and has started coming on missions with us as Ironheart.”

“Hello.” She greeted quietly

“Daisy’s the last one. She leads our group of Scavengers, you might have heard of them.”

“Really?” Jessica questioned excitedly looking towards Daisy “You lead the world’s best strike team!?!?!”

“Heh, yeah I guess I do.” Daisy told her proudly.

“So cool.”

“Yeah and other than Daisy, there’s Bruce, Vision, the longest active Avenger, Jocasta and that’s it for the most part.” James ended, wondering if he should talk about the recently acquired relic of time.

“Well I guess we should introduce ourselves.” Sofia spoke up for the team.

“Yeah, and a little demonstration of what you can do.” Francis added.

“Alright, I’ll go first.” Jimmy started, “My name’s Jimmy Hudson.” SNIKT!

“The Wolverine. I think the name speaks for itself.”

“Very, uhm, very nice demonstration.” Francis said whilst slowly backing away from the clawed man.

“I’ll go next. Sofia Da Costa.” The latina girl told them confidently before floating in the air and lighting on fire for a brief moment “They call me Solstice. The sun is my best friend.”

“Hot. I meant literally of course.” Francis corrected after a stare down from Torunn.

“Next?” Azari tried to move things along.

“Oh me, me, me for sure!” Michael spoke up. He had a gun on his hip that he pulled out and span on his finger like an old western movie star “Some call me Salvo, One-shot kid, Never Miss Boy, etc, etc. But that’s not my real power.”

Instantly he shapeshifted into Jimmy right beside him, looking just like his friend “I can shapeshift to look like anyone, down to the genetic level. I’m Copycat” he told them before quickly shifting back.

“Seriously?” Pym spoke for the first time “That’s incredible. You have no limits.”

“Well, shifting that far can affect me, because then I’ve effectively become another person. Memories and all, if I do it too much or for too long, it can be hard to remember who I actually am.”

“Interesting.”

“I’m Jane Braddock.” She told them plainly “They call me Psylocke, like my mother. I’m a pretty good telepath, and a powerful telekinetic and psychic fighter.” To prove her point she showed off a purple psychic knife before putting away “I’m the one who got us here.”

“ Rude taking all the credit.” Jessica “My name’s Jessica Thurman, They call me Cascade. I’ve got some luck powers from my Mom. and some TK from my dad. Unlike Jane, my telepathy isn’t very good at all, but I can help the others out when they need it.”

“And that’s our team basically. The X-Men Blue Team.” Michael gave the final introduction. 

“Cool.”

“What made you guys want to come over here?” Azari questioned.

“You probably didn’t see us, as we were hiding around when you arrived the first time, but we heard you talking to the X-Men. We think we have the abilities to help, and even if the X-Men don’t want to do anything, we’ve come here to help in their place.” Jimmy explained.

“Well that’s amazing.” James told them with a smile “The team is very happy to have you. We can get you set up and briefed on the current situation we are in.”

“Sounds good.”

“It does.” Tony interrupted “And I do appreciate the lengths you’ve all gone to come and lend a helping hand. But...As a guardian, I can’t knowingly have you guys here and not let the X-Men know about it.”

“Awww, please don’t tell the X-Men. They’ll kill us and take us back!” Michael exclaimed

“I’ll do my best to make sure everything goes well, but I just can’t do that to them.” Tony admits “Don’t worry It’s gonna be fine.”

Tony then left the room, having every intention of finding a way to contact the X-Men who were all the way in Genosha.

The Blue Team members looked at each other shocked that their plan had crumbled so quickly. They had never expected to get ratted out when they left. And by Tony Stark of all people.

“Welp.” Michael looked at the team, who still seemed to be shocked at the sudden turn of events “We are screwed. Say your prayers folks, because the X-Men are going to skin us alive.”

“Relax.” James insisted “Tony wants to do right by the X-Men and I understand it as the relationship between us isn’t exactly great at the moment, but things are going to be fine. It’s way too late for things to backfire now, You guys are here and it really gives the X-Men no choice but to come over here and work things out with us. Either way it’s a win.”

“If you're sure.” Jane told him, but even the reassurance of Captain America was doing little to soothe the minds of the young X-Men. “Alright, come on.” Francis said suddenly “Let’s take a tour of the place. We’ll show you where you're staying.”

The Avengers shuffled the X-Men out of the room very quickly hoping to take their minds off of the possible punishments they’d be getting when the X-Men got back. However as everyone left, the tiniest member of the Avengers stayed behind, fury still written all over his face. Pym was not happy.

Not in the slightest. After finally having the heart to pick up his parents journals again things simply went from bad to worse but...he was dealing with it. Getting over it even. But the delve deeper into his father’s work allowed him to find some very concerning things. Things of the Ultron kind that just blew his mind.

He was going to be waiting for Tony, and whether the inventor wanted to talk or not he was going to.

THE VAULT, COLORADO, JUNE 16, 7:00 UTC

The Vault was really looking great. Well as great as a prison could look. But still for Daisy it was impressive the way her Scavengers were handling things, and it was nice being outside the Biodome even if it was to do checkups on the Prison.

Her and Eli had been put in charge of a lot of the operations for the Vault. The cleaning up and restoration, and the moving of the villains from the Biodome to the prison. They had already moved Radioactive Man, and Crossfire first as they were the ones to watch out for, the chances they could have been plotting were small but significant enough that getting them into cells was the top priority.

And now the two agents of the Masters of Evil found themselves behind bars in maybe the toughest supermax facility in the world. Daisy liked to believe that even 15 years ago it would still be one of the best.

After those two however they took their time with the last one. Omega Red. The first villain caught since Ultron’s demise. In a way he kind of kick started everything. After that the Savage Land mission for the Avengers. Things weren’t really the same. From finding the X-Men, to going to California, to this entire mess with the Masters of Evil. It was pretty wild. She had freaking powers now!

“Daisy come in.” Her comm unit rang out, Daisy stopped her trot through the halls of the prison and responded to Eli’s voice “Daisy here, what’s up Eli.”

“Omega Red’s transport has landed. We are ready for your orders and to take him to his cell.” 

“Alright, perfect.” Daisy called “Start wheeling him in, I’ll get some of the others and meet you at the main entrance.”

“Gotcha. Eli out.” 

Everything was right on time. Daisy corralled a couple of the other Scavengers and they met up with Eli and two of the other Scavengers who were wheeling Omega Red into the facility. He was in a huge containment cell that Tony and Bruce had designed. The life stealing mutant was probably going to be locked up for the rest of his natural life.  It was interesting to Daisy because for a lot of these villains returning from “the grave” they might have been accepted back into society with open arms had they simply stopped being jerks. But apparently even after what was nearly the end of the world they couldn’t help but also be assholes.

What was that saying: A tiger can’t change it’s stripes? It seemed like they were learning that alot this year. But she guessed it was better now than later.

The group of Scavengers all helped get Omega Red into his cell, it was a fairly easy task, and it was cool to be considered the big gun in this situation if a fight broke out. Everything went smoothly however, and so there was no longer anything to do. So with a couple of hours left on Daisy’s shift, she headed for her office.

When Daisy finally got to her rather large office, she hadn’t expected to see anyone there. No less a man sitting in her chair. And so immediately she was on edge.

She entered her office quickly, shutting the door fast hoping no one noticed, she thrust her hands up in the air, and was ready to blast the man if he made any sudden movements “Get up quietly don’t make any moves, and maybe I’ll go easy on you.” 

The man didn’t do anything but put his hands up slowly “Relax, this isn’t what you think it is.”

Now that things had slowed down a bit she had time to really analyze the person in front of her. He was a dark skinned man, similar in complexion to Eli. He was bald, clean shaven, probably around the ages of 25-35, and he wore all black military like clothes with a trench coat. But the most interesting thing was the eyepatch over his left eye. And Daisy was pretty sure it wasn’t for show.

“Who are you?” Daisy questioned, she was a little less sure of herself now that she had really took the man in. She didn’t necessarily find him to have a threatening demeanor.

“Just relax, I’ll explain everything so just...put the hands down.” He told her in a bit of a joking manner but it was clear he meant business. And despite how horribly wrong this could go. Daisy did as she was told.

“So who are you?”

“Marcus. Marcus Johnson.” He hesitated before speaking, “Tell me Daisy. How do you feel about the state of the world?”

It wasn’t what she expected but the question did make her feel at ease about putting her guard down “It’s not....bad. I’d say we might actually be in a good place, better than we’ve ever been.”

“Even with the current...international distractions? This Masters of Evil?”

“No one’s called them that.” Daisy pointed out.

“No but I’m sure you, the other Scavengers, and the Avengers call them that fairly regularly. That’s who we're dealing with right?”

“What do you know?”

“There’s a timeline for our world. Right now is going to be the most influential time in our entire history. No moment in the world’s history matters more than this one. And that’s because we can actually change things. But I’m sure you know that already.” 

“Of course and I think we are doing a pretty good job. The Avengers have done a great job of getting things done.”

“The Avengers are a problem.” Marcus told her plainly.

“Wha?” Was all she could manage.

“The Avengers do great work. Amazing work even. They are the world’s leading force in World’s Security. Without them Ultron would most definitely still be ruling over the planet. But they are a problem because this isn’t an effective way to run the world.”

“What makes you say that? You just admitted they are effective.” 

“And they probably always will be.” Marcus didn’t back down. “But when the entire world is consistently dependent on 5 teenagers to be the protectors of the planet 24/7, 365 you're simply setting yourself up for failure.”

And she could see the logic in his thinking. Even at the moment restoration efforts had to be slowed because of the Masters of Evil. It was only recently they had started it up again. If somebody else popped up and was a problem, was something like this going to happen again? It was a question rightly asked, and needed an honest answer.

“And I’m guessing you have a plan?” Daisy assumed.

“Yes you…And well me.”

“Explain.”

“You are perfect for the job. I and many others think so. I’ve watched you from afar and your skills are nearly unmatched by anyone who isn’t an Avenger. Your previous experience would obviously be a big help.”

“Wha-what job?” 

“Like I said in due time. You and the other Avengers just make sure you keep Valerie safe. When she’s safe and she’s won. I’ll explain everything.” Marcus told her, and he began to get up seemingly ready to leave.

“And so I’m just supposed to wait until then?”

“Don’t worry I’ll keep in touch.” And with a nod before he exited he was gone. She was in shock for a few seconds but she quickly ran for the door and looked outside only to see that he was nowhere to be found.

“What the heck...” Daisy whispered to herself. She was somewhat amazed by the tricks of Marcus Johnson and found herself entirely intrigued with everything that was going on. Somehow Daisy was sure that life had just gotten weirder.

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, JUNE 16, 7:30 AM UTC

“Pym just...calm down.” Tony told the young superhero, he backed away hesitantly, and was worried as he increasingly lost control of the situation.

“NO! I’m not just gonna calm down Tony! This is my parents we’re talking about! MY LEGACY!” Pym yelled at the inventor absolutely fuming at everything that had been unfolding over the past weeks.

What he had learned about his Mom and his Dad over the past couple of weeks had been draining, and just an all around horrifying experience. And couple that with the fact that it seemed like Pym was learning about something new that Tony had hid from them every week was making him so angry.

His father and mother might have been the most dysfunctional couple in the world. Certainly the most dysfunctional of their era, and in the superhero community. That was something that Tony kept from him.

His father was basically a crazy person, who hit his mom and tried to attack the Avengers multiple times, and despite that Tony never said a thing.

And of course the worst offence of all. The fact that his father created Ultron and Tony hadn’t ever thought to tell him. No one thought to tell him. Not Bruce, or Jocasta, or Vision. He couldn’t even blame the team as they probably believed that Tony created the AI like he told them.

Instead it was his father who had nearly doomed the world and had gotten hundreds of millions of people killed. And for some reason Tony didn’t think this was information he deserved to know? How could he?

Didn’t he understand how much Pym adored the man? How he took his word as gospel? So why were there so many lies?

“Pym please. I’ll answer everything but you need to calm down.” Tony maintained once again, Pym couldn’t help but gnash his teeth, but eventually he managed to take a deep breath and somewhat calm down. 

“Why did you never tell me about how my parents lived? Why wouldn’t you tell me that my Father created Ultron?” Pym questioned emotionally.

“Henry, you have to understand. It’s not an easy thing to tell. All of this stuff. It happened decades ago. There was never any point in rehashing old Avenger issues. It wasn’t relevant.”

“Clearly it was relevant enough if you lied about it!”

“It wasn’t a lie!” Tony shot back, raising his voice at his young protégé. Now Pym was more confused than ever, and confused and angry did not make a good mix. Pym was ready to yell back when the rest of the Avengers scampered into the room looking more worried than ever.

The members of the so-called “Blue Team” followed in afterwards. It was almost comical as they tried to slink back into the background and not be seen but it was quite obvious they were there and listening.

“Pym, Tony...What in the world is going on?” James asked, looking very annoyed. He made some subtle eye movements to their guests, and then pointedly looked at the bickering duo.

But Pym was mad and way past subtleties. “TONY’S AN ASSHOLE AND DIDN'T TELL ME THAT MY PARENTS WERE CRAZY AND THAT My DAD CREATED ULTRON!”

“Pym!” Torunn immediately chided because of the language. But the rest of Avengers, Pym, Riri, and the newly arrived X-Men were in shock, none knowing what to say.

“Wait.” Francis was the first to speak up “Run that by me again?”

“My parents are crazy. But most importantly. My father was the real creator of Ultron. And Tony never thought to tell me.” 

“Tony...is this true?” Azari asked the Inventor calmly. If it was true he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about it.

“It’s...not as simple as Pym is making it sound.” Tony finally spoke up for himself. The Inventor seemed to be struggling with everything happening so fast. Luckily for him Banner and Vision entered the foyer, it seemed the whole gang was here. In reality these 3 and Jocasta were the only ones who could ever know the truth about the entire situation.

“But it’s true! Which means you lied, lied for years!” Pym accused him

“Pym just calm down alright?” James started “Let’s take a breath, and relax. We can figure every-

“No I’m not just going to relax James. ” Pym interrupted and seemed to regret just a little bit when the Super-Soldier’s eyes narrowed “None of you would if this was your parents.”

“Wait so...How exactly did Ultron come to be then. And you guys might as well tell the truth.” Francis tried to bring the conversation back.

“I was never told by Tony that he didn’t create Ultron.” Bruce was the one who started “I figured it out on my own. When I was...soul searching. I had a lot of time to think about Ultron and what he did to the world. And while I wouldn’t have been surprised if Stark had managed to do something that stupid. I was also hesitant to believe it was all him after remembering what Ultron told the Hulk.”

“What did he say?”

“He had told the Hulk that the Avengers had always thought of me as an outcast. An even bigger outcast than his creator. And while Tony could be annoying. There was no doubt that he was a huge piece of our team. He was never an outcast. Pym’s father however-

“He became one. After all that Yellowjacket stuff, right?”

“Yes...exactly.” Bruce admitted, just a bit shocked at Pym’s knowledge “Now at the time the Hulk was in and out of the Avengers but still you hear things, and it became quite the story in the Superhero community. Regardless after hearing Ultron’s words. I knew that there was more to it than Tony was admitting, I just never really saw a need to address it.”

“Pym how do you know all these things?” Azari probed, hoping he didn’t set off the ticking time bomb that was Pym right now.

“The journals Amadeus gave us. Both of my parents were very detailed. My Mother’s was...revealing. And my father’s outright talks about building Ultron. Tony I know you didn’t make it so why did you lie all this time!”

“It wasn’t a lie. Not exactly.” Tony told them, sighing. When did things suddenly get so crazy? “I did contribute in creating Ultron. I put the ideas in Hank’s head. Ideas about World Security, and World Peace, an almost all knowing sentient robot that was a force for good. A peacekeeping force. Ultron we named it.”

“Hank and I were hellbent on getting this to work but if you know me, at times a more interesting project can be capable of swaying my attention. The Ultron idea seemed like a good one but a flawed one. And for me I never made it past the blueprints. I never added AI or coding. Ultron was just words...I told Hank I was scrapping the project. He didn’t like it. For once it seemed like we were getting along again and I was killing it off. It was 1993 Francis had just been born, the Avengers had been planning out retirement for months now and the world was safe. Because the world was safe I reasoned we didn’t need to go any further with Ultron. The Avengers could retire and even if another threat appeared there would still be heroes like Spider-Man ready to stop it. We were fine.”

“This never stopped Hank who had his own copy of schematics. And his own personal drive to do something...Something to redeem himself in the eyes of the Avengers, the eyes of his peers, The eyes of his friends, and most importantly Janet. A couple of months later. Ultron is born, a few weeks after that he defects from his programming. A couple of months later he created Vision and Jocasta who both almost instantly defect from their programming. And weeks after that the Avengers scramble together one last time to fight one last baddie and officially retire. Defeating Ultron ‘for good.’ So yes I did help create Ultron. Without me there is no Ultron. I didn’t lie.”

Everyone in the room was tense as Tony finished retelling the story. It really was something they should have already known. For Azari, James, and Francis they were all thinking similar things. This was information that could have benefitted them in so many ways, but it wasn’t really the end of the world, and they weren’t so sure Pym should have been going crazy about it.

“Tony a lie of omission is still a lie.” Torunn finally told the retired hero “I think it’s quite obvious you meant well but-

“How can you decide what’s important to me!?!?!” Pym exploded once again “This is information I need to know. My entire life is a lie.”

“I mean call me crazy but...I think your being a little dramatic Pym.” Francis admitted “So what Tony didn’t create Ultron who cares, It just makes the fact he let us all think he did more...meaningful. He shouldered the blame for the end of the world. It’s going to be hard for me to be mad at him for that.”

“Of course you’d say that, you can’t ever understand.” 

“But what is your problem Pym?” Azari asked the young genius “It sounds like you're mad at Tony for lying to you about things and I get that but...I thought we all recognized there was always going to be things that Tony hid from us and it was just for the good of the team.”

“How is me not knowing this for the good of the team!?!?! Huh? How does this benefit anybody?”

“It stops freakouts like this.” Francis muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear. But before Pym could retort James was already jumping in.

“Tony probably shouldn’t have kept this from us, as the information is kind of vital.” James tried to take Pym’s side a bit “I'm pretty sure the government and others believe that Tony had a major role in creating Ultron but no one can blame you for making blueprints. Our movement has been restricted because of this so maybe you should have told us. But also I can understand why you wouldn’t say anything.”

“How could you understand something like that?”

“Well because you're already freaking out.” Francis interjected “I get why you're mad at Tony, and your Mom and your Dad, and blah blah blah, but it’s not that big of a deal. Who cares if your Dad created Ultron.”

“Who cares, that's my Legacy. Of course I care!”

“Really so I’m guessing that the entire time we thought Tony created Ultron it made us all think differently of him right?” Francis questioned.

“I get what Francis is saying.” Azari added on, “You seem to think your life is over now or you have to be a certain way because of something your father did. Life isn’t like that. We aren’t just what our parents are, and whatever you’ve learned about your family shouldn’t make you think differently of them.”

“Oh really? We aren’t just copies of our parents? James doesn’t wear stars or have a shield because of his Dad? Azari isn’t the Black Panther, or the coming King of Wakanda because of his lineage? Torunn doesn’t wander around trying to be as Asgardian as possible because she’s an Alien? Francis, you use a bow and arrow for what reason? There’s only one, and it’s because your father used one. We are what our parents leave us. This was their legacy that we all adopted and now I’m learning that my family isn’t what I thought it was.”

“If I may...interject.” Vision spoke up for the first time “Pym you are clearly the most angry at Tony’s deception, and that I don’t think I can help with. But the idea that you have to be something because of your parents...Ultron was my creator. And I’d like to think I’ve done a good job at distancing myself from his...legacy. You don’t have to be anything you don’t want to be.”

“It’s not the same.”

“But isn’t it?” James insisted “Pym you're justified in your anger but you're being unreasonable. Just because your parents made a mistake doesn’t mean you have to. That’s not how life works. You don’t have to emulate everything they do.”

“Yeah well-

“Sorry to interrupt.” Amadeus told them suddenly “But, I have an incoming transmission, and it’s not even encrypted. Supposedly...it’s from Taskmaster. Do I pick it up?”

This new and random knowledge quickly changed the situation. One moment, everyone was focused on Pym and his issue, the next moment. It was like no one could care any less. 

“Head to the meeting room, there’s better protection from over there.” Tony told Amadeus quickly. 

“Team suit up just in case.” James got back into leader mode “Blue Team...head to the meeting room, you probably won’t be able to do anything, but you can watch.”

The five heroes wasted no time scampering out of there, and the rest began to make themselves scarce also. Vision phased through the ground, and Banner simply left without a word following Amadeus and Riri.

“So that’s it huh? No one cares anymore?” Pym questioned angrily as the OGs got ready to leave the room.

“It’s not like that Pym.” Azari tried, but he wasn’t having it.

“No, I get it. You have time for everything else, but not me. Or any of my problems…Tony can just lie about everything and no one cares. That's just great. And you know what that just shows-

“Pym, please just shut up!” James told the boy angrily, “We are dealing with the Masters of Evil and Taskmaster just called our freaking base of operations. We don’t have time to deal with all of this. There are quite frankly more important things at stake here so if you can’t be mature at the moment. Just go to your room.”

The young hero took one look at each of the heroes with tears seemingly brimming in his eyes before shrinking and flying off, clearly not planning to join the others in the meeting room.

“Really James? You couldn’t have been nicer?” Torunn asked frustrated with the other’s behaviour “You know if this was any of you three you would be this upset too.”

They didn’t have time to retort as she flew off in search of their small friend. And with everything happening so fast Francis couldn’t help but laugh.

“You know I’ll always find it funny to see you get humbled but, Pym is being way too soft. It shouldn’t matter if his father created Ultron. We thought Tony had and it never ever made us think of him differently. He’s being a baby.”

“Yes, but maybe you were harsh.” Azari admitted “You aren’t wrong Francis he is being immature but he’s only 13. He’s never met his real parents before and only knows what we’ve told him, which is that they are good people, but clearly they had some problems we never knew about. I think it’s fair for him to be acting the way he is, even if it is pretty immature.”

James sighed, getting mad at himself for exploding at his young teammate as Azari was right “I’ll apologize to him when we have time, right now we have a collect call from one of the most dangerous men in the world. Let’s deal with that first.”

The three heroes left for the meeting room, and that left Tony all alone to process this whole mess. It already felt like the heroes were growing up too fast for his liking this past year. But for Torunn, James, Francis, and Azari he could stomach it a bit better.

But with Pym. No ifs, ands or buts, he had raised him since he was just a baby. He had taken the blame as he genuinely did believe things were his fault at the time, and to save Pym the knowledge of his father being responsible for the deaths of millions. But he never expected Amadeus could find books that proved his words false, and that in the end Pym would end up hating him, and his real parents.

As Tony shook himself out of it, and headed for the meeting room, he could only hope that things would work out. He couldn’t deal with the group splintering. Especially not now. It was far too early for these problems. “Onto the next.”

Chapter Text

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, JUNE 27,9:00 AM UTC - THE UNITED NATIONS SUMMIT 

“And so our humble General Assembly, I will begin to conclude this address by telling you that the United Nations, and other multilateral organizations are needed now more than ever.” The spokesperson for the United Kingdom spoke confidently.

To Francis he struggled to find it more than just chatter. He didn’t care what Pym, Tony, or Azari told him. The UN did nothing. “Jackshit” as he once told Tony. Francis was confident that most of the world governments actually did nothing.

The people in power just sat around jerking each other off waiting for the Avengers to come save the day like the good little puppets they were. Really, they were the government. And that was true no matter how annoyed James and Tony got when he made that notion.

Still he was probably being a bit too cynical. The governments could be lazy, and take long times to approve things but they could be so much worse. They were for the most part co-operative in most of their missions.

And if they truly were trying to become more autonomous, without killing the Avengers, well then...Who was he to stop them? 

“In position Francis?” A voice in his mind suddenly rang out. The Avengers fearless leader’s voice blared out on the other end of the line and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes despite the fact that Cap couldn’t see it.

“I’ve been in the same position for nine days. I’m not gonna change it now.” Francis responded, a bit irritated at James, and probably the mission itself.

If you asked the archer, it was a bit stupid. Actually, really stupid. They had Taskmaster who was leaking all of this sensitive information about the UN, Worthington, and the Masters of Evil as a whole.

He also told them every bit of there very stupid and ill-advised master plan that after hearing, the Avengers were sure they would have be able to stop anyway. Mind you this is BEFORE you add in the new reinforcements the X-Men’s Blue team was offering. They were a certified force at the moment.

So you have Taskmaster who gave the entirety of the master plan, from the two decoys, where he was as a shooter, and who the target was, and for some odd reason they were just going along with all of this.

No they didn’t decide to get the UN to shut down the Geneva Convention, they didn’t use the information Taskmaster gave them to head over to Madripoor and arrest the dubious bastards, no instead they were going along with.

Because apparently after giving them all this information they owed a favour to Taskmaster. Was he the only one thinking: What the fuck?

“Regardless of what you are thinking Francis, you understand we can all hear it right? We are connected to the mind link.” Azari’s voice rang out shortly after his rant.

“Oh.” was all Francis could muster. He had forgotten about the mind thing. It was a good and useful tool especially for missions, but the Avengers were new at this and every once a while someone’s thoughts slipped up. Usually his own and it seemed it was more embarrassing each and every time.

“Okay look, I meant what I said. Guys this is bullshit. Let’s arrest these guys and go home. There are so many better ways we could be spending our time.”

“Come on Francis, we've been over this.” James told the archer with a sigh “This is the only way we can ensure Taskmaster is co-operative and doesn’t pull a fast one on us.”

“And I say that’s bull. We know for a fact they don’t have an ace up their sleeve. Let’s stop being so worried and arrest all of them instead of just letting Taskmaster go free because he helped out.”

“He’s not going free. He and Black Ant are going to be heavily watched from this point onwards. Plus like you say he’s basically a non-threat. He only kills for money, and it’s fairly obvious there is no amount of money that can coerce him to come out of retirement once more. So as long as he’s telling the truth today. He’s not getting locked up with the rest of them.”

“Whatever.” Francis mumbled. “And this has nothing to do with the fact that he almost killed me by the way. I would be saying the same if it was any of you.”

“We know Francis.” Torunn responded. She wanted to move on from this topic as she didn’t like when there was bickerking on the line from the Avengers, especially since they had these new guests in the young and impressionable X-Heroes.

“So Blue Team, are you in position?” Torunn struck up conversation, as the United Kingdom’s representative continued talking about teamwork and unity.

“Blue Team is a definite go.” Jessica’s voice was loud and clear

“Yup, we are ready to serve. Though could I be honest?” Michael directed his question towards the Avengers. And despite not being able to see each other, the mind link made it obvious who he wanted an answer from.

“Go for it.” James told the teen in his mind. In person his eyes hadn’t left Valerie, nor the two decoys pretending to be a part of the security detail of the Summit.

“This may sound...insensitive but I was expecting a little more...action?” Michael told him, sounding a little unsure of telling everyone this. But to the Avengers it wasn’t a really big deal.

“It’s only natural.” James assured all of them “I think I would be lying to you if I said wanting action has never dictated some of our moves. Wanting a real fight is part of the reason we ended up fighting Ultron in the first place.” he explained.

“I might add that, action is great, fighting is almost calming at times. But it’s  the simpler missions you will learn to appreciate as you do this more. It may be more fun to use our fists, but we’ve truly won when it’s our last option.” Azari added

“Yeah well, this is probably going to be our last fight ever.” Jane said broodily. The X-Men were on their way. And the Blue Team had been dreading it ever since they heard the news.

“Pshh, I really doubt it. Right when we deal with this problem, everything is going to be left in the past.” Francis told them.

“I really hope so.” Sofia added in. She could only imagine the face of absolute fury Ms. Frost was going to have when they saw them again.

“Guys.” Pym’s voice came in very quiet, even in the mind link. “The UK rep is ending, the plan is now in motion, everything should go down in the next 10-15 minutes.”

“Right, everyone understands the plan?” James asked for the last time.

“I think so, and I have to admit it’s pretty genius.” Jimmy told Captain America. And he was right, the plan was pretty genius.

After getting all of that information Tony, James, and Francis sat in the meeting room for hours scheming up a foolproof plan that could be enacted every day of the summit because they hadn’t been sure when Taskmaster and the decoys were going to do the assassination. But they managed it.

The plan had many parts and roles, and it started with Amadeus. The man in the booth who was calling most of the shots. Everyone’s eyes and ears.

Because they knew exactly how many of Zemo and Viper’s men to be looking out for they were able to pinpoint who they should be watching and who was legit. Amadeus and Riri easily looked through the credentials of every single security member there. And they quickly found two men on the security detail of the General Assembly whose credentials didn’t not fit in the rest at all. The decoys.

It said a lot about Zemo and Viper that they could only manage to get two decoys and Taskmaster into the building. According to Tony and Banner years ago they could probably get 80% of the detail in. 

James and Azari's eyes were constantly on Valerie, from what it sounded like Taskmaster was still going to take that shot which James could admit was pretty dangerous, but they both knew they could stop what they already knew was coming. The Blue team were supposed to have eyes on the decoys as well, so whoever they tried to attack would be quickly neutralized by the mutants, allowing them to have a quick re-introduction into the World’s spotlight.

Hopefully a good reaction would incentivize the X-Men to give everything a chance. Francis would chase down the shooter, and make sure nothing went wrong. And Pym and Torunn were playing defense. Torunn was in the sky outside of the building, and Pym was blocking the route for the getaway car if they ended up trying anything fishy.

With Taskmaster in the rafters he was supposed to take the shot and then take a hidden exit to the getaway car where Ant would help him escape, and that was basically the entirety of Zemo and Viper’s plan.

Yup. That was it. It was probably around two days ago the Avengers were going over everything when they realized that they had won already. And that they had won a long time ago.

As James told them the idea of Zemo and Viper was way scarier than it actually was. They had kept worrying that they had hundreds of super villains waiting to attack the Avengers or that they had some crazy super plan to reinstate Hydra or the Masters of Evil as the pinnacle of world power. But no this was it.

It was almost embarrassing when they thought back to the amount of worry they had in this situation. But in reality things were only really bad for about a week. And then Valerie did that press conference and everything was basically okay again.

It wasn’t realistic to believe that everything they fought would be this easy but things from the past were certainly going to become much less of a high priority after this. Still everything kind of felt...special.

Like the world really was entering a new era. But for Azari and James, they still weren’t sure if it was all good yet.

“And with that we conclude our 2010 United Nations Summit.” A man told the crowd of government officials.

“Alright people. Eyes on your targets. We do this, and we’ll be able to cruise through the rest of summer.”  James told them he got a lot of grunts through the mental link, and was satisfied.

The officials all began to stand up and shake hands and speak with other members of the United Nations, making connections like it was a High School lunch, but none of them noticed the two decoys on the security detail. Or Taskmaster set up in the rafters.

But in these next five minutes they were going to. Jimmy knew he looked a little out of place. He had a ball cap over his head, and a leather jacket on his shoulders, as he manned the cameras of the broadcast, but really it was the look on his face he couldn’t really control. Everytime someone caught his eye they immediately turned away.

He didn’t really care though, right when he and the others saved everyone’s lives it should hopefully mean good things for him and the other X-Men.

Jane manned the camera’s with him. Her telepathy had been a big factor in the plan. She had been able to confirm the identities of the two decoys, and her Telepathy was good enough that she could easily read their intentions knowing exactly when they decided to enact their plan.

“Jess there splitting up.” Jane mentally told her friend “Jimmy and I will take the one going to the left, you take the one heading for the Spanish ambassador.”

“It’s Cascade Jane, get it right.” Jessica teased the telepath, who wasn’t having it “Whatever just go!”

Jessica was also an integral part of the plan. The Avengers had quickly found out that Jessica’s luck powers were very potent. They worked to an unbelievable extent and for that reason she was tasked with tailing one of the decoys.

Her powers were interesting enough that everyone had wanted to spar with her, as they found her powers accounted for the random situations you usually couldn’t simulate in a simple sparring session. After fighting her the first time James insisted she be one of the mains, as he believed it would guarantee a successful mission.

“Alright Michael, there’s our man, let’s get him.” Jessica told the shapeshifter. He gave her a nod and they both started shifting through the crowd barely being noticed by anyone as Jessica used her telepathy to make people believe they weren’t even there.

The Spanish ambassador, a fair woman, was having an in depth conversation with the man from Sweden. And as one of the decoys began to pull up from behind her. It seemed the entire thing was about to kick off.

“Get ready…” Jess told everyone on the mind link “...Now!”

Michael and Jessica sprang into action, Cascade headed straight for the ambassador using her telekinesis to propel herself forward faster pushing her and the ambassador out of a quickfired shot.

This one shot turned everything into a chaotic mess. At least for those who didn’t know what was going on. Michael himself wasted no time in pulling out his own weapon, an energy pistol and shooting the gun out of the decoy’s hand.

The man looked at him and growled, before pulling out a knife and attempting to attack the metamorph. He used his quick reflexes to dodge the attacks, before punching him in the face. The punch didn’t hurt the man nearly enough, so it was clear that he was enhanced in some way.

Still he didn’t stand a chance. Michael dodged another swipe of the blade from the man, and then dodged a kick and a flurry of fists, The man was a good fighter, but Michael had help, and with another clean dodge, managed to push the man straight to Cascade who gave a strong punch to the face backed with Telekinetic force.

As the man stumbled around Jess and Michael backed off and watched as Sofia swooped in, in her fiery form and punched the man in the stomach before flying him up high and then dropping him knocking the man unconscious.

“Decoy One has been dealt with.” Jessica told the others proudly.

“Great, Decoy Two status?” James asked.

With Jimmy and Jane it was only a few seconds after the first decoy shot, that the second one made his move.

He had moved near the camera and Jimmy and Jane were right behind him for the takedown. The man aimed his gun at one of the many ambassadors at the stage and was ready to shoot to kill. Unfortunately for him. Jimmy and Jane knew exactly when to move and so right as he was prepared to shoot the bullet Jimmy dropped down in front of the man.

And was subsequently shot straight in the chest with not one but two bullets. He grimaced as it had been a while since he felt real pain, but as his bones covered themselves in his own organic metal it didn’t take long at all for the bullets to be spit back out from his body, and it was all worth it as he saw the look on the Assassins face.

“Are you regretting everything yet?” Jane questioned with a large smirk. The man attempted to shoot the gun again but the bullet was stopped as it exited the chamber by Jane’s TK. She then wasted no time in sending a blast of psionic force, causing the man to scream in agony.

And with a strong punch to the head Jimmy managed to knock the man out in one punch.

“Great, Decoy Two status?” They heard James’ voice ring through the mind link.

“Decoy Two is down and out for the count.” Jane assured. And just like that there was one to go. 

James and Azari always knew Taskmaster wasn’t going to make it easy on them but that didn’t make it any less annoying when he began to shoot around at other targets forcing the other X-Men to start helping block the shots from the shooter. As well.

James saved countless people jumping from person to person blocking sniper bullets with his shield, and he was getting tempted to just throw his shield at where he knew the weathered assassin would be, but alas things were coming to an end.

Azari’s electric force field was stopping nearly every bullet that was raining down from the top, and it was clear this fight was coming to a close. In the mix Valerie’s detail clearly had lost the important woman, and this was when Taskmaster decided to take the shot.

However Azari was on it, sending a blast of electricity that seemed to simply vaporize the bullet, and then immediately James threw his shield towards the gunfire. If Taskmaster didn’t want to be caught. He had better run, and run very fast.

Francis was the one chasing him, and James knew he wasn’t going to make it easy on the man. But really this was it. It was a little anticlimactic. But this was really it they had just won again.

They had won again and it seemed the press knew exactly who they wanted to talk to. They rushed past James and thrust a microphone in front of Jane’s face who looked a little shocked but was ready to speak as she was bombarded with questions.

“Your heroics today were outstanding. You and your friends saved many lives today? What may we call you?” The woman asked “Why did you help out today?”

“Well...we helped out today because we can.” Jane answered immediately “My friends and I we’ve had powers basically since birth. We were born with the ability to do great things, and so we decided to help out in the best way we know how.”

“And your names?” 

“Um well, I’m Psylocke.” Jane remembered to use their superhero names “That’s Cascade, Copycat, Solstice, and the Wolverine. We're a part of the X-Men.” Jane told them proudly.

“You wouldn’t happen to mean-

“The long retired, haven’t been seen in 20 years X-Men? Yes, those ones.” Jess interrupted “And we were glad to help.”

“Wow, well I guess the last question is...Are you working with the Avengers?”

“Today we worked hand in hand with the Earth’s mightiest heroes, and it’s something that will probably happen again. But we are not a part of the Avengers...We are X-Men.”

“And we’re here to stay.” Jimmy added in seriously.

“Alright, thank you for your time.” 

The words mutant were never used but the world would get the picture and it would be up to them whether they wanted to ostracize mutants for simply being different once again. But as James watched the X-Men take dozens of pictures with various government officials. It was hard not to have hope.

Right now they really did look like the Heroes of Tomorrow.

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, JUNE 27, 15:00 UTC

“What in the world were you thinking!?!?!” Emma roared right as she entered the living room of the Avengers.

Behind her Hank, Laura, and Kitty chased behind the angry telepath who seemed to be on a warpath more than ready to tear into the 5 irresponsible children who decided to run away to a country they hadn’t been to in years.

The X-Men sat in the corner of the room all of the not exactly sure what to say as their impending doom got closer to them but it was fairly obvious Emma wasn’t going to take silence as an answer.

“Well!?!?!?” Emma questioned the young heroes once more, and Jimmy was the only one who could speak up.

“We thought we could help out.” Jimmy answered but you could tell that even he was a little shaken by the look of pure fury on Emma’s face.

“Oh so you thought that wanting to help out was a good enough reason to steal the blackbird and fly off to America without telling anyone. You have no idea how angry I am right now!”

Seeing the scene in front of him James thought it might be a good idea to help out but, it probably wasn’t the best idea “They were a big he-”

“Mr. Rogers.” Emma cut him off very quickly “I appreciate everything you’ve done in getting this world back on track, But I’d appreciate it if you stopped talking.”

“Uhhh, yes ma’am.” James conceded very easily. There really wasn’t much any of them could do but, watch how everything played out.

They all watched as Emma took a deep breath and tried to calm down. But while the Avengers might have not seen this a big deal, This was the first time they had to deal with anything like this in years . And despite not having students active in the field for such a long time, the feeling of fear was all too familiar.

“You all were too irresponsible. Somebody really could have been hurt. You could have messed up with Cerebro, or never found the right location. And you’ve never had real field practice and today the stakes were very high.”

“Oh come on Gran, we did our best to be careful. We took all the extra steps. We just didn’t want to sit around anymore, Is that so bad?”

“It’s bad when you directly disregard our orders Jess. And you know that.” Emma insisted, ignoring Jessica’s attempt to sweet talk her.

The Avengers on the other hand didn’t say anything. But the five heroes were trying to figure out how Emma could look so young and be Jessica’s grandmother. It wasn't really adding up.

“It is also bad.” Laura spoke up “Because we had been planning on making a trip over here anyways. You all jumped the gun. We were also going to come and help.”

The five X-Men looked at each in varying states of embarrassment. It seemed that Talia was right, they did need a little more patience.

“Sorry?” Michael tried, and the older X-Men just sighed. “We will talk more when we get back to Genosha.” Hank told them.

“Yes, you all go get your things. We will finish up here.” Kitty ordered. The kids wasted no time, and scurried out of there leaving the Avengers with the older X-Men. And for once the younger Avengers were a little quiet.

Looking at the older heroes...They looked like legends. Tony was a legend but he never really suited up anymore. Banner hadn’t Hulked out since Ultron’s defeat, and so they really hadn’t been able to see some of the older heroes in their primes since they were little kids. And since things weren’t as hostile as the first time, there really wasn’t much to do but watch the X-Men in wonder, and the four heroes seemed to recognize that.

“Okay, okay enough with the staring. We aren’t that special.” Emma told the starstruck heroes, who shook themselves out of it.

“You know I’m mad at you all as well.” Emma told them, but there was much less heat to it “I didn’t think you would actually let them fight.”

“They were pretty good.” Francis told her with a shrug “They were well trained and promised to stay within the confines of the mission, and because we knew all the facts leading to this beforehand, it was an easy decision to let them join as long as you guys didn’t show up before the mission.”

“Well at least that’s good to know.” Kitty admitted “It was getting a little hard to gauge their skills when they fought the same things over and over again.”

“Did you see Jane’s interview?” James wondered, the girl had insisted the world would be seeing more of the X-Men, but James could only be sure of that if the older ones believed that as well.

“We did.” Emma admitted with a nod “It was...good for her first time. I know the first time we met we were adamant about staying in Genosha but...after thinking a few things over. The X-Men have agreed that coming over here and figuring things out for the betterment of mankind might not be the worst thing in the world.”

“Yes, and from the positive reactions the video is getting. It seems we made the right choice.” Hank informed them.

“Like Jimmy said. The X-Men are here to stay.” Laura assured the younger heroes.

“Well that’s just great news!” James said ecstatic, could things get any better?

“Yes, yes, calm down Captain.” Emma told him with a small smile “We still have a few things we need to settle. But we will keep in touch. Mr. Stark and I have already had a few extensive conversations. For now however, we must get back to Genosha.”

“Well good to know. It was nice meeting you all again.” Torunn told the four heroes. And after exchanging a couple more pleasantries, the four heroes left, guided by Tony and Banner who seemed happy talking to people their own age for once.

“I’m gonna go join the party with Riri and the rest.” Francis told the group, and the rest began to follow suit.

Pym began to follow as well, despite the fact he looked out of everything, and James couldn’t help but feel like a part of that was his fault, and he was obligated to do his best to fix that, so he pulled the young pixie to the side.

“I’m sorry Pym.” James tells him immediately “I was an ass, telling you to shut up, when it was clear that the news about your parents was hurting you more than we knew or could understand. As your leader, and more importantly as a friend I should have done better.”

“It’s alright James, I forgave you a long time ago. I was being a baby about it.”

“Even if you were, I shouldn’t have dismissed you like that.” James said with a sigh, apology was accepted but he still felt like he needed to cheer Pym up.

“I was like 3 years old, but I can still remember when I was dropped off at your Mom’s apartment.” James began to recall the story to Pym who immediately perked up.

“She was pregnant with you, and despite me being smarter than normal for that age, I couldn’t quite understand why Aunt Janet had hidden a beach ball under her shirt.”

“Your Mom had always been my Mom’s go to when she needed some to babysit, Your mom was caring, strong, and brave, and one of the coolest people toddler me had ever met. To this day, I can remember all the things she used to let me do. Your father hadn’t been around much, I guess I should have put two and two together that they had gotten a divorce, but it hadn’t meant very much Pym. Your parents were almost always together afterwards despite whatever papers said otherwise.”

“Yes, your parents were not perfect. Yes your father created Ultron, but nobody is perfect Pym. What I do know is that your parents adored you, and that they may have had their fair share of issues but that didn’t stop your parents from loving each other. Or your Mother from naming you after your father, despite everything that happened before. I’m sure if the rest of us looked into our parents' pasts we might find stuff we were disappointed in. It shouldn’t change our perspective of them Pym. Those people died so we can live. Their love for us, truly knows no bounds. So chin up alright?”

“R-right.” Pym nodded, swiping at his eyes, “Thanks James.”

“Anytime, now come on, There’s pizza and drinks, and I’m more than ready to kick back and relax before we head back to Europe.”

The two heroes headed to the next room in tandem. Pym was mostly content with what James told him, though it was still hard to keep what he saw out of his head. Because despite what James told him, he didn’t know everything and he knew that there was even more stuff in those journals that made him question his sanity.

For James he felt a little bad because he remembered a lot more about his Aunt Janet and Uncle Hank then he led on. His father did come by quite a bit and in those early years it was not a fun time at all. His Aunt Janet was almost always cool. But James might not deny that Uncle Hank had a couple screws loose, and he knew that even then. But James supposed the two were happy with each other in the latter days, so it didn’t matter. And they really did love Pym.

As the two entered the common room, they were surprised that it was so quiet. There was barely any talking except for Daisy’s voice, and the tone she was using didn’t exactly give confidence.

“Umm, what’s up guys?” James asked the team.

“You might wanna sit down for this.” Francis told James seriously. James looked at Pym who shrugged and took a seat by Torunn, so James did the same taking a seat by Francis and Azari.

“Daisy, what’s going on? Is something wrong, are you in danger?” He couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Ah, not exactly.” Daisy admitted, and with a few hand movements she brought up three profiles out of thin air. One on Marcus Johnson, another on Valerie Cooper, and a third on S.H.I.E.L.D.

“There’s a plan to restart S.H.I.E.L.D. and they want me to be on it.” Daisy said, looking directly at James.

And alright that was not what he was expecting. “Start explaining.”

Chapter Text

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, JUNE 27, 15:25 UTC

“There’s a plan to restart S.H.I.E.L.D. and they want me to be on it.” Daisy said, looking directly at James.

“Start explaining.” James told Daisy.

After everything that had happened, The Avengers had to admit this was the least likely scenario they thought was going to happen.

After defeating the Masters of Evil with the help from the blue side of the X-Men the only thing on the Avengers minds had been party, and then they would go to Madripoor and round up the rest of the Masters of Evil after getting a sanction from the government.

It would be easy enough especially after they were gonna hand over all the files they had that proved the Masters of Evil were involved in the original Madripoor fight. They were cruising, but now supposedly S.H.I.E.L.D. was coming back, but that should have been a good thing. But apparently to come back they were going to need Daisy. Each and everyone was very interested in what Daisy was going to say, and at the moment it seemed like she was trying to figure out how to explain everything she knew.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. is coming back.” Daisy started “And from what I understand. As soon as possible.”

“And who is heading this return of S.H.I.E.L.D.?” Tony asked 

“2 people really.” Daisy explained and began to pull up two files “The first is Presidential Candidate Valerie Cooper. The second is Marcus Johnson, or as he is really known. Nick Fury Jr.”

“Wow, put this on the list of things I never thought would happen.” Francis was the first to speak up “How’d you even get in contact with them.”

“It was a couple of weeks ago. In Colorado. Fury was at the Vault, he talked to me about well...a lot, mostly about how the Avengers aren’t good enough and the-

“Woah, woah, woah. Go back and explain that.” Francis demanded “Cause we are great .”

“That’s the same thing I said when I first heard it.” Daisy said with a small laugh “The way he explained it was fairly simple. The Avengers are an amazing force that the world should be thankful for. But it’s a mistake to trust the world’s security to just five people. S.H.I.E.L.D. coming back will allow them to work in tandem with the government to get jobs done. They would be the middle link between Heroes and world governments.”

“I think it’s undeniable that S.H.I.E.L.D. in any capacity coming back is a good thing.” Azari spoke for the group “But Daisy I’m more curious on why they’ve recruited you. Not that I don’t think you could do a great job.”

“Well, I guess it’s because there aren't many people like me. People on the right side of the law who understand how the government and the Avengers work. A person with powers, and general smarts I guess...supposedly I’m perfect for the job.”

“Well I can not deny that. You would be perfect for this job Daisy.” Torunn complimented “But I think we would really miss you here with the Avengers.”

“Yeah we would really miss you Daisy.” Amadeus agreed with Torunn and choruses, of don’t go and we’d miss you’s occurred, but James didn’t say anything like that and instead sighed.

“That’s not all it is, there’s more.”

“Well yeah,” Daisy admitted “Another reason they wanted me is well...because they wanted the Scavengers. The Scavengers are really the world’s only true elite strike team that is accessible, and well, a lot of them would make amazing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and they’d like to recruit most of them....All of them really.”

“So...were supposed to lose the entirety of the Scavengers?” Francis questioned, not believing what he was hearing.

“The Scavengers are supposed to fold into S.H.I.E.L.D.” Pym told him, before looking at Daisy “That’s wild...but it does kinda make sense.”

“Well...what do you think of this O fearless one?” Francis directed at James. He looked at Daisy, who gave him a sad sort of smirk and he gave her a smile back.

“I mean. I guess it makes sense. If I was trying to restart S.H.I.E.L.D. I’d probably pick Daisy to help restart it as well. The Scavengers also make sense and while they would be sorely missed I know a lot of them would like to be closer to society but still work with us. And they would get to do that with S.H.I.E.L.D. I guess my only problem is that none of us have met this new Nick Fury. And it wouldn’t be wise to let you do this without meeting them first.”

“Well that can probably be arranged.” Daisy said with a nod.

“Wait Daisy, are you planning on doing this?” Tony asked. She wasn’t an Avenger despite how much she hung around them. But she was by far the most trusted non-Avenger in the building. Tony could still remember how proud Francis had been to introduce them all to Daisy all those years ago.

Even then it was obvious that she was beyond brilliant. So the fact that she was getting this job opportunity despite only being 16 wasn’t even that surprising. For Tony he was still trying to get over the fact that there seemed to be a new Nick Fury. And that Valerie was in on this new S.H.I.E.L.D. thing, meaning she had probably been the one heading it from the start. 

“Um, well, yeah, I guess I was planning on taking this, it feels like the right thing to do.” Daisy admitted “I love working here, I love being here with you guys, but the good an Organization like S.H.I.E.L.D. can do in this world is  just too much to pass up on. I’ll still work with you guys, I might just be a little further away.”

“Wow.” Francis said with a sigh, and it seemed like he was reminiscing “We really are entering a new era. Have you told Eli?”

“He’s all aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. train.” Daisy said with a nod

“Well then, I think the only thing we really have to do is meet this Fury guy. How fast can you get him here?” Francis asked

“Couple of hours honestly.”

“Well then get it done.” James approved, this was really not what he was expecting but really what could you do? This was a great idea and something the world needed. He was certain this was going to be a success. He only wished he had gotten with Daisy earlier, maybe then he wouldn’t feel bad about letting her go.

HEROES OF TOMORROW

It was a couple of hours later, and the Avengers were back in their meeting room as Nick Fury was arriving at the Biodome. Daisy escorted him to the meeting room, and the Avengers took a good look at the man who wanted to break up the Avengers and Scavengers. He wore a black trench coat and a black turtleneck under that, and the eye patch was really something. Pym wondered if he was simply copying his father or if he truly did lose his eye.

“Avengers. It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I suppose you want to get straight down to business.” Fury told them as he took a seat around the table.

“Yeah, who proposed this reformation of S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“Valerie. It was the first of many things on her list, and with everything going on, it didn’t take much for the government to greenlight it. We are already in progress of moving a lot of our equipment to the Helicarrier.”

“So that means you’ve been planning this for a fairly long time then?” James pointed out “The helicarriers were no joke and to be moving stuff there already...it means you guys could be up in the air in a week’s time.”

“We are trying to move fast. People want to see more than just the Avengers doing something, and we are trying to give them that.”

“It’s a smart idea, I really just wish you didn’t have to break up the Scavengers to do it.” Francis told Fury.

“They will still be doing the same work. Making things easier on the Avengers, they will just need to be integrated into S.H.I.E.L.D. Then more things can happen, get paid more money for the things they do, be closer to society, while helping out in every way we can.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. was an intelligence agency. I suppose that also won’t be changing.”

“Not in the slightest. The full extent of S.H.I.E.L.D’s duty is mostly classified information that only I and Ms. Johnson are qualified to know.”

“And so it begins.” Azari points out, with a small laugh “I have no doubt we can establish a great working relationship, but I also know we are going to get on each other’s nerves. A Lot.”

“Well. The information wouldn’t have to be classified. I wouldn’t mind having some Avengers on my roster. Captain?” 

“You're serious?” James questioned looking more at Daisy who nodded slightly, and James could only really laugh, because there was absolutely no way he could stop being Captain America to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. It just wasn’t responsible and there were still so many things he could do. The Avengers’ jobs were in no way done, and honestly, if James was being honest it felt like it had truly just begun.

“I’m sorry I can’t accept that offer. There’s too much to be done as Captain America still. I have no doubt S.H.I.E.L.D. will do amazing work, but I can’t work under them right now.”

“I expected as much.” Fury told him with a respected nod before turning to Francis “What do you say Barton? You know your parents were some of the highest ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents of all time.”

Some of the others seemed shocked that Fury turned to Francis, but Tony, Bruce, and James weren’t surprised in the slightest. Francis had a knack for things like this. He was a great leader, smart, and an excellent fighter. You couldn’t get much better than Francis.

Francis himself was just a little shocked at the offer but he had a feeling it was coming by the way Daisy was looking at him, and he knew he had to decline as well. He was nearly 13 when he took control of the Scavengers after his father died. He then took control of them, hiding out in Ultra City for years, which was still the hardest thing he had ever done. And while he could envision himself working for S.H.I.E.L.D. Like James he wasn’t sure today was that day.

“Sorry Fury, Daisy, I’ll have to disappoint you this time. Like Cap said, we’ve got work to do as Avengers. It’s not my time yet.”

“I respect it.” Fury nodded, before looking at his watch “This was a short meeting but it’s really all I have time for. S.H.I.E.L.D’s reemergence means I’m constantly reporting to the UN. The public will know about S.H.I.E.L.D. coming back soon and the preparation has to be constant. I’ll have to take my leave.”

“Well it was a pleasure to meet you, Fury. We look forward to working with you.” Torunn gave the man her seal of approval.

He nodded at her and the rest before simply getting up and leaving, and Daisy quickly followed, barely remembering to tell them “I’ll be back!”

As it was once again just the Avengers Tony immediately spoke up “I’m glad you guys didn’t take the offer. S.H.I.E.L.D. is great but...I still see you guys as kids, and I want you guys around a little longer before you branch out like that.”

“Don’t worry Tony. You're always going to have us.” James assured him. And after that everyone began to clear the room.

James was the only one left when Daisy returned on her own, and she had a small sort of smile on her face.

“I hope you're not mad James.” She immediately told him, and he only laughed and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“Disappointed were inevitably going to be hundreds of miles away, doing different things at different times everyday, of course. But mad, never. It may have not been the longest relationship, actually it’s pretty short all things considered. But I’m never going to forget this Daisy.”

“Me either. This was the most fun I’ve ever had, especially since I moved into the Biodome. You're very special James, and who knows we're still young, anything could happen.” 

“Right.” James agreed, before giving Daisy a serious look “S.H.I.E.L.D. is no joke Daisy. What they are going to get you to do will not be easy. Be safe alright?”

“Of course. Always.” After that the two simply sat together for a while, before Daisy tugged him, pulling him out of the meeting.

“Alright come on, let’s watch a movie or something, we can’t spend our last days doing nothing.” As they left towards the common room. James could only think one thing. This was shaping up to be the weirdest year of all time.

Chapter Text

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, SEPTEMBER 2, 12:00 UTC

“Yesterday the Avengers entered Bosnia and destroyed the Ultron Citadel that was in the country, taking out each and every robot that was there. A story all too familiar to our ears over these past two years. But this specific takedown of Ultron’s robots has a little more meaning to it, than the rest. Bosnia was the country on the UN’s red list. And according to the words of Captain America this was the last country they had planned a takedown for. Yes people, you are hearing this correctly. As of just twelve hours ago we are officially free of Ultron’s rule! I think you will all agree with me when I say a big thank you to the Avengers. Things just wouldn’t be going as fast without you.”

“It’s kind of surreal to think that we're done isn’t it?” Francis said, and the others in the room had to agree.

Sometimes it felt like just yesterday Torunn had flown into the sky and thrown Ultron’s body into the cold depths of space before they took off in the Quinjet and flew around the world saving everyone they could.

It wasn’t too long ago that they would spend hours everyday in Ultra city attempting to strip the city down and fix it, only to realize that the damage done was more than they could ever realize. It didn’t feel like that long ago the Scavengers had been fully integrated into the Biodome and slowly they had trusted them to come on missions, and do their own thing.

It really hadn’t been that long or at least with hindsight it hadn’t been. Two years flew by. And now, well, they were basically done.

“It’s all perspective. In some ways we’ve moved extremely fast, our task of liberation has been done at a speed we should all be proud of. But the work isn’t done. Not yet. The rebuild isn’t close to being over.”

“Yeah the clean up, it’s probably the hardest part. Reconstruction. I mean we should know, we liberated the US first and we aren’t even close to being finished with reconstruction.” Pym pointed out

“Honestly it’s probably going to take another 5-10 years before the world is fully reconstructed, and that’s just the harsh reality of things.”

“I really doubt that. With all of you guys working on fixing everything up, I’m sure it won’t be long before you find a faster way of fixing things.” Torunn attempted to be positive.

“We have a faster way of fixing things.” James finally spoke up “The Iron Legion. But the chances of that getting sanctioned for anything other than prison work is slim to none.”

“We’ve just gotta have a little faith.” Tony insisted “With Valerie being sworn into office, who knows, maybe she can help us out a bit.”

“Yeah and maybe this is something we can get S.H.I.E.L.D. to help us out with.” Riri added, “That’s what they're there for right?”

Yet still James simply shook his head and sighed “It’s a nice thing to think can happen but it wont. When the world is united on something they are going to win. And it’s clear what they want. No more robots. You have to understand. It’s not even just the little guys who are afraid. It’s other countries' presidents, and ambassadors who are just as afraid as the smaller people. Valerie would never be able to get the UN to agree to something like that. The people would rather wait than let the bots help out.”

“Well I suppose we can’t blame them.” Jim, the newest Avenger spoke up “It was a traumatizing time, they aren’t going to be understanding about things like this that fast.”

“Of course, it’s wishful thinking to believe we could make something happen. It’s a hard pill to swallow. But, we’re just going to have to wait. Wait and see if we can come up with anything else, or help with the construction as best as we can.”

“Well who knows what might happen.” Jessica spoke up “I personally believe it’s too early to call it. And besides as more super powered people inevitably show up, I’m certain we could get things done, right? That would lower down the 5-10 year estimate.”

“Well not really.” Amadeus said with an awkward laugh “That 5-10 year estimate was made with the estimate of a 15% growth in the super powered population. It really is going to take that long.”

“You have to remember Jess that we aren’t construction workers. It takes time to plan things out for one building, and then put the things together, and then you still have to stop and maybe wait a few weeks while the workers get things checked by other workers before you get to work again. You’d have to do that, in thousands of cities, for thousands of buildings. It’s asinine to believe we could really lower that number by much.” Jane explained to her friend.

“Exactly.” Amadeus agreed with Jane’s statement “But who knows maybe will think of something. With Tony, Bruce, Me, Riri, Azari, Pym, Mr. McCoy, and maybe your friend Miguel coming to help, I have faith we might be able to find something.”

Some of the others agreed, but James didn’t comment as he knew his words wouldn’t instill confidence in anyone, and he wasn’t fond of talking if it wasn’t going to make the others feel better. But the harsh reality was this was going to take a long time. Time and patience were two things he was beginning to feel like he didn’t have at all.

For one there were all these cities that needed help and he was struggling to see how the Avengers and even the X-Men could commit the next 5-10 years of their life helping. But then there was Ultra city.

The only city in the entire world to ever be...terraformed by Ultron to create something so sinister. He had been looking at statistics not too long ago and supposedly 20% of the weaponry in Ultra City still hadn’t been removed for danger of nuclear explosions. They couldn’t even touch it. If the rest of the world was going to take 5-10 years, Then Ultra City was going to take 20 or 25 years...if even. It seemed like it was destined to be the next Chernobyl. And James wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“Since we're all here.” The Super-Soldier interrupted whatever they were talking about “I was wondering what we all think of Ultra City. Is it...is it time to let the city go. Focus on other things. Do you see...redemption for the city?”

The question was more so for the O5 and the Original X-Men, he was curious to what they thought of the project that had long since slowed to a halt.

“It’s distracting.” Emma told him immediately “A big clunky metal city in the middle of America. Everyone can see it, and understands why it’s there. It’s depressing, an ugly symbol of what happened, but a symbol nonetheless. If you can restore New York City I’d say go for it. But if you're talking about destroying the city, I’d say it’s not worth it. At the very least it reminds us of where we came from, and just because something hurts doesn’t mean it should be forgotten.”

“I’d agree with Emma honestly.” Kitty told him with a sigh “I’m all for getting NYC back, but only if we can well and truly get it back to its former glory. But if not, well then let’s just not worry about it then. There’s tons of other places that could use some help.”

“Blowing it up is...I don’t know. Too desperate for me.” Francis admitted “It’s the last resort, but we shouldn’t give either. If we can just remove the nukes, I’m sure we’ll be fine. That should be easier to do than the other stuff right?”

“It should.” Hank agreed, “I’m sure we could get that done in under a year.”

As others began to talk about how fast things could get done James just nodded along and put up a smile, he wasn’t exactly happy these timeframes were still too long. When he went out and saw the people it only made him want to work faster. Get things done faster.

But he couldn’t blame Tony, Bruce and the rest. They really were working as fast as they could and he was grateful for that. He just...wasn’t ready to accept that it was going to take that long. He wondered where he got this impatience/stubbornness from. His Mom or his Dad? 

Either way he was practically done with this conversation, so he snuck out of the main room pretty sure that the only two people who noticed were Frost, and Jim but those two seemed to understand when he needed a break from certain things.

And these days now that they had rounded up the Masters of Evil, James did what he always did and went on ‘Hero Watch’.

Before all this Masters of Evil stuff popped off. The Avengers had been focused on adding more people to their cause. They had wanted to get larger. And they had managed to add Amadeus along with Riri, and Jim as field agents.

Of course there was the entirety of the X-Men who were always willing to lend a hand or two at the moment, though all of them hadn’t even fully moved from Genosha yet still going back and forth as they still tried to figure out which city they would move into.

Regardless there was a fair amount of them at the moment the Avengers had all agreed that more was always better. They wanted a network of heroes, not just a couple. They wanted to know who they had on their side, who was willing to help the people. And not just in the aspect of fighting. 

And because of that James would constantly be on ‘Hero Watch’. With Friday’s help it wasn't hard to get her to scan across the globe and more specifically the US of A to find certain anomalies in the system. People who seemed to have powers, or spectacular abilities that might be able to help out. And who might be good enough for the Avengers.

He had one person on his list, though things weren’t exactly concrete so he was still ignoring that for now and looking for other people.

Today once again Friday had brought him to Portland, Oregon. And he had to sigh in slight annoyance. Something had clearly been going on in this city, something good and wonderful, but he wasn’t exactly sure how. As the person somehow kept avoiding the cameras.

Well, not today.

He nearly had to do a double take as he saw a streak of red and blue fly...swing? Swing in the camera’s view and stop a huge slab of rocking from landing on a couple of kids and then repel off the rock with relative ease zooming out of the camera’s view.

Now it was rare enough to see someone so clearly enhanced on his Hero watch, but in this case his eyes had struggled a little to keep up with everything going on, The cameras had just barely caught the person jumping around.

It was even rarer to find a person wearing what looked like a costume, indicating that they might have been trying to be something more.

James wasted no time grabbing coordinates from Friday, grabbing his energy shield, and putting on the top half of his Cap costume before hiding it under a brown jacket. He wasn’t really trying to be seen, but he also wanted this hero to know that he wasn’t an enemy.

And so after making sure he had everything he told Friday to tell the others he was leaving and coming back before flying a Quinjet to Oregon. He wondered, what was he going to find?

HEROES OF TOMORROW

“I was thinking that maybe we could look into Hank’s Pym Particles. Maybe if we shrink the Nuke to a much smaller size we could remove them, and then maybe we could even allow them to detonate as the explosion should be much smaller.” Beast proposed to the group of scientists around him.

For him it was a little nostalgic being around so many big brains. It had honestly been too long. Aside from him and his son Miguel, no one else was truly on that wave length. Yet over here there were now 5, 6, 7 people who could think like he could. It was refreshing, and something he never knew he missed so dearly.

“I think that might actually work, and would certainly speed up the process.” Tony agreed “Pym, what do you think?”

“It’s...probably doable. We’d need to make Pym Particles however. And isolating the flying around my bloodstream has always been harder to use, as it’s harder to control the factor which allows me to grow or shrink. Still I think I have some of my father’s old notes, it shouldn’t be too hard to recreate.” Pym said all of this looking directly at the experiment in front of him, he still couldn’t really look Tony in the face. He wasn’t really mad anymore, but their relationship had definitely been fractured.

“Well then-

“Mr. Stark.” Friday interrupted “James would like to inform you that he has taken a Quinjet to Portland Oregon. He should be back in a couple of hours.”

“Oregon.” Michael was the first to respond to the surprising notice from the AI “What’s he doing all the way over there?”

“Surveillance.” Friday answered dutifully. “He’s probably looking for something.” Azari translated for those who didn’t understand the AI was covering for the Super-Soldier.

“He’s very emotional. At least more so than his father was, publicly I don’t think either of his parents were this...expressive.” Emma quickly deduced

Tony nodded his head in agreement, but it only made sense. James was still a teen “He’s 16 and feels like the world is on his shoulders. It’s not always the best mix.”

“Tell me about it.” Francis said with a scoff “I don’t get him. There is literally nothing else he can do. He’s done the best he can. We’ve done the best we can.”

“Sometimes people just have a hard time realizing they can’t fix everything.” Jimmy told them “And it eats at them.”

“It was one of the first things Tony told us.” Azari agreed “It was years ago, but he’s always insisted. You can’t save everybody.”

“Yes but James is a stubborn man, he’s never been one to take no for an answer.”  Torunn explained “It’s endearing and it’s why he’s our leader, but it’s our job to calm him down. When he comes back the four of us will talk to him.”

“Good idea.” Pym told her, but he really just wanted to push the conversation along, not wanting to talk about James behind his back for much longer. “Have you all decided where you're going to move yet?”

“Eager to get us out of your home?” Sofia teased Pym, who tried to stutter out a response before Hank put him out of his misery.

“No, we haven’t decided. We would have picked Westchester but-

“It doesn’t exist.” Jessica finished off for him “And look I dig the fake Arctic thing you guys got going on here, but we might as well go to California. We don’t really have any other options.”

“That is where we are leaning towards. That or another remote location like Genosha just...closer. Too bad those are hard to come by.” Kitty added on.

“I’m sure in a week or so we will have figured out where we are heading off to.” Emma told the group “Once the rest get here, The decision should be quick and easy. As much as I’d like to, I have no desire to move to a place half the children have no desire to go to. That’s just asking for a headache.”

“I guess that’s right. Personally I don’t care where we move Ms. Frost as long as the next place doesn’t have as much-

“Sorry to interrupt Mr. Wilson. But I have urgent news for Mr. Stark and the rest of the Avengers.” 

“Is it James?”

“ No Mr. Rogers is safe and sound. It seems however I’m discovering a probing device at the edge of our borders.”

This caused the room to freeze. Was it just a late attack by the Masters of Evil? It couldn’t be right? It hadn’t taken much to round up Zemo, Viper, Moonstone, Knockout, and the Egghead. They couldn’t have had the materials to do something like this from behind bars.

And not just any bars. Behind S.H.I.E.L.D. bars as they had taken over watching the Vault while the Raft was still under construction.

But still that wasn’t really a chance they could take. “Send a message to Daisy, and tell her to check the Vault for any mysterious activity from the Masters of Evil. Francis commanded the AI. And please show us the probe.”

“Right away.” Friday answered easily. In times like these it was obvious why Francis was the second in command. He never froze. Maybe it was because he was the oldest, but it was years leading the Scavengers as a boy that really made him into what he was today. He could easily lead his own team if he needed to.

Friday pulled a video of the probing device, and everyone crowded around the holographic screen. On the screen a metal ball the size of a fist hovered over the ocean moving at incredible speeds. It only stopped as it reached the borders and once it did, a piece of the metal ball flicked off revealing a robotic eye.

And the robot simply hovered almost stationary around the border clearly just looking. Whether it was searching for something was unclear. But everyone in the room could understand that’s not good. 

“Can you determine who made the probe?” Azari asked “Maybe check through the database.”

“Checking through the database…finished. Results show 96% for Victor Von Doom.”

“Shit.” They heard Kitty swear, and Emma simply sighed as well “I genuinely forgot he existed. He hasn’t done a thing.”

“Yes, so why now?” Hank questioned. It was a question no one knew the answer to. Well no one but Doom, and already the Avengers could tell that, and so they gave each other a couple of looks before getting ready to do what they did best.

“Friday do me a favour and destroy that probe and prep a quinjet to Latveria. Call James and tell him it’s important he comes back soon, and then give me literally everything you have on the state of Latveria and Doctor Doom.” 

“Will do.” 

“Uhhh, isn’t that a little brash?” Jane questioned “I mean I don’t know about you but it kinda sounds like well…

“A trap.” Jessica finished off her, and Francis could only look at the young heroes and roll his eyes. They had so much to learn. “Of course it’s a trap. That doesn’t change anything.”

“There right Francis hold on. I’ve told you before-

“Doom is different from the other baddies we’ve faced.” Francis cut Tony off “I know we’ve heard, but what choice do we have? Either we let him make moves on our territory or we put him in his place.”

“Tony we haven’t ever had better numbers than we have now. Either we let another villain control our lives, or we let him know that we aren’t to be messed with.” Torunn agreed with Francis “Come on we can do this.”

“I’ve never met this Doctor Doom but...we have strength in numbers. I believe we can manage this situation. With the right planning we can get out of this just fine.”

For once Tony and Bruce didn’t have to be the only authority on these subjects and he looked to the older X-Men for their opinion and they seemed to be agreeing with the children. “Some of us can go with them.” Laura spoke for the first time.

Tony just nodded and gave them the go ahead “Alright, fine but we have to be careful. And Friday, get Rogers back here ASAP.”

“ On it boss .”

PORTLAND, OREGON, SEPTEMBER 2, 12:25 UTC

Quinjet technology was truly amazing. He could travel at incredible speeds and get to where he needed to be in mere hours, and in this case, less than thirty minutes. The only important thing to do as he prepared to land was cloak the jet and then head on his trek to find this...vigilante. He already had his suspicions about who or what it was.

A spider surely. But the big question was well how? He honestly never remembered Spider-Man having a child and he had met the hero a couple of times. And he was a pretty private hero but he was sure that this was something both Tony and Banner should have known. Maybe even the X-Men.

It was a mystery he planned on solving. With a little help from Friday he had already triangulated the vigilante’s most frequent positions and was around a High School that was in almost pristine condition.

And James felt like he could remember being here for a couple hours maybe a year or two ago helping with the construction around the city. They had tried to do that in every major state. At the time he never thought a Superhero might be hiding in the city.

Oregon was a part of the esteemed 44% of America that was considered livable. Or at least would be livable pre-Ultron. As that was what they were aiming for. Most of the state was actually very beautiful and quiet, the perfect place to move post-Ultron if you could afford it.

The economy had of course gone down the drain so most people couldn’t afford it. Giving Portland an almost small town vibe. It was weird.

Still James was here on a mission. And so he did what he did best and grabbed a Newspaper and sat on a bench waiting for the kids his age to exit for what he assumed was lunch. High School...it was such a foreign concept to him.

Tony made him learn when he was younger but he doubted any of the Avengers could ever go back to school like their parents probably envisioned. Pym was too smart, Azari was too smart, Francis would never go, and was also too smart, He himself was too smart, and Torunn would never go without any of the others, and probably smart enough as well, plus she was a princess. Who needed school.

It was weird to see the kids shoot out of school heading to various places to eat lunch. He heard them babbling on and all he had to hear was a couple of conversations and he learned that most of the conversations were about them.

What interested him the most was a brown haired girl with a bit of a bounce in her step seemingly narrating the Avengers entire press conference the other day. It almost seemed like pure luck as his eyes widened and quickly began to recognize the familiar build of the vigilante in the video, so she was female like he initially thought.

But as he looked at that girl, there were around 3 girls with near identical physiques as well. Normally if the video had been he could have easily deduced which girl it was despite the very close physique, but now he wasn’t so sure. 

Until a huge boy chasing down a football was running like a missile straight for the girl. In every scenario the girl should have been decked. Hammered, sent tumbling to the ground, it was basic physics. Instead without even looking she flipped out of the way and the boy tripped over his own feet and landed on the ground in a heap.

If that wasn’t superhuman he wasn’t sure what was.

The girl looked alarmed, but ease was worrying her face until her friends began to pepper her with questions “Are you okay May?” “May how’d you do that?” “That was amazing May!”

“Yeah...I-I gotta go guys, my Mom’s expecting me for lunch!”

“Okay bye May.” and James watched the girl run off faster than most other girls could manage and now was simply waiting for some confirmation.

He quickly had Friday search the database for a May Parker wasn’t surprised when she found it in a matter of seconds and pulled a picture of the brown haired girl he just saw. He guessed now the only thing he had to do was follow her.

He tailed May from a couple of blocks away and watched as she entered an alleyway before she began to swing through the air without a care in the world. And James had to do a lot more parkour than he would expected to keep up with the fast webslinger. At one point he found himself in a suburbia neighbourhood but it seemed he had lost the Spider-Girl until he heard a distinct.

Thwip! And instinctively flipped back from the red and blue girl who landed right in front of him and flipped forward in stride tagging him right in the chest, sending him tumbling to the ground to say he was shocked was an understatement.

“WHO are you and WHY are you following me!” May demanded with a hiss she grabbed the collar of his James jacket and raised her fist back as if she was ready to punch him right in the face. James probably should have simply told her who he was, but he was interested in her abilities so instead he smacked the fist holding his jacket and kicked his leg up at May which knocked her square in the jaw. And she flew back straight to the ground.

“Owwwww,” She cried, as she got up and rubbed her chin. “That was not very nice. Jeez you hit hard. Who...who are you? Wait...you're not...You couldn’t be? Right?” She asked herself in a near breathless whisper.

“But that’s impossible, what are you doing here, and, and with me! It’s...Am I dreaming?” She continued rambling. It seemed that she had noticed the stars under his jacket and so now his cover was blown.

“Yes I am who you think I am. And yeah I’m here for you, do you...have a quieter place we could maybe talk?”

May nodded and simply led him to the third house in the street apparently now she was too starstruck to say anything. “Sorry about-

“It’s fine, promise it didn’t hurt too bad. You're really strong though. It usually takes more than that to take me down.”

“Oh thanks!” May accepted the compliment, it seemed to ease her a little bit, and she knocked on the door and James thought it was utterly bizarre that they were both dressed in costumes in the middle of the neighbourhood, and yet apparently they weren’t worried about anyone seeing them.

There was a little bit of a wait but then an older woman with long flowing red hair, and a pretty smile. At least it was a pretty smile and then it was a frown, and then it was a look of shock as she saw who was at her door, and then he really couldn’t tell the last emotion any longer.

“I...May seriously .” Was all the woman could manage as she glared at her child.

“Mom, he found me! Promise!”

The woman sighed once more before opening the door “Come on in, before anyone sees you.”

HEROES OF TOMORROW

As James sat in the living room which was rather plain. There were a couple pictures of May as a child, and then one picture of the woman and Spider-Man that was in pristine condition. No doubt it was the only picture of him she had. 

As James watched the woman move around the house he knew he had seen her once before. Not from a picture but once when he was a small boy. It had to be at Avengers Mansion. He just couldn’t remember why.

The woman sat across from him and placed two cups of tea down and took one for herself, and he took the other whispering his thanks and went straight back to staring at the woman. He hadn’t asked her name yet because he wanted to figure it out for himself but he really was drawing a blank. He was disappointed in his four year old self for not remembering something like this.

“I can remember like it was yesterday. 'Aunty M!' I think you followed me around the entire day.” She basically read his mind and like a broken dam his memories came rushing back.

“Yeah, my parents left me at Avengers Mansion with you. My father went with Spider-Man and I’m not exactly sure why my Mother couldn’t watch me but they left me with you...For some reason I couldn’t understand why you had two names while everyone else had one. So I just called you M.”

“Your memory is astounding. You were barely four at the time.” Mary Jane noted “Your mother couldn’t help as she had been working on a mission I think with S.H.I.E.L.D.? At least that’s what I remember her telling me. I was the only one at the Mansion that day so I watched you until they came back. It was forever ago...you’ve grown up so much since then.”

“Yeah it has been a long time.” James agreed, it was hard to think of a conversation when May was still doing whatever it was she was doing upstairs, he didn’t want to upset her by talking about the past, but nostalgia really was all they had in common. He didn’t have to worry; she continued the conversation for him.

“What you kids have done is insane at your age. I remember when Peter was just in High School. When he had started no one had known he was so young, it was taxing on him every single day but he would never let him stop. He loved it. Helping everyone out. It was his responsibility he could never let anyone else do the job. If he had the power he would fight everyday...it drove me crazy.”

“A lot of the heroes were like that. When Captain America, your father had been thawed from the ice and the public found out, Peter freaked. He basically adored Captain America, always sticking up for the little guys. And then when he met him and your father was just as he imagined, that had been what he needed to keep pushing at the time. Your father was a big inspiration and It may not mean much but I’m proud of the way you all have managed being heroes in this day and age.”

Well that was very touching wasn’t it “Thank you.”

“You're very welcome, now that being said. I have some reservations about this entire superhero thing.” MJ said more seriously than he thought she should have been able to muster. 

“I kid you not when I tell you my daughter is my life, and if anything ever happened to her then I would not know what to do. I don’t care if she can jump 50 feet in the air. Or hit harder than a tank, I’ve seen it all, heard it all, and have still been disappointed in the end things inevitably go wrong. Why should I let May go with you? How will this benefit anyone?”

She was very prepared, it was interesting as James had no intention of going into any of that stuff so quickly, but if she insisted.

“Training. May is an obvious novice, though her natural talent is clear. And the Avengers have always pushed training as our main philosophy. The fact of the matter is that we are all young. None of the Avengers are 18 yet, neither are any of the younger X-Men I’ve met. And May isn’t either.”

“As Avengers We’ve been doing this longer than everyone else and have more experience than everyone else…Everyone looks up to us, we understand that, and so we are taking it as our responsibility to train as many people who want to be trained as we can. It’s not easy being a Hero and who knows who we might face next. But if everyone is prepared then we have a better chance to not just survive, but live. Because that’s what we want to do. Live the lives most of our parents will never get to us do.”

MJ looked at him for a long while before sighing and giving him a small smile. “You know I was hoping that the Avengers would take notice of May. Only because it scares me when she goes out there everyday without much training. I know. I know there isn’t much to worry about these days. Next  to no Ultron bots, and no more people coming out of the woodworks but I’ve just seen it all. Just promise me you will do your absolute best to train her.”

“All of the Avengers will. I’m sure of it.” James told her seriously “May will get the training she needs from us. I promise.”

“Alright then. I’ve got my peace from this situation.”

“So I can go with Captain America!?!?!” May asked incredulously as she suddenly appeared from the staircase. “Really Mom!??!?”

“Yes really. And his name is James. And as long as he isn’t busy, then I won’t mind you leaving. But if you're not back in 24 hours you will hear it from me.”

“Yes Ma’am!” Spider-Girl told her with a salute “So whaddya say James ol’ buddy ol’ pal, Can I leave with you? Please?”

“Sure.” James answered her with a shrug and a smile “As long as I’m not busy which-

VRRTT! VRRRT! His communicator vibrated and flashed a vibrant yellow. James frowned, back to base? What for?

“Actually it seems like I’m being called back right now.”

“Is there a problem?” MJ asked, now just a tad bit worried, maybe James could come back another day when things were a little less rushed. But May knew that look on her Mother’s face and began to drag James to the door.

“Welp, we better get going then, See you later Mom! We’ll call you when we get there.” Mayday called as they exited through the door.

James frowned almost all the way to the Quinjet. It seemed each of the Avengers had alerted him individually... was something wrong? And if it was wrong, was it responsible to take the rookie with him?

“Oh come on, don’t bench me now!” May insisted “I don’t know what’s up, but I’ll follow orders, I promise.”

They were already in the Quinjet and so James just quickly made up his mind “Alright fine, strap in.” 

Besides? How bad could things be anyway.

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, SEPTEMBER 2, 2:00 UTC

“And so that’s where we are at. We want you to do your thing, look over the plan, and then we're heading to Latveria.” Francis told the seemingly stunned Super-Soldier. “Alright James? James?”

James wouldn’t really consider himself a person who gets easily shocked. Not in the slightest. But now as he listened to Francis recall everything that had gone on in the past hour or two.

Apparently Doom had sent some sort of probing device, but in reality it was probably a trap, but the had agreed to go to the trap anyways because they felt like they needed to end the potential threat if they had the chance, even if it would be a stupid decision.

And he had to say, he was struggling not to agree. “Man and I thought I had news.”

“Yeah about the girl...She’s not actually Spider-Man’s kid is she?” 

“No she is. Found her and her mother living in Oregon. She agreed for her to come here today because she trusts me, and I told her nothing much was going on. I wouldn’t have let her come if I knew we were going to do this.”

“So you think our plan is sound?” Jessica wondered.

“It’s decent. A trip to Latveria will take over 4 hours, so we can plan more on the Quinjet. I understand why you all think we should go, and I guess I agree. Let’s get suited and get out of here. The quicker we respond to Doom the better.”

James’ mind was already moving at a mile a minute. He was thinking of three teams, A healthy mix of X-Men and Avengers and they’d confront the Tyrant at his hometurf. But they needed to be very, very good to make this work.

“Uhhhh, you guys aren’t actually going to leave me here, right?” Spider-Girl broke almost everyone’s train of thought “I mean this place is pretty cool and all, but....I’d rather go on the mission.”

“Sorry kid, no rookies.” Francis told her immediately with a shrug.

“Oh come on, I’m not a rookie. And those X-Men only started fighting like 2 months ago! I’ve been a fighter longer than that, give me a chance.”

“It’s gonna be dangerous.” Azari pointed out

“Well of course, that’s why you need all the help you can get. Come on Cap, you said I was good!” she pleaded with James.

Her mom would probably kill him if she found out, but Doom was a big threat, and as long as she stayed with the original team should have been fine...They could even let her stay in the Quinjet if need be.

“Promise to stay by one of the Avengers' sides at all times?”

“Dude you can’t be serious…” Francis nearly hissed at him

“Sir yes sir!” May told him enthusiastically. 

“Well come on then, the Quinjet isn’t going to fill itself everyone, we leave in 15.” He told them commandingly. Despite being only 16 his words brokered no room for argument, so the others simply nodded at his words and left to get ready.

“Uh Cap, we finished the upgrades to the new suit. It should be where your old one used to be.” Riri informed him.

“Good to know. Thank you.” 

Everything really was coming to a stand still. Maybe this was the last thing they needed to do before they could really get back to rebuilding. Maybe. But as the Avengers made their way to the Quinjet they were all thinking the same thing.

What did Victor Von Doom want?

Chapter Text

DOOMSTADT, LATVERIA, SEPTEMBER 2, 6:25 UTC

“I’m going to be honest I’m not sure if I like it.” Francis spoke up in the quiet of the Quinjet, this caused heads to turn, and a bit of worry in the eyes of others.

“You don’t like the plan, Francis you basically made most of it, you have to like it!” Michael told the seasoned Avenger.

“No, no, I wasn’t talking about the plan.” Francis said with a laugh, calming the others down “I meant James’ suit. Don’t you think it’s too…retro?”

At the mention of his name James looked up before looking down and examining himself. While the others began to tell Francis he was being overdramatic, James had to admit, he himself had been thinking the same thing.

It had been months ago when he had given Riri, Amadeus, Pym, and whoever else wanted the task of giving him a new suit, and the hero had been expecting some...modernization?

“Guys this is modern.” Riri told them with a sigh, it seemed no one appreciated the beauty of design these days, “The cracked shield, clunky goggles and war helmet look is retro. All James needed was a triangular shield and he would have looked straight out of a 40s Captain America propaganda flick.”

“She’s right. This is fine.” Emma insisted.

James looked down at himself once more and analyzed it. The top of his shirt had a sort of blue chainmail armour, scale thing going on. And then there was the normal stuff, white star in the middle. Vertical white and red stripes once the scales ended. Blue pants and a big brown vest. Red boots just like his father’s but his weren’t nearly as spandex like, along with the red gloves, and waiting to go on his head was a blue helmet with an A on the front. His shield had been repainted and almost magically the cracks were gone, really he did look fine in his own eyes.

He guessed the only problem now was that he looked too much like his father. Not just like his father, but like his father before he died. He would have never guessed this would be a problem for him before, but it certainly was one now.

Still it really wasn’t the time to make a fuss as they had entered Latveria and only had a few more minutes to talk things over before they had to drop off. “No worries Riri, I do like it, it’s sleek, and it feels good. It’s nice. If you think the people like it, then it’s even better.”

The girl just nodded seemingly content with that answer, and then it was back to waiting, until Tony’s voice came on to the comms.

“3 minutes until drop. Now might be the time to get ready.”

“Any word on the Blackbird?” Azari questioned

“The others are on route, and will be ready to drop down just 5 minutes after us. The plan is already in motion.” Beast informed them.

It was pretty crazy to think about. There were currently 19 people in the Quinjet. 19. A couple of months ago James didn’t think there were any heroes in the world they could even contact, things had been extremely desperate. Now they had 19 in the Quinjet and 10 more heroes on the way. It seemed almost impossible, and it certainly felt like they had an advantage.

However, with everything they had read and heard about Doctor Doom was that he was no stranger to fighting multiple heroes at once. He had gone up against the Fantastic Four multiple times, and in some cases when his schemes were devious enough he’d attract the attention of the Avengers or maybe even the X-Men and fight them too.

Doom was a genius in every way you could imagine, and apparently he was also a Master of the Mystical Arts, something they had never gone up against, and so there were a lot of unknowns. According to Tony and the other older heroes it would be too much to expect Doom to be like the Masters of Evil, old and broken. No Doom would be as healthy as a whistle, knowing him he might even be better than before.

But still...29 well trained heroes was still 29 well trained heroes. It would be interesting to see how everything played out. Hopefully it was another win for Planet Earth and they could finally relax.

“Alright we know the plan right?” Francis spoke as they all began getting out of their seats “3 teams, 3 parts of this castle, and we all hopefully meet up in the same spot.”

“Stop worrying about it, we’ve got this.” Jimmy told Hawkeye with a scoff, and Francis only rolled his eyes. “I hope so, you guys have got the easiest part of the plan.”

The plan was actually pretty simple. The teams were split into three. Cap, Hawkeye, Black Panther, Torunn, Wasp, and this new Spider-Girl would take the lead storming the front of the castle. It would be the obvious attack plain and simple.

Emma, Kitty, Beast, Laura, Ironheart and Vision would go through the back of the building. This was a bit of a harder task but with Beast, Vision, and Ironheart they had some serious firepower and would be able to deal with any tricks Doom might have had up his sleeve.

The third team was comprised of Wolverine (Jimmy), Psylocke (Jane), Cascade (Jessica.), Solstice (Sofia), Copycat (Michael), and Jim Hammond. This team would be entering the castle shortly after the other two and look to assist any of the team they thought might need.

Of course the Gold and GeNext teams would enter the scene a short couple of minutes later to simply wreak havoc. This really did have this all planned out. It was just time to execute.

“ You guys are hitt..krrt..ing the dropzone now. An...krrt...remem...krrt...that I’ll be there....krrt...possible.”

“Tony you're cutting out.” Torunn told the inventor, and they patiently waited for a response but they didn’t get one.

“They cut comms. We’re going in partially blind. We’re dropping now.” James quickly commanded, “Friday open the hat-

Krakoom! The Quinjet rocked as a blast of green energy slammed into the hull and rocked the ship. 

“Quinjet stabilizers offline. Autopilot offline.” Friday’s voice immediately rang throughout the entire Quinjet.

James tried to yell more orders but instead the plane was hit again so instead he jumped into the cockpit and yelled at the others “GO GET OUT OF HERE WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?!?!”

And with that warning they began to leave the ship. Azari flew down and Pym shrunk down before following. Torunn grabbed Francis and the archer saluted the rest before they flew off at speeds that made James question if Torunn knew who she was handling. Spider-Girl also gave him a small look that was hard to decipher with the mask over her face before acrobatically jumping down from the jet.

Beast grabbed Laura and Kitty before launching himself out of the ship and Vision offered his hand to Emma who took it and they flew off. Ironheart was last, her helmet flew over her head quickly and she zoomed out of the sinking plane.

The Blue team were the last to go. Jimmy simply jumped down, not a care in the world. Whereas Jane used her telekinesis to levitate herself and Michael, and Jess and Sofia flew down on their own. Jim gave James one little look before flaming on and flying out of the plane as well.

And now James could finally focus. His first instinct was to fly the plane straight into the castle but he immediately had to scold himself as no doubt there were innocents in there. So he looked for the next best thing. The ocean.

There was a fairly large plain of water right before entering Doomstadt that was beginning to look like James' only option at landing the jet. He had to make his mind up quickly so with one swift motion he veered the jet around, turning away from the large castle and sending it near the water. It was annoying as he could already see his team start to fight, and him turning around meant it was going to take longer for him to get there...unless?

“ Frost!” James called for the seasoned telepath. He waited a moment and was greeted with a grunt already indicating some signs of struggle.

“Please do me a favour and tell the others on the way to head for the river. They can lock their jet on my tracking device.”

“Will do, now I have a fight to focus on and you have a plane crash to avoid.” And with that she signed off and she was right as well, as the plane continued to get closer James threw on his helmet, grabbed his shield and charged the blast doors jumping out of the plane before he could be in the crash.

He cannonballed into the water, only momentarily stunned before he began to rapidly swim for shore. Unfortunately for him, before he could even make ten swimming strokes, the Quinjet exploded, sending the Super-Soldier under water.

When he finally got up for air, he had to turn around and look at the Quinjet because there was no way it should have exploded that fast. But as he turned around he found the culprit. Three Doombots were behind him with their blasters pointed right at him.

“Shit.” he dove under water and began swimming as fast as he could. He really hoped his suit was as good as Riri insisted it was because he was not going to dodge all of those blasts.

When Azari and Pym had jumped out of the Quinjet neither of them had expected to see doombots already swarming the air peppering them with energy blasts that could blast through planes. It was safe to say they were shocked.

But you didn’t beat Ultron at 11 and 13 years old without some uber good reaction time. Azari dodged the first blast from a doombot with the grace of a seasoned acrobat and simply waved his hand through the air sending a blast of electricity at a string of doombots, the blast more than strong enough to go straight through three of them.

A doombot overtop of Azari was prepared to blast him but Pym suddenly grew to his normal size and blasted him in the face taking his head clean off after that the boy shrank back down to microscopic size and flew on Azari’s shoulder who waited for him before flying down ready to do the same thing over again.

With Torunn and Francis they had the benefit of seeing Azari and Pym immediately thrown into danger and alter their course immediately. Despite everything they were going through at the moment. The fact that they rarely talked to each other despite being in a ‘relationship’, or the fact that they hadn’t solved anything since that fight, Torunn and Francis had great chemistry on the battlefield.

As quickly as she grabbed onto the Archer she threw him into the air and went to attack the bots in front of her. She wasted no time sending Arnbjorg scissoring through the air imbued with electricity and a precision that could only be achieved through countless practice.

It cut straight through two blasts of energy and destroyed 4 robots with ease. She then kicked through a fifth and called her sword back to her ready to destroy everything in their way. During this same time Hawkeye was in the air and showing why he was an Avenger. In the span of three seconds 5 arrows had been released, with killer aim. 

The first two arrows went straight through the head of their targets, the third arrow seemed to melt the robot on impact and the last two arrows exploded taking a couple of robots out with them.

As he was falling he took a half second glance at Torunn who was still throwing her sword into a couple of doombots, so he quickly improvised landing on top of one of the doombots and jamming one of his arrows into the side of it’s head, before putting the arrow back in his quiver. He then jumped off the robot’s back before he lost too much air.

And he didn’t even have to look to know that Torunn would be right there to catch him, and of course she did with relative ease and they moved to the next batch of robots in their faces.

With Spider-Girl as she flew down she shot her webs at one bot shooting towards it like a tether at superhuman speeds, crushing it’s head before bouncing off the first robot to another smashing her fist clean through it’s torso before flipping around a large blast and web zipping towards another bot. Despite being a novice she was still doing fairly well.

When the X-Men, Riri, and Vision jumped out of the Quinjet it was like pure anarchy. Which the X-Men probably should have expected but it had been a long time since they had been in a true fight like this so it was fair if their instincts were a little off, but when they left the Quinjet they all knew it was time to fight.

When Beast jumped X-23’s snikt! Was the only warning he was given to let the clawed woman go lest he wanted to get cut himself. Out of the four ‘Older X-Men’ Laura was by far the youngest still in her twenties unlike the rest. And maybe that was a reason why she seemed more aware than the rest at the moment.

Or maybe it was her decorated past, either way the doombots never stood a chance. She easily evaded any hits from the doombots and her adamantium covered claws pierced the doombots metal like it was paper mache. 

With Beast and Kitty they stuck together, With Kitty once in a while phasing through one of the robots completely disorienting the functions of the robot while Hank ripped them apart as they fell to the ground. They were untouchable as the robots could not figure out a way to harm them as Kitty went intangible.

Vision and Emma Frost looked like the most cool, calm and collected fighters on the battlefield, whether it was a simple hand gesture or two by Emma as she focused on her psionic blasts, or Vision who simply blasted energy from the solar gem on his forehead. Things didn’t get serious for the pair until a Doomboot managed to surprise Emma who quickly had to turn to her diamond form to shrug off the blast. Still though it had caught her off guard. And she had the voice in her head to blame for it.

“ Frost! Please do me a favour and tell the others on the way to head for the river. They can lock their jet onto my tracking device.”

She didn’t even have the time to be annoyed, as she was wrestling with one of the Doombots before she simply shoved her arm through its heart “ Will do, now I have a fight to focus on and you have a plane crash to avoid.”

With that Emma went back to focusing on her fight and was thankful when the Android went to stop her from free falling.

Riri was blasting robots in the air, whether it was repulsor blasts or mini missiles. Lasers or simply punching robots with her iron fist it was fun. Plus she had only gotten electrocuted once by the one  robot she hadn’t been focused on.

And as a result of her amazing armor she was one of the first heroes to make it to ground level at the back at the castle. And as she saw the plethora of robots at the back of the castle she only wished she could still hear Tony’s helpful voice in her head..

There was no time to be afraid for the young X-Men as Jimmy, the main leader of the team, immediately jumped out of the jet despite not being able to fly.

Jane flew out next levitating her and Michael who only had a simple energy pistol but with his amazing mutant abilities he easily replicated Jane’s telekinesis like he done so many times before and began to fly himself and shot the pistol with supernatural accuracy that one could acquire by being a mutant, the bots didn’t stand a chance. This freed Jane up enough to fight on her own using her telekinesis to augment her strength and fight against the bots. Jessica quickly joined and the two telekinesis users quickly destroyed whatever was in their path.

Jim and Sofia were the two last ones and the two flew out bodies lit on fire, ready to fight. Despite their powers not working the same in the slightest, the two fire users had a very similar fighting style with Jim’s clearly being more seasoned and practiced, while Sofia’s was more robust and free. It was perfect.

Eventually all the teams had made it to ground level, and despite the fact that there was no sign of James Rogers they knew they needed to keep pushing on or else they would lose their advantage.

And so the Avengers crashed in through the front and the Older X-Men went through the backdoor while the younger X-Men took a sky approach.

But as each of the teams entered the Castle from different entry points they immediately noticed things were way harder than before, and that fight earlier hadn’t been a cakewalk. Suddenly they were a little worried.

“Alright guys, we're missing James but this is still just like we wrote it up. Spider-Girl you stick with Torunn and if you lose her, fight with the rest of us. Do not under any circumstances fight alone. Got it?”

“Yes sir.” Spider-Girl answered him seriously. And with that the Avengers began to battle. Despite not being as good of a fighter as James, May was strong and her sense of danger was amazing, so she fit in perfectly with what the seasoned heroes were trying to do.

Azari and Pym played off of each other very well, Pym couldn’t grow to an insane 25 or 50ft in the castle but 10ft to 15ft was still larger than everyone else, and it still augmented his strength to the point where he could easily lift a few tons and create problems for the robots in the castle who were presumably guarding the way to the throne room.

Hawkeye was kind of on his own just taking out some of the bots at a leisure pace, and Torunn made sure every once and while she looked back towards Spider-Girl, but the inexperienced hero was doing just fine. And as the Asgardian slammed an electrified fist through another Doombot, she was getting slightly annoyed. They needed to stop them at the source because clearly Doom had as much as he needed.

“We aren’t helping ourselves staying in this corridor, we have to move.” Torunn insisted, and to emphasize her point the powerhouse chucked her sword at one of the exit doors and completely destroyed it.

“Come on people. Let’s move!” Torunn said before flying out. She couldn’t help but smile as she heard Spider-Girl whisper “So cool.” despite everything that was going on.

Getting in the second room Torunn and Spider-Girl were surprised at the lack of immediate robots, instead they were met by two...kids?

Okay one was a teen no smaller than Azari. He was a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes who didn’t exactly look like he was going to be punching anyone’s head off, but he did have an air of confidence around him that you didn’t find around a lot of people who weren’t in this business.

The girl was younger, around Pym’s age, if you told May that she was 10 or 11 she’d believe you in a heartbeat. She was also blond with blue eyes, and in a weird way the girl looked older than her age. Her face was more...mature. And at the moment she held a little remote with 4 different buttons on it, and she generally seemed...bored.

It was kind of unnerving. “You guys wouldn’t happen to know where Mr. Doom is, would you?” Spider-Girl couldn’t stop her mouth from running “We just wanna talk. Is he...your Dad or something?”

As May rattled off a bunch of questions Torunn, Azari, and Pym, were preparing for the inevitable attack, and just taking the short distraction as a little break. Hawkeye had planned on doing the same thing, He held his bow in his hand very much ready to release an Arrow if need be, but suddenly he faltered. The boy he...he looked familiar. He had seen him before...yeah, definitely. A long, long time ago...

“Alright Francis be nice.” His Mom insisted “This is Franklin. He’s gonna be your new playmate.” Franklin couldn’t help but eye the younger boy with some suspicions. Francis was FIVE years old, and he wasn’t really sure Franklin would be able to keep up with all the games he wanted to play.

“Hi.” Franklin said shyly, he was basically hiding behind the leg of his mother who urged him further forward with encouraging words.

“Now Francis no roughhousing alright?”

“Yes mommy.”

“F-Franklin?” Francis questioned as he was suddenly brought back to reality “Franklin Richards?”

At the mention of his name his sister seemed a little confused but Franklin only smirked “I didn’t think you’d remember, your memory is pretty good. Though you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

And for Francis it’s because he felt like he really had. There hadn’t been very notable about the couple of playdates they had, but his mother had been insistent about the roughhousing with Francis this specific time. She had harped on it over and over, that Francis had to ask her why, and the only thing she had told him at the time was that it wouldn’t be wise to get Franklin angry.

When he had asked his Father about it, he agreed with his mother, at the time Francis couldn’t believe it because his parents hadn’t been able to agree on anything anymore. And so he took it seriously.

It had only been recently that he learned of the fact that Franklin Richards had been the definition of a cheat code. There was not a single thing the kid could not do. If you thought of it he could do it. A quote on quote “Cosmic Threat.”

And that was when he was a toddler. It was insane to think what he might be able to do now as a teenager. Francis had never been one to concede, especially with what he’d been through but...he couldn’t lie things weren’t looking great. Francis was beginning to realize why invading a foreign country might not be the smartest idea.

“What...what are you doing here? I thought...The Baxter Building was in the middle of New York, how...how did you, how are you here?” It wasn’t his most well put together sentence, but Francis felt like he was the only one who truly understood what they might be up against.

“Doom.” Franklin told him with a shrug “The fight in New York was ginormous, and impossible to miss before Ultron blew up the city. My mother had a bad feeling about things, and their relationship with Doom has always been complicated. He was their first choice and so they shipped us off to Latveria right before the city was blown to bits.”

“And you’ve been here ever since?” Francis questioned 

“Yes.”

“And...you like it here?” Francis asked, well aware of how worried he was beginning to sound.

“It’s nice.” Franklin told him with a bored look. The place was at a standstill for a moment, and as Francis gave looks to his team he noticed Azari and Pym’s facial expression changed just a little as they finally understood who was in front of him. Now he could only hope they were trying to get in contact with the others as he stalled.

“I don’t remember you having a little sister.” He finally spoke once more.

“Yes, she was born only a couple of months before everything went down. Say hi Valeria.” Franklin suggested to the younger girl.

But she simply gave a once over of all the heroes and then gave a questioning look “You are the heroes who beat Ultron? You all don’t seem that impressive to me.”

“Um rude. ” Spider-Girl told her immediately “Those are like the saviours of the free world basically. Show some respect.” 

“Respect is earned, not given.” Valeria retorted easily

“Ummm, was beating Ultron and saving everyone not enough?” Spider-Girl asked

“Not as impressive as your media would like everyone to believe.” Valeria said with a shrug, but it didn’t even seem like she really believed her own words.

“So you guys wouldn’t happen to be in the business of letting us see Doom, would you?” Francis got the conversation back on track.

“No, that's why we're here actually. To stop you from going any further. Doom’s orders.” Franklin told him with a slight shrug as if he couldn’t care any less for the man’s words, and that made Francis question everything he thought he knew.

Doom had clearly raised them since the destruction of New York but how did they feel about that? Franklin would have some recollection of his parents and his world before Latveria, but Valeria most likely wouldn’t. Still they seemed to be loyal to Doom.

“We don’t have to fight.” Pym spoke commandingly “This doesn’t have to end up in another war. We don’t want that.”

“Well then you probably shouldn’t have flown in here with a stealth jet and 20 powered people. It looks like you are looking for a fight.”

“What else can we do when a foreign country who isn't in the UN, who we haven’t learned anything about for almost 15 years decides to send a probe at our borders. Latveria wouldn’t act in any other way. Most likely they would do exactly what we are doing and make a fuss about it.” Azari told him plainly.

And once again the boy didn’t disagree and simply shrugged his shoulders “Like I said. Doom’s orders.”

“Come on Franklin. We don’t have to fight this is...nonsensical. I know you know this isn’t what we aim for. And I have no desire to see bloodshed between us.”

It seemed like Franklin was gearing for a response before he put a hand to his ear, and frowned at whatever he was being told.

“Doom’s telling them to hurry up.” Azari immediately told the rest, his enhanced senses doing the work.

“Then we should get ready for a battle.” Torunn told the rest “I don’t believe now is the time for words.”

In a moment Franklin seemed done talking with Doom and looked to Azari, not happy with the Prince “It’s rude to eavesdrop you know. Valeria, you get two shots.”

The girl nodded and pressed a big blue button and suddenly from a hatch in the sky a large robotic dinosaur ridden by a robotic version of the girl dropped from the sky in dramatic fashion.

Franklin snapped his fingers and suddenly he and sister were in the far corner of the room sitting on two chairs with popcorn in their hands seemingly ready to enjoy the “show”

It was annoying and if they wanted a show they were gonna get one. “Guys let’s show these two why we’re Avengers.”

And with that the heroes jumped into action dodging fire from the mouth of the dragon, and energy blasts from the robotic girl on top of it. Spider-Girl was the only one taking longer than usual wondering if this one fight had already made her an Avenger

It wasn’t often you were told to take the Blackbird from Genosha to a foreign country housing a 60 year old supervillain, but when you got that chance you took it. It was exciting for Megan, Olivier, Pavel, Anne-Marie, and Ray as this was their first mission in over a year when they had been tasked with saving their teammate from some trouble. Now they were storming Doctor Doom’s castle.

 Most of them actually didn’t know much about the man in question, but Megan’s mom had insisted the man was dangerous and that they needed to be very careful and so that’s what they were going to do. Wait it out for their parents before they receive their next orders.

But when they did finally receive orders they were surprised at the contents of them. Megan’s mind defences were quickly breached and she heard her mother’s voice in her head

“I will only say this once darling, James Rogers is currently swimming in the ocean with a horde of Doombots around him. Give him a hand and then he will direct the rest.”

“Umm, okay!” Megan told her mother hesitantly. Because what else was she supposed to say? No?

“Oli, head for the ocean!” Megan told the cajun quickly, and there was no time for objections, and Megan began to address everyone in the Blackbird.

“Alright guys. Cap’s swimming for his life down there and needs a save. Ray, Miguel, Thomas, Oli we will head down there first, Talia and the rest, you all try to protect the Blackbird from turning into a flaming ball of destruction. Will drop in thirty seconds.” Megan directed them quickly.

There were no objections from the others; instead they simply got out of their seats, and some took deep breaths other’s like Thomas and Ray smiled as they relished the thought of fighting. And while that happened Megan took the time to establish a mental connection with the Super-Soldier who had a surprisingly guarded mind.

“Mr. Rogers, this is Megan Frost. The cavalry has arrived. Just hold on a little longer, you think you can manage that?”

“Yup...no problem.” He told her though the sound of struggle was a little obvious. They were only a couple of seconds away from saving the day. Ray opened the hatch and they could all see Rogers surrounded by 8 different Doombots ducking under the water as he was peppered with energy blasts.

“Alright team, Cap’s in trouble and it’s up to us to save the day. Let’s do this quickly. No horsing around.” He aimed more at his sister and Thomas. Who nodded dutifully. Alright then what are we waiting for let’s go!”

Ray and Thomas were first to go. The flying girl shot off like a rocket with her bo staff in hand and smacked the head of one of the robots clean off like she was playing T-Ball. Thomas, her feral friend sank his fingers straight in the robot’s armor tearing out it’s metal heart before dodging a couple of shots.

Miguel took a different approach heading straight for the hero in the water, who was using his shield to deflect the hits he was getting peppered with, but even for a man like him, he couldn’t have had that much air left.

Miguel went straight underwater and his psioplasmic shield easily deflected any hits away from him and Captain America brought him to shore.

“Ummm, are-are you alright Mr. America?” Miguel asked timidly. James took a moment to cough up some water, but still smiled at the young hero “I am now. Thank you.”

They both looked to the skies to see Oli and Megan jump into the fray and wreak havoc, but the main thing was the Blackbird which was attempting to avoid getting shot down like the Quinjet had earlier.

However now that James knew where the turret was he acted quickly. Suddenly dashing forward along the coastline, evading Doombots, before hurling his shield at the turret destroying it completely.

Despite everything he endured he still felt fit as a fiddle, and was more than ready to make his way to the castle. And he was happy when he saw the other heroes fly down to his and Miguel’s location and look ready for battle. That was good.

As he stared at the heroes he remembered everything he was told by Emma and the other X-Men. Gambit (Olivier), Megan (Megan), Colossus (Pavel), Rogue (Ray), and No-Name (Anne-Marie) Had been considered the top of the line of the students at the school. The Blue team was good and supposedly this “GeNext” team was better. They also didn’t need much in the form of a outside leader hence Olivier’s apparent apprehension of him.

The Gold Team however composed of Nocturne (Talia), Apex (Thomas), Firestar (Lily-Rose), Dazzler (Olivia), and Beast (Miguel) were not necessarily novices, but not as advanced as the other teams, with Talia being their leader and the best they had to offer. She also didn’t mind taking the backseat so the choices he had to make were obvious.

“Gambit?” He called for the man’s attention “You're the leader, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright you're the leader so lead. The only thing I’ll ask is for Megan to get in contact with Azari  and get a ping on where they’re at so we know how to proceed alright?”

“Sounds good to me.” Oli said and signaled Megan who immediately started to do the job. As they waited on that, James turned to the blue girl who was supposedly the leader of the others and flashed her a smile “You mind if I play some Quarterback?”

“Uh n-no, it’s cool. Do what you must.” Talia stuttered initially before giving him the keys to her team.

“Thank you. You guys are skilled, but haven’t had much real time in the field. I want you guys to stick with Nocturne and I who will lead at the front. Next line is Apex, Dazzler, and Firestar. Beast, you play defense and help out whoever needs it. We are headed for the big battle, try not to lose your head, and if you do. Get behind me.” He ordered, and thankfully they all seemed to be listening “Good, status Megan?”

“Azari says they are in a battle past the main corridor. He says they are going up against Franklin Richards and his sister Valeria. He says you’ll know who that is.”

At the mention of the reality warper's name James momentarily froze before immediately getting back to business “Alright...get your mother to get the older X-Men and Vision, and Jim Hammond to Azari’s location. Everyone else, it’s time to make a push.”

He tried not to let it show, but suddenly Captain America was dreading making it to Doom’s castle. He wasn’t sure how Franklin survived, but for all he knew he saved himself. He was that powerful. And he liked to stay in the mindset that he and his Avengers could beat anyone. But now he felt like the addition of all these...novices weren’t really going to help anyone. As he began to process the Information from Azari, the only ones he wanted anywhere near that room were Olivier, Megan, Talia, and Miguel and Pavel. The rest might get themselves killed.

Really the only problem was getting the others to back off. “Seems like Blue Team is struggling a bit.” Megan informed him. Perfect.

“Alright change of plans. Apex, Dazzler, Firestar, Rogue, No-Name, you go help out Blue Team, the rest of you guys are with me.”

“Oh come on!” Ray immediately objected,

“Come on Ray, just do what the man says.” Olivier insisted as they neared the castle. It wasn’t hard to tell he was trying to save their skins. Reluctantly his sister did what she was told, and began to fly off towards the back of the castle and the other’s followed. Leaving Cap’s new team in the corridor.

“Alright. Franklin Richards is a Cosmic threat.” James told it to them straight “His power level is supposedly like nothing we’ve ever seen. I haven’t even seen it.”

“How do you know?” Olivier wondered

“The Avengers were doing our homework on everyone in our database. Richards was an interesting case because those results were from when was 3 years old...there’s no telling how strong he is now.”

“Oh how...nice.” Megan said, but they were all feeling the same amount of dread. Talk about an impossible situation. How did one even get that strong?

“I know things might seem impossible. But we do have the right mix of abilities. Talia last I heard the only other person with powers close to anything like that was you...do you think you can counteract his abilities.”

“Depending on how good he is...probably not. I-I haven’t gotten that much time to fully understand and use my powers. If you're asking if I can do things similar to what my Mom could do then no. Sorry.”

“No, it's fine.” That just meant it was time for plan B, and plan B was brown hair with a white streak in it. “You can absorb anyone’s powers with a touch right?”

“Yeah.” Olivier responded, a little surprised at all of his knowledge. 

“How long does it need to be?”

“The longer the better, but with enough focus I can probably get the power needed to fight him temporarily.”

“Do you think Wilson could use his Copycat powers?”

“I don’t think so.” Olivier admitted “This would be one of those situations where it might be too much to handle for him.”

“Well then that’s how we're going to do this.” The Super Soldier quickly delved into a plan that he had Megan broadcast to the rest of the Avengers and X-Men currently battling Valeria’s machinations. It was a hard plan with a simple goal Olivier touching Franklin’s arm. 

The new team Cap was leading got to where the Avengers, Spider-Girl, and the other X-Men and saw them fighting a 10ft metal gargoyle that was blasting everything in its path and then there were the Doombots crowding the room as well. And as they got there it seemed they were struggling a little bit. 

Torunn was flying around doing her best to avoid hits, but she had to quickly pull Pym out of the way of a blast. Hawkeye had seemed like he was already out of arrows and could only dodge hits from time to time.

Azari and Torunn were fine, but Azari did seem a little tired which was surprising considering they could all fight for an extremely long time.

“Nocturne, you think you can deal with this?” James asked the hero, and after a quick nod she started, closing her eyes briefly before her body was swarmed in a red sort of energy. And then she sent three quick blasts of the red energy at the huge gargoyle, One at its face, another at its chest, and one at its leg. Each hit it’s target and destroyed the gargoyle with relative ease.

As this happened the frown on Valeria's face was large, and even Franklin began to look annoyed “It looks like you're going to have work on your robot sis.”

“Shut it Franklin.” Valeria told him with a pout. 

“We don’t have to do this.” James told the reality warper “There isn’t any need for us to fight.” 

“You might as well save it. Hawkeye and-and your Human Torch over there already tried.” As he spoke about the Human Torch it was clear he was very shaken, no doubt by the fact that he thought it was his uncle....They could use that.

“Your parents wouldn’t want this.” James tried once more.

“My parents aren’t here.” And with that the cosmic level threat took off, and boy could he move. He didn’t have to do much, not really. He teleported straight behind Kitty and Laura, knocking them out with the softest taps in the history of mankind. Beast attempted to lunge at him before he got frozen in mid air and…taken out with the rest.

Spider-Girl should have been next, but her insane reflexes allowed her to dodge the boy’s first hit, and Talia took that as the best moment to start the plan attacking Franklin. Her powers were probably some of the only ones that would actually work against the reality warper, but for the time being they were just the distraction, as Torunn, Azari, and James went to attack Valeria.

And just as they thought, the young girl’s eyes widened with real fear. She was defenseless. But when they were probably an inch away from Valeria the heroes found that they were suddenly over 20ft away.

“That was chea-” Franklin tried to tell them, but he was quickly smacked in the face with Nocturne’s hex energy.

In this time Gambit flew over to the young reality warper hoping to just get a touch of his skin, but just as it seemed like Franklin was on the ground he was suddenly in the air.

“You know, honestly your plan was pretty good. Doom was right to say you were a great tactician. If I hadn’t already known what you guys were going to try and do. You probably would have succeeded. But, you must have not read the scouting report. I’m a telepath, or did you all forget?”

“But...I-I would have felt you. We would have felt you.” Emma insisted. And it was true. Emma, Megan, Jane, and Jessica were four high level telepaths, though admittedly only Emma and Megan truly could pull off feats one might reserve for an Alpha or Omega Level mutant. But heck even Oli and Talia had low level telepathic abilities someone should have known he was there.

“Almost! If the other’s had a little more practice because for people like me. It’s going to take more than level 8 psi shields to stop me from getting in your heads.” Then in an instant he teleported behind Talia and simply karate chopped her neck, causing her to go limp

“Doom is getting impatient, I am sorry about this.” He told them honestly. And with a snap of his fingers everything went dark for every hero in the Castle.

HEROES OF TOMORROW

When the Avengers awoke they were in jail cells and bound in shackles that they quickly learned were unbreakable. It didn’t take a genius to learn that they were all at the mercy of Doctor Doom. All 29 of them.

From Vision, to Jim, to Torunn, to Talia, all their heavy hitters had been subdued, and it had been a long time since the Avengers had ever felt like they were in an unwinnable situation. Even then at this moment they were still hoping for some tricks up their sleeves.

It was...weird when Doom came in. His metal bodysuit clanked with each and every step he took. His mannerisms were so cold and calculating, like he had done this a million times before.

It was a hard pill to swallow that they might have been facing their greatest challenge yet...and they had willingly walked straight into it. And then of course. The man began talking.

“You invaded my country. My castle. What gave you the right?”

“You sent a probe to our home.” James pointed out

“And yet I did not attack it, did I?” Doom retorted  “I did not send doombots to invade your territory. I did not take planes and fly them over your seas. I never did any of that. 29 super powered individuals have entered my Kingdom. Never before has Doom been so blatantly disrespected.”

“You must realize it’s a different time in our world. We’ve just got out of the rule of one tyrant, we could risk another.” James explained to him “We had no plans of entering your country, but our hands were tied.”

“Hmph, well now you will pay for your idiocy Captain. For all your predecessors faults, they never would have been this dumb.”

“What are you going to do with us?” Spider-Girl couldn’t stop herself from asking, and Doom didn’t even turn around

“Whatever I please.”

The dramatic monarch left the room not sparing any words and the Avengers just had to think about how weird the entire thing was. They invaded Doom’s country and what? Got captured? And even if they had won, they were gonna what? Threaten Doom and then let him continue whatever he was doing in Latveria and hope he didn’t retaliate? 

They had been dumb enough to take the bait knowing it was bait, and James could accept that. He could, that was something you just had to accept was a possibility when doing things like these. No, what had James, Olivier, Francis, Talia, Emma, Vision, Jim, and Azari thinking was another simple question.

Why did he set the bait? Doom didn’t do things out of emotion, not normally. Nearly everything was calculated. He wouldn’t risk fighting off 29 heroes at one time unless he had a very good reason? So what could be that reason?

It was stumping all of their critical thinkers and no doubt it would have continued on if not for the interruption by Franklin and Valeria.

The two young heroes came bolstering in around 15 minutes after the departure of Doom and didn’t seem particularly happy. The way the room was set up, a lot of the cells were split up and if you weren’t in that cell you couldn’t hear the other “Inmates.”

Jim, Spider-Girl, Captain America, Kitty, and Francis were in one of the cells and it was the one that seemed to attract Franklin and Valeria the most. It seemed they were pulled towards Jim and also Kitty. He could only hope they might be able to use their words to get them out of this mess.

“Franklin, are you okay with this?” Kitty immediately asked him “Are you okay with Doom holding us hostage, with keeping us prisoner.”

“You broke Doom’s law.” Franklin told his old babysitter with a sad sigh “His word is sacred here and we can not disobey it.”

“Not even if it goes against everything that is right?”

“What is right? What is wrong?” Franklin questioned them with a shrug “Who am I to decide, If Doom believes that you trespassing means you are now his prisoner then who am I to tell him that otherwise?”

“Because when you power, you are also given a responsibility whether you like it or not.” Spider-Girl explained to him “We are obligated to do the best we can with the gifts we’ve been given, and following Doom is not that.”

“It's not my rules.”

“But what if it was.” Jim asked Franklin “What if Doom didn’t matter. What if there was just a choice for you to make. What would your parents tell you? Your family. Your first family. If your Mother and Father were in your ear right at this moment. What do you think they’d want you to do?”

At this question Franklin glared at the Android before tugging on Valeria’s arm “Come on Val were leaving.”

And that’s exactly what they did. The two heroes left just as quickly as they entered into the scenario and Francis sighed angrily “I thought you had him for sure Jim.”

No one said anything as they all agreed with Francis. It had felt like they had him cornered and instead he simply ran off. It was obvious the boy could be very key in changing their fortune but at the moment that seemed far-fetched…

Unless?

Klik! Klik Klik! The shackles of each Hero began to fall to the ground and they all looked to the small blonde girl with the remote control in her hand. Franklin walked in behind her and had a pensive look on his face, putting a hand up signaling the heroes to let him talk.

“Sometimes it can be hard to remember what my parents would have wanted because it's been so long...But you guys are right. So come on let's get out of here before he notices. Because when he does notice, he won't be happy.”

Franklin began to lead the other heroes out of the Castle and they could only be happy at the moment. A chance to kick Doom’s butt and go back home. They’d do both and get back peacefully, because that’s what heroes did.

Chapter Text

DOOMSTADT, LATVERIA, SEPTEMBER 2, 7:00 UTC

As quick as the shackles had come off the heroes had done their best to get a handle on the situation.

The entire Gold Team, most of the Blue Team, and most of the GeNext team had left on the Blackbird before things could pop off once more. Vision, Beast, and Shadowcat left with them to make sure they got out safely and the rest of them were still in Latveria.

So that left the O5 Avengers, Jim, Emma, Olivier, Talia, Jimmy, Laura, and Spider-Girl with Franklin and Valeria. And the heroes wasted no time. Franklin had made it obvious that Doom was not going to be happy with his current life choices, and once they left the dungeon-like chambers, It was obvious as they were swarmed by more doombots than they had seen during their entire time in Latveria.

“Oh man, This does not look good.” Spider-Girl spoke as the robots began to converge on them “Say Franklin, you're supposed to be super powerful right, You think you can...I don’t know, maybe...get us out of here?”

“Can you do that?” James asked, more out of curiosity than worry. Despite the overwhelming numbers they still had a good team built to take on an army. Jimmy and Laura could fight for days, Torunn, Azari, and Jim would keep them balanced through the air, and as a last resort Pym could do his thing.

“I can.” Franklin said with a nod “And maybe she’s right. It may not be the best idea to keep moving, everyone’s safety should be our number one priority.”

“It sounds wrong not finishing, but their right man. There’s always another time, Doom is not going anywhere.” Francis added in.

And they were right, Doom wasn’t going to go anywhere, but next time he would be more prepared. And then he might be even more worried. Still with the look Emma, and the others were giving him, it was obvious which call they wanted him to make. So with a reluctant sigh he gave Franklin the order.

“Alright Richards. Get us out of here.”

“My pleasure.” The young and powerful hero shut his eyes, and raised his hand up to the sky, and suddenly his hand was engulfed in light for a few seconds. In the room it felt like something was happening, like something was supposed to happen...But it didn’t.

“My powers there...not working.” Franklin told the others softly, and no one understood how, and there wasn’t time to understand. Suddenly Jimmy was smacked away by a doombot, and Jim was nearly shot out of the Castle sky. They were still being attacked and if Franklin couldn’t get them out of there, then all focus needed to be on defeating the robots surrounding them.

“Come on team, focus! We aren’t in the clear yet!” James insisted and threw his shield at a robot, and it ricocheted off another two robots before he caught it. Azari and Pym were back to working together trying to hold the line and Spider-Girl and Torunn were fighting together, Jim was protecting Franklin and Valeria, the former who seemed to now be useless as his powers were not working.

“What’s wrong with your powers?” Pym questioned, and it seemed like the all powerful boy barely knew how to speak now that he didn’t have them.

“D-doom. He-he neutralized me!” He finally spit out. 

“How do you get neutralized !” Azari asked the boy. It shouldn’t have been possible to neutralize something as powerful as Franklin Richards, but according to him it was.

“There isn’t anything Doom can’t do.” Valeria told them softly “He no doubt has cast one of his spells to stop Franklin’s powers from working. Magic has always been one of the things that can do that to him.”

“So how do we fix it?” Francis asked whilst dodging blasts.

“Most likely by getting out of the Castle. He wouldn’t put something like this over the entire Kingdom.”

“Alright, so we need to get out of here, and if we want to get out of here we probably have to fight Doom...I’m beginning to think we shouldn’t have sent backup home.” Spider-Girl said worriedly 

“We will be fine.” James assured, they had already done a great job of clearing most of the robots out and the hero was sure they could beat Doom. It would just take a little smarts.

“We shouldn’t waste anymore time here. Follow my lead people. We're gonna get out of this alive.” James called.

They continued their fighting with the Doombots but this time with a purpose, striding towards the throne room of Doctor Doom, ready to beat the mad doctor and just go back home.

When the Avengers busted down the door of Doom’s throne room they were met with an array of blasts and attacks from Doom himself and the robots he surrounded himself with. It was like all hell had broken loose, but they were done playing games.

“Nocturne!” Emma called and the powerful hero rose up to the air and sent a couple more of those red blasts at the robots, making them vanish, seemingly into thin air. It was astounding. That left the group of heroes and Doom.

“End of the line.” Jimmy snarled at Doom, but the man didn’t seem to be phased and instead shot a blast of electric green energy straight at the mutant, shocking him for a while before putting up a force field.

Laura went to go and check on her brother and the rest continued on attacking attempting to string a couple of attacks together on Doom. But it was proving to be harder than they thought.

There wasn’t any continuity, and as Doom sent a blast of energy taking Olivier out it was getting clear he was trying to finish them off one by one.

“Stay together, we have to fight as a team!” James insisted and they did their best to group up. Now that they were pulling together closer as a group it was getting slightly easier to attack, they formed a nice circle, and the chemistry between the heroes was beginning to show. The O5 and Vision had been doing this for a pretty long time.

So when Vision went intangible to avoid Doom’s blast before launching Pym off his shoulder to allow him to use his Wasp’s sting on Doom they weren’t surprised. They knew what they were capable of.

Cap and Torunn played off of each other nicely as well. As Doom recovered and sent a ricochet of blasts at the team, Cap blocked most of them off with his shield before charging Doom and forcing him to fight with his hands, dodging and weaving the man’s attacks. Torunn jumped into the fray as well, and when a beam of lightning slammed into him, they knew they had him on the ropes.

And as they started to collectively get better and get the edge on Doom, Pym’s heart sank. Because this wasn’t Doom, and as he looked towards James he was realizing that only he and him realized it. 

It wasn’t until Torunn and Azari’s double lightning attack penetrated Doom’s force field and struck him so hard that his ‘head’ came off that the others began to come to the same realization. 

“He’s...a robot too?” Jim questioned with the confusion only a 70 year old robot could have.

“He’s not supposed to be.” Francis said with obvious contempt before turning on Franklin “Did you know we were wasting our time on a freakin robot?”

“No! No of course not, I thought...I thought he was real this time.” Franklin explained, confusing some of the others.

“Doom is...rarely around actually. He has certain bots that are programmed to believe they are Doom to think and to be as powerful as Doom. Well usually. Most of the time you see Doom well, it’s not actually him.” Pym explained and Valeria confirmed it to everyone with a nod

“Wait...If Doom isn’t here then...where is he?” Azari was the one to finally ask the important question. It was obvious the man was very good at what he did. But if he wasn’t here that meant he could have been in the US the whole time plotting. Or he could have been somewhere else entirely. This was not good.

“I’ll contact S.H.I.E.L.D. let them know Doom is possibly on the loose. They have the tech and the numbers to deal with this. Honestly. I don’t think this is an Avenger or X-Men problem anymore.” James told them. And it was all they could really do. That and keep an eye out for Doom as who knew when he’d strike.

“Franklin, are your powers back?” Torunn asked, not wanting to think about Doom or what he may or may not be doing any longer.

“I um...yeah. I think so.”

“Well then kid, can you get us home?” Francis asked with a sigh “It’s been a long day.”

Franklin didn’t respond immediately instead he looked at his sister and it seemed like they were communicating telepathically before Franklin suddenly had a determined look on his face.

“I can do better than that.”

“Better than home, what’s better than that?” Spider-Girl’s sudden rambling was the last thing the group heard before Franklin raised his hand once more and in a flash of light they were gone.

ARCTIC CIRCLE, BIODOME, SEPTEMBER 2 7:20 UTC

The group landed in the Biodome suddenly, disorienting most of the heroes who had never teleported like that before.

“Whoa, a little warning first!?!?!” Spider-Girl yelled at the speedy teleporter, and he only offered a wry grin in response “Sorry, I’m just...excited.”

“Excited, excited about what?” Emma asked the boy, and he simply smiled at them and laughed “I can fix everything!”

And then the boy lifted up his hand again and a bright light overtook the room and everything went dark.

It was hard to tell was it 5 seconds or 5 hours? 5 minutes or 5 days? Whatever Franklin had done had completely screwed with the Avengers and X-Men’s concepts of time but when they were finally pulled out of whatever Limbo the powerful teen had put them in they found themselves extremely disoriented and in unfamiliar streets at least for some of them.

“Oh my God.” They heard Emma whisper “Oh my God. There’s no way. There is no way.” 

At the usually composed woman's ramblings the other’s began to look around for themselves and it only clicked for a few.

“Holy shit.” Francis was next as he took in their surroundings “James, Azari are you freaking seeing this!?!??!”

“I’m seeing it but...I’m not sure I’m believing it.” Azari said in a hushed whisper. Those three were the only ones who would have had good enough memories to know where they were in the moment and as James looked on with wide eyes he still couldn’t put words to it.

They were in New York City. New York. Like old New York. New York City right before Ultron decimated it. New York with its skyscrapers and subway stations. This was the city he had remembered living in before Ultron had destroyed everything.

“Where are we?” Torunn asked, and Pym hadn’t said anything but he had been wondering the same thing.

“Guys!” Francis said excitedly jumping up and down shaking Torunn “Tor look around you, We're home! We’re back! This is fucking New York!!!”

Laura and Emma seemed to be in their own little world as they walked through the empty streets, everything looked real enough. Perfect enough by my lord was it hard to believe or what? Back home after so long? It was like a dream come true.

Suddenly in a blue flash Franklin and Valeria appeared but along with them was Banner, Tony, Riri, Amadeus, and the rest of the X-Kids. Who while at first were disoriented like the rest were immediately entrenched in where they were.

“You-you actually...” Tony struggled to find words as placed his hands on the pavement making sure everything was actually real.

“Yup.” Franklin said with a huff “This was the hardest one but just the beginning honestly…The other cities were so much. It was harder but...I think it’s done.”

The thought of the other cities getting the same treatment was crazy but there wasn’t any time to think as Franklin began to raise his hand once more.

“Wait where are we going now?” Spider-Girl called worried, not only did she not want to leave because she was disoriented she was still struggling to understand how all of this was still real. Her mother was going to freak out.

“Don’t worry it’s just one last stop.” And with that he teleported them away once more, however this time it was almost instantaneous as they were only leaving to another place within the city.

When they got to their destination, it seemed like everyone knew where they were despite the fact that only a few of them could have ever been to the building. 

“My word...It’s exactly how I remember it.” Banner told Tony and the Inventor could only nod. They were looking at a three story mansion, with a huge gate in front of it with an A on the front signifying that this was a domain for heroes.

It was the Avengers Mansion, and it was beautiful to see “I don’t remember that being there.” Francis pointed out. And he was right.

On the front lawn of the Mansion there was a golden statue mounted on stone. The statue was of the Avengers. Giant-Man, Wasp, Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Captain America. On the bottom was a simple inscription. Once a hero, always a hero.

“I made a couple of monuments around the city for the other heroes. I hope this is all acceptable.” Franklin said with another huff, it had seemed it had taken a lot of energy for him to do this. “I think...I’ll. I’ll be back.” And in a flash he was gone.

“He’s never expended that much energy before. The only things I’ve seen affect Franklin is burnout, and magic.” Valeria explained to the others.

“Should we be worried?” Tony asked 

“Not at all. He just needs to recharge. I know that there were more places he wanted to fix.” 

At the mention of more places it brought the attention to the Avengers Mansion and that where they were was actually real.

“If you don’t mind.” Emma spoke for the first time in a while. I think we will be heading to check out other parts of the city.”

The Avengers understood and said their goodbyes, it was obvious they were anxious to see if other things were as they left them, like Xavier’s Mansion. All the X-Men left flying to Westchester, but the Avengers, Spider-Girl, Jim, and Valeria stayed at the Mansion simply taking it in. 

“I don’t think anything we’ve done has compared to this…” Azari marveled at the building “Aside from bringing everyone back. I don’t think the world can ask for a better present.”

“Do you… Do you guys want to go in?” Torunn asked but it was obvious she was addressing Tony and Bruce. The two older heroes looked startled for a moment before composing themselves.

“Ummm yeah sure let me just...Jarvis open the gates, Override security protocols 6731.” Tony spoke, everything coming back to him like he had never forgotten it. So many suppressed memories.

The gates opened and they followed the inventor into the old mansion that seemed to be in pristine condition. Everything was perfect, it felt like a movie, and this was the hero's happy ending.

Everything they had gone through in the year with the Masters of Evil and to end it off like this was amazing. Now they could truly say and believe they had entered a new era. As the Avengers marveled at their old stomping grounds Jim and Valeria talked to each other quietly at the side. The old hero seemed to be giving the younger some advice.

Spider-Girl watched everything from afar and couldn’t help but feel like an intruder a little. After all her father was an Avenger but everyone knew him as a solo hero. Plus there was her Mom.

“Don’t worry.” James came up beside her suddenly “Cheer up Spider-Girl, everything is going to be just fine. Just relax, I’ll talk to your Mom again, but for now relax. We won. ”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, cheer up Avenger . This is for all of us.” James said, making her smile “Yeah you're right.” and for the rest of the day the chatter never stopped. Not when they checked out the rest of the mansion or toured the rest of the rebuilt New York City.

Nothing could ruin this day. Though as James was alone thinking about everything that happened his mind slipped just for a moment. Doom was out there. Plotting, probably...who knew what he had already done.

And a new era...well as good as that was going to be, Something told James that while life had just gotten easier, life had just gotten much harder and he guessed the Avengers were about to find that out.

Whatever it was the Avengers were going to figure it out in the end together. Like they always did.

HEROES OF TOMORROW

Chapter Text

6th Century AD - Thor is Born.

1800s -  1930s THE EARLY YEARS

Summer of 1883 - James “Logan” Howlett is Born.

1906 - Herbert Wyndham is Born.

1915 - Namor McKenzie is Born.

July 4, 1920 - Steven Grant Rogers is Born.

1922 - James Buchanan Barnes is Born.

1936 - Namor makes his first appearance after an Oil Spill attracts his attention.

1936 - Max Eisenhardt is Born.

1937 - Magda Lensherr is Born.

1938 -  Natalia Romanova is Born.

1939 - Jim Hammond, the Human Torch Android is created by Phineas T. Horton.

November 1939 - Jim Hammond is revealed to the public at a press conference.

THE FORTIES - DAWN OF THE MARVELS

1940 - Charles Xavier is born.

1940 - Stephen Strange is born.

1940 - Jim Hammond is considered a Champion of Justice.

Fall of 1941 - Doctor Abraham Erksine has successfully created the Super Soldier Serum and administered it to Steve Rogers. Coupled with the Bombardment of Vita Rays, Steve Rogers is a new man.

Fall of 1941 - Doctor Abraham Erksine is assassinated at Steve Rogers Transformation Process. With him the secrets of the Super Soldier Serum are lost forever.

Fall of 1941 - Steve Rogers is put through a rigorous physical and tactical training program that teaches him gymnastics, and hand-to-hand combat.

Winter of 1941 - Steve Rogers goes on his first mission as Captain America fighting against the Villainous Red Skull, sparking confidence in the hearts of millions.

December of 1941 - Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes team up as a single entity doing their best to affect the war efforts against Nazism.

December of 1941 - Jim Hammond teams up with his new sidekick Toro, teaching him to use his powers, and fighting adversaries like the Brain, Blackjack, and the Hag.

December of 1941 - Captain America and Bucky team up with Jim Hammond, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and Toro in an effort to help the Allies in the war.

January 1942 - Winston Churchill dubs Captain America and his team as the ‘Invaders’ after they save his life.

January 1942 - Captain America meets a soldier who goes by Logan. Logan teaches him a few things he knows about Martial Arts.

February 1942 - The Invaders defeat U-Man.

March 1942 - Captain America saves President Roosevelt.

March 1942 - Captain America finds himself in the African Country of Wakanda. He strikes an alliance with T’Chaka.

April 1942 - Captain America and the Howling Commandos save the Manhattan Project from the likes of the Red Skull.

February 1943 - Professor Berthold Sternberg creates the Infinity Formula, finding new ways to extend a person’s life force for as long as they were inoculated with the formula once a year.

1944 - Human Torch and Toro resume their activities stopping Nazi Loyalist Pop Kunz.

1944 - Max and Magda escape the Concentration camps.

April 18, 1945 - Captain America and Bucky Barnes are considered KIA after stopping a   bomb-loaded drone-plane, launched by Baron Zemo.

May of 1945 - Regardless of the fact that Captain America basically ended the war Truett Hudson aka Professor Thorton forms Weapon Plus, with Government aid. The idea is that they can find ways to Recreate Captain America’s Project Rebirth.

1946 - Nick Fury is injured on a battlefield in France. Professor Berthold Sternberg saves his life by giving him the Infinity Formula.

1946 - Professor Sternberg blackmails Nick Fury into paying him money for his yearly Infinity Formula treatment. Fury complies, without it he would die.

1947 - Jim Hammond’s partnership with Sun Girl begins.

1947 - Natalia starts training in the Red Room facility for years, made to believe they were training ballet in the Bolshoi Theatre, though the memories were completely fabricated for the benefit of the Red Room.

1948 - Jim Hammond gathers the All-Winners Squad

1949 - Jim Hammond’s partnership with Sun Girl ends.

1949 - Charles Xavier exhibits Mutant powers for the first time.

1949 - Jim Hammond and Toro lose a fight to the Crime Boss, and are doused with Solution X-R, a chemical that prevented them from flaming on and knocked them out. Torch’s body was transported to the Yucca Flats, Nevada and buried alive. 

1950 - Ben Grimm is Born.

1952 - Reed Richards is Born.

1954 - Natalia receives bio-technically and psycho-technical enhancements that give her limited super strength, unnaturally fast reflexes, a healing factor, and a very long lifespan.

1955 - Hank Pym is Born.

1955 - Bruce Banner is Born.

1956 - Natalia’s Training is considered complete. She goes on her first mission for the Red Room.

1956 - James Buchanan Barnes is revived by Soviet spies and outfitted with a replacement bionic arm. Bucky undergoes many different mental implants, and sensory deprivation, turning him into the perfect assassin.

1956 - Soviets create a Cryostasis Pod for the Winter Soldier when he’s not on missions to cease his aging.

1956 - Itsu, Wolverine’s wife, is killed by a Brainwashed Bucky Barnes.

1956 - Tony Stark is Born.

1956 - Susan Storm is Born.

1956 - Charles Xavier finishes High School, and graduates with honors from Harvard University.

1958 - Bucky trains in the Red Room.

1958 - Black Widow is promised to Alexi Shostakov.

1959 - The KGB draft Natalia into their agency and she becomes the number one operative, becoming excellent at fighting and information gathering. During this time she’s first dubbed Black Widow. She goes on many missions for many years afterwards.

1959 - T’Challa is Born.

THE SIXTIES - DAWN OF THE MUTANTS

1960 - Namor the Sub-Mariner disappears as he loses his memories and wanders around the United States.

1960 - Clint Barton is Born.

1960 - Janet Van Dyne is Born.

1960 - Howard Stark creates the idea of a secret counter-terrorism espionage organization devoted to protecting the world from several worldwide threats.

1960 - Project SHIELD is officially put into effect. CIA agent Colonel Nick Fury is even considered for the position of Executive Director.

1960 - Charles Xavier and Moira Kinross are in love and engaged.

1961 - Logan, known as Wolverine now, is a part of the Weapon Plus Program which had been created to fight the mutant menace. He fights with his black ops unit ‘Team X.’ During this time Team X had been given Memory Implants, and have been telepathically manipulated.

1961 - The U.S. Government, the United Nations, and Stark Industries sponsored Howard Stark’s idea and created the Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-enforcement Division. Colonel Rick Stoner was selected to be the first Executive Director. SHIELD’s main objective was to counter itself against Hydra.

1961 - Charles Xavier turns down two mutants who go by Logan and Creed, who were seeking to band together mutants in a common group.

1961 - Nick Fury finds a rare metal called Epidurium.

1963 - Johnny Storm is Born.

1963 - Magda Lensherr is kidnapped.

1963 - Max and Natalya Maximoff enjoy a short tryst causing Natalya to become pregnant with twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff.

1963 - Magda Lensherr is tested on by Weapons Plus.

1963 - Pietro and Wanda are kidnapped by their adoptive father, and given to the High Evolutionary. The High Evolutionary runs tests on them. Natalya can not stop it.

1963 - Natalya is killed by her husband.

1963 - The High Evolutionary asks Django and Marya Maximoff to adopt Pietro and Wanda.

1963 - Xavier sets out to prove he’s worthy to be with Moira by joining the Military.

1964 - Cain Marko finds the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. However while transforming into the Juggernaut the cave where the gem layed caved in, trapping him under tons of rubble for decades.

1964 - Xavier fights beside Carmen Pryde and Logan in the military.

1965 - Peter Parker is Born.

1965 - Moira ends her and Charles engagement

1965 - Xavier used his powers to get honorably discharged from the Military.

1965 - Nick Fury uses Epidurium to create Life Model Decoys. A Staple of SHIELD for years to come.

1965 - Bolivar Trask is working with the Government to stop the ‘Mutant Menace.’

1965 - Logan’s Mutant squad is decimated by an army of robotic Sentinels, and Xavier does his best to help some escape.

1967 - A bout with a Mutant pickpocket in Egypt, and a telepathic fight with her master leaves Xavier realizing he must focus his power to stop evil mutants.

1967 - Xavier meets Magnus, and the two quickly befriend each other.

1967 - SHIELD Director Colonel Rick Stoner is killed by Hydra Operatives. Colonel Nick Fury was selected to be his replacement, only having to report to the Executive Council

1967 - The existence of SHIELD goes public. 

1967 - Namor briefly teams up with Xavier, on the hunt for more mutants, but it all goes wrong and leaves him with more amnesia than he started with.

1967 - Xavier and Gabrielle Haller form a relationship.

1967 - Xavier meets a group of people calling themselves X-Men, supposedly from the future.

1967 - Xavier and Gabrielle Haller end their relationship, though Xavier is unaware that Haller is pregnant with his son. David Haller.

1968 -Xavier is crippled when a cinder block in Tibet falls on him when fighting the alien invader known as Lucifer. Doctors tell him he would never walk again.

1968 - Xavier is nursed back to health by a young woman known as Amelia Vought. They started a relationship as they moved into an apartment in Bombay.

1968 - Xavier creates the first schematics for Cerebro.

1968 - Xavier develops plans to start up a School at his father’s old estate.

THE SEVENTIES - THE PUBLIC SUPERHERO ERA

1970 - Xavier works on ‘Project Mutant’ with Moira MacTaggart and Doctor Karl Lykos.

1970 - Wolverine regains his memories after being shot with Carbonadium bullets. He and Team X steal the Carbonadium Synthesizer, though the rest are unaware that he has his memories.

1970 - Wolverine quits Team X.

1971 - Xavier, Moira, and Karl Lykos cut ties and pursue their separate careers.

1973 - Xavier goes back to the United States and starts construction on his school for gifted youngsters

1973 - John and Elaine Grey's daughter Jean develops telepathic and telekinetic powers. Jean had been traumatized by being in her friend's mind when she was run over by a car. She becomes the first student at Xavier’s school.

1973 - Moira and Xavier tutor Jean Grey on mutations. 

1973 - Illyana Rasputina is Born.

1974 - Xavier works on prototypes for Cerebro. In successive tests Jean and Charles were able to reach out to a young mutant named Scott Summers.

1974 - Howard and Maria Stark are killed in a Car Crash. Tony Stark inherits Stark Industries.

1974 - Magnus embraces his hate for the Human race and becomes Magneto.

1974 - In 1974, before leaving Canada, Logan was pumped full of Thorazine, beaten, and kidnapped by a group of armed men from the Weapon X Project The man known only as the Professor, Doctor Abraham Cornelius, and Doctor Carol Hines then began to examine Logan while he floated in a containment tank. Logan's skeleton, including his claws, was bonded with the indestructible metal known as Adamantium, making it unbreakable, and burying his personality beneath the most intense brainwashing he had ever undergone.

1975 - Stephen Strange is in a car accident which claims his hands. This starts his journey in the mystical realm, and his life as Sorcerer Supreme and Doctor Strange. 

1976 - Xavier brings Scott Summers back to his school and makes him the first of his X-Men giving him the codename Cyclops.

1976 - Amelia has had enough of this life and begs Xavier to walk away with her. When he couldn’t choose, Amelia attempted to walk out on him and in a panic he tried to stop her with his mental powers. Horrified by what he had done, Xavier released his control from her, and she walked out on him forever.

1976 - Xavier has his eye on another mutant Warren Worthington the Third, he does his best to try and guide him to the institute but he struggles to get him.

1976 - Bobby Drake is recruited by Xavier and Scott and he accepts joining the Institute.

1977 - Reed Richards sanctions an unauthorized test flight into space. Cosmic Radiation gives Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm Superpowers.

1977 - Cyclops and Iceman recruit Warren again and this time he agrees to join the institute after fighting the two X-Men.

1977 - Xavier identifies High School Football star Henry McCoy as his next target. McCoy is also targeted by Conquistador, a terrorist who sought to conquer the world. After the team saves Hank he agrees to transfer to Xavier’s school.

1977 - Xavier uses his Danger Room to train his X-Men in combat situations.

1977 - Emma Frost’s father, and Emma Frost herself refuse to let her Join the X-Men.

1978 - Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny go out for the first time as the Fantastic Four.

1978 - Professor Berthold Sternberg is killed by Steel Harris. Harris also managed to steal the Infinity Formula attempting to Blackmail Fury with it. Fury and Val de Fontaine manage to defeat him and steal the Formula back.

1978 - The Fantastic Four fight and defeat Mole Man, and his creature Giganto, revealing themselves to the press for the first time.

1978 - Calling himself Professor X, Xavier now feels ready to reveal his team to the world. The young mutants manage to defeat Magneto at the Cape Capital.

1978 - Reed Richards buys out the Baxter Building.

1978 - The Fantastic Four fight Miracle Man. After the fight Johnny Storm quits the Fantastic Four.

1978 - Johnny Storm finds Namor the Sub-Mariner and restores his memory. Namor finds out his kingdom has been destroyed and attacks New York with Giganto.

1978 - The X-Men want to expand with foreign mutants like Storm, Colossus, and Nightcrawler. For now they can only keep an eye on the international mutants.

1979 - Illyana is taken by unknown forces to Limbo where she would train under Belasco’s tutelage. Despite desperate searching and fighting Belasco the X-Men never find Illyana. 

1979 - The reunited Fantastic Four fight Doctor Doom for the first time. Doom sends them back in time as he wants to recover Blackbeard's treasures.

1979 - Doom and Namor Team up to defeat the Fantastic Four. Doom betrays Namor, and the FF team up with Namor to take down Doom.

1979 - The Fantastic Four fight and defeat Puppet Master.

THE EIGHTIES - DAWN OF THE HEROIC AGE

1980 - Magneto forms the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the X-Men fight him over Namor the Sub-Mariner.

1980 - Peter Parker is Bitten by a Radioactive Spider and becomes a stage wrestler for money.

1980 - Ben Parker is shot by the burglar who was robbing the wrestling studio. The same burglar Peter let walk a few days prior.

1980 - Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man.

1980 - Peter Parker saves Astronaut John Jameson’s space capsule and in return is slandered by the Bugle. Despite the negative press, saving John Jameson makes Peter want to continue to use his powers for good.

1980 - Over a period of two to three months Spider-Man deals with drug dealers, rapists, robbers, and other “petty” criminals, as he works his way up as the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

1980 - Tony Stark becomes Iron Man.

1980 - The Original X-Men Graduate.

1980 - Hank Pym becomes Ant-Man.

1980 - Bruce Banner is caught in a Gamma Bomb explosion turning him into the Hulk.

1980 - S.W.O.R.D. is created and Special Agent Abigail Brand is the leader of the primary command-and-control HQ.

1980 -The X-Men expand with mutants like Havok, and Polaris.

1980 - The Norse God of Thunder Thor is banished to earth to learn humility. 

1980 - Spider-Man fights his first Super-Villain, the Vulture.

1980 - Spider-Man is denied entry into the Fantastic Four.

1980 - Spider-Man fights Doctor Octopus.

1980 - Spider-Man fights the Sandman.

1981 - Spider-Man fights Doctor Doom.

1981 - Janet Van Dyne becomes the Wasp.

1981 - Clint Barton Becomes Hawkeye, and takes jobs at SHIELD.

1981 - Hank Pym becomes Giant-Man.

1981 - Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Giant-Man, and Wasp form the Avengers.

1981 - Spider-Man fights the Lizard.

1981 - Hulk quits the Avengers.

1981 - Spider-Man fights Electro.

1981 - Spider-Man fights the Enforcers.

1981 - Spider-Man fights Mysterio.

1981 - Captain America is found by SHIELD after being on Ice for 40 years. 

1981 - Captain America joins the Avengers.

1981 - Spider-Man fights Green Goblin.

1982 - Hawkeye and Black Widow join the Avengers.

1982 - Spider-Man fights Kraven the Hunter.

1982 - For the first time ever Spider-Man fights the Sinister Six.

1982 - The X-Men expand with mutants like Banshee, Sunfire, Storm, Nightcrawler, Colossus, Wolverine, and Thunderbird.

1982 - Nick Fury no longer needs the Infinity Formula, as it has become one with his bloodstream, he is now effectively Immortal.

1982 - T'Chaka dies, and T’Challa becomes Black Panther, and King of Wakanda.

1982 - Jean first encounters the Phoenix Force.

1983 - Peter Parker starts college at ESU and meets Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn.

1983 - Spider-Man fights Scorpion.

1983 - The Avengers defeat the Masters of Evil.

1983 - Spider-Man fights The Beetle.

1983 - Kitty Pryde is recruited to the X-Men, and the Team defeats Emma Frost.

1984 - Gwen Stacy is killed by Norman Osborn.

1984 - Black Panther Joins the Avengers.

1984 - Miles Warren becomes the Jackal.

1984 - The Dark Phoenix Saga. Jean Grey dies. Kitty Pryde goes to live at the Xavier Estate. Storm becomes the leader of the X-Men.

1984 - Mystique creates a New Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, and the X-Men fight her to save the life of Senator Robert Kelly.

1984 - Spider-Man fights his clone for the first time.

1984 - The Avengers fight Kang the Conqueror.

1984 - Spider-Man fights Spider-Slayers.

1984 - The X-Men encounter Mystique and Rogue of the Brotherhood.

1984 - Xavier forms the New Mutants with students Wolfsbane, Sunspot, Moonstar, Psyche, and Karma.

1985 - The Avengers defeat the Alien Invaders known as the Kronans.

1985 - Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne get married.

1985 - Clone Saga Starts.

1985 - Cyclops meets Madelyne Pryor, falls in love, and has a baby with her.

1985 - Rogue joins the X-Men.

1985 - Carol Danvers, furious at the X-Men leaves Earth with the Starjammers.

1986 - Marauders murder the Morlocks.

1986 - Madelyne Pryor is discovered to be a clone. Pryor becomes the Goblin Queen, wanting to take Revenge on Cyclops.

1986 - The X-Men fight Mr. Sinister and Cyclops destroys him with a fully powered optic blast.

1986 - The X-Men and X-Factor fight each other before fighting N’Astirh.

1988 - The X-Men Expand.

1989 - X-Men Muir Island Saga.

1989 - X-Men Blue and Gold. Blue Squad fought Magneto and his base Asteroid M before it was destroyed by a plasma cannon by the American and Russian governments. X-Men’s Gold team dealt with Emma Frost and the Hellfire Club.

THE NINETIES - END OF THE HEROIC AGE

1990 - Peter Parker marries Mary Jane-Watson.

1990 - Onslaught Saga.

1990 - The Avengers expand. Giving out Identicards to many of the Superheroes in New York City.

1990 - The Legacy Virus is obtained by Mister Sinister.

1990 - Emma Frost joins the X-Men.

1991 - Apocalypse’s Twelve.

1991 - Clone Saga Ends.

1991 - Thor leaves Earth to protect his father during his Odinsleep.

1991 - Thor marries Lady Sif.

1991 - Aunt May dies.

1992 - Genosha is destroyed.

1992 - Odin is dead, and Thor officially becomes King.

1992 - Janet hands Hank divorce papers. After everything they’ve been through she finally puts an end to the toxic relationship. The slap being the deciding factor in calling everything off. 

January 7, 1993 - Francis Barton is Born.

1993 - X-Men go global. Jean Grey dies again.

1993 - Talia Wagner is Born.

1993 - Storm leaves the X-Men to marry T’Challa. She becomes the Queen of Wakanda.

1993 - Emma Frost and Scott Summers get together and lead Xavier’s school.

1993 - Ultron is created.

May, 1993 - Natasha Romanoff is Pregnant.

June, 1993 - Captain America and Black Widow get married.

1993 - Ultron defects from his programming.

1993 - X-Kids are born.

1993 - Elijah Bradley is Born.

1993 - Olivier LeBeau is born.

1994 - Ultron creates Vision who defects from his programming.

1994 - Ultron creates Jocasta who defects from her programming.

1994 - The Avengers defeat Ultron.

1994 - The Avengers Retire.

February 10, 1994 - James Rogers is Born.

1994 - Michael Wilson is Born.

1994 - Olivia Blaire is Born.

1994 - James Hudson Jr. is Born.

1994 - Thomas Creed is Born.

1994 - X-Kids are born.

1994 - Megan Frost-Summers is Born.

March 5, 1994 - Torunn Thorsdottir is Born.

1994 - Mayday Parker is Born.

1994 - Danielle Cage is Born.

1994 - Pavel Rasputin is Born.

1994 - Jane Braddock is Born.

1994 - Daisy Johnson is Born.

March 22, 1995 - Azari Munroe is Born.

1995 - Mockingbird and Hawkeye break off their relationship.

1995 - X-Kids are Born.

1995 - Ray LeBeau is Born.

1995 - Franklin Richards is Born.

1995 - Riri Williams is Born.

June 1995 - Cassandra Lang is Born.

1995 - Amadeus Cho is Born.

1995 - Jessica Thurman is Born.

1995 - Sofia Da Costa is Born.

1995 - Lily-Rose Jones is Born.

1996 - X-Kids are Born.

1996 - Miguel McCoy is Born.

1996 - The Legacy Virus is released on the Mutant Populus.

1997 - Some X-Men are infected with the Legacy Virus.

April 9, 1997 - Henry Pym Jr. is Born.

January 23, 1998 - Valeria Richards is Born.

1998 - Over 67% of the Mutant Populous is infected with the Legacy Virus, there is no cure.

March 12, 1998 - Ultron resurfaces and kills the Avengers.

1998 - Ultron blows up New York City.

1998 - Tony Stark takes the Avengers kids to the Arctic Circle for protection from Ultron.

1998 - Thor lets his daughter stay with Tony partially because he’s angry at the inventor and wants him to suffer, and because he believes his daughter will learn some humility. After all, he won’t let her die.

1998 - The Scavengers are formed.

1999 - The remaining X-Men create a safe haven in Genosha, Emma Frost uses Cerebro to find any remaining mutants before Ultron can.

1999 - Ultron kills the President.

1999 - Ultron destroys the US Government and Names himself the Supreme Overlord of the United States. 

THE TWO THOUSANDS - THE DARK AGES

2000 - Ultron has destroyed 53% of the Super Powered population, and completes his creation of Ultra City.

2000 - Ultron sets his sights on taking over Central and South America.

2001 - Ultron has completely decimated SHIELD forces.

2001 - Ultron scouts all European borders.

2001 - Ultron strikes deals with remaining Super Powered Villains, allowing them to flee the United States, and he will spare their lives. He has no intention of fulfilling these terms.

2001 - Ultron completely takes over Central America.

2002 - Ultron sets his sights on taking over Europe.

2002 - Tony starts training the Avenger’s children in case they ever need to fight.

2002 - Ultron takes over South America.

2003 - Hawkeye is killed by Ultron.

July 16, 2003 - Carmen Maria Jimenez is Born.

2004 - Tony extends the Biodome in hopes that the kids will never have to leave there. Ultron will struggle to find them in the Arctic.

2004 - Ultron has eradicated 79% of the super powered population.

2005 - Francis takes over the Scavengers.

2006 - Ultron has found a way to harm Vision even in his Intangible form.

2006 - Tony ramps up training as he fears Ultron might come soon.

2006 - Tony attempts to get in contact with Thor, who refuses to respond.

2007 - The X-Men find a cure for the Legacy Virus.

2008 - THE END OF THE DARK AGES

2008 - Ultron has completely taken over Europe.

2008 - Ultron sets up scouts at Asia’s borders, planning to take on the continent.

2008 - The Heroes of Tomorrow are created and take on Ultron, ending thirteen years of Ultron dominance.

2009 - Mayday Parker exhibits Spider Powers.

THE TWENTY TENS - THE MODERN ERA

April 2010 - Liberation efforts have stalled for the past two years.

2010 - The Avengers go to the Savage Lands for the first time. They are looking for the mutant known as Wolverine. Instead they meet up with Ka-Zar, Shanna, and their son Matty and fight a weakened Omega Red.

2010 - Francis, Daisy, and Eli encounter Crossfire and Taskmaster for the first time. They are defeated rather easily and are saved by Riri in a homemade Iron Man suit.

2010 - Pym and Banner find Amadeus Cho via the Banner B.O.X. test.

2010 - James, Torunn, and Azari head to Wakanda. There they meet with Shuri and discuss terms to help around the world. And Shuri gives Azari a briefcase filled with many things including his new suit. She also leads them to the X-Men.

2010 - James, Torunn, and Azari find the X-Men in Genosha. There Emma Frost, Beast, Kitty Pryde, and  Laura Kinney decline any and all attempts to persuade them into coming back to America, despite the Avengers best efforts. Still the Avengers make a lasting impression on the Mutant Teens in Genosha.

2010 - The Avengers fight Crossfire, Taskmaster, and Radioactive Man. While they managed to subdue Cross and Radioactive Man, Taskmaster escapes with the vital information marking the first loss in a while for the Avengers.

2010 - Through the use of the Heart-Shaped Herb Azari takes a trip to the Astral Plane and talks to his father who explains Wakanda, and his mother to him.

2010 - Pym rediscovers Atlantis.

2010 - The Avengers go to Madripoor and fight the Masters of Evil. The ensuing fight between Torunn and Moonstone is not good for the Avengers as the obscene damages are quickly blamed on them and the trust the people and governments have for them falters.

2010 - Valerie Cooper is able to help the Avengers on a political front and allow the people to remember everything the Avengers have done for them.

May 2010 - Amadeus Cho has unlocked some of Ultron’s files allowing the Avengers to view what happened on March 12, 1998 and even see the Avengers personal journals.

May 2010 - Daisy Johnson begins to exhibit powers. The Avengers aren’t sure if she’s some sort of Super Soldier or a mutant, but they do not have a term to describe exactly what Daisy is.

2010 - Pym finds out what has gone on between his parents and their failed marriage. He also learns that his father created Ultron and that Tony had lied in a failed effort to keep him “safe”.

2010 - James, Azari, and Daisy discover Jim Hammond’s body in Colorado. They awaken the sleeping android and inform him of everything he’s missed over the past 60 years.

2010 - The X-Men’s Blue Squad hijack the Blackbird and take a trip to the Biodome hellbent on helping the Avengers stop the Masters of Evil. Led by Jimmy, Jane, and Jessica they steal Cerebro and embark on their mission.

2010 - Daisy Johnson meets Nick Fury for the first time. He explains to her his plans for her, SHIELD and the Scavengers.

June 2010 - The Avengers and the X-Men thwart the Masters of Evil’s last attempt at victory by stopping their assassination attempt on Valerie Cooper. Taskmaster and Black Ant had informed them of the attempt and got conditional pardons because of it.

2010 - Nick Fury and Daisy Johnson explain to the Avengers the plan to fold the Scavengers into the reformation of SHIELD, effective immediately the split happens. Nick offers Francis and James jobs at SHIELD which they both decline as they believe they aren’t finished with the Avengers yet.

September 2010 - James meets Mayday for the first time. He talks to Mary Jane and takes May with him to the Biodome and Latveria.

2010 - The Avengers go to Latveria. They find Franklin and Valeria. Fight Doctor Doom, and this ends up leading to the recreation of New York City. And a new era for this world

2011 - It’s the New Year. And the Avengers have new recruits. This kickstarts the second year in the ANL timeline.

2011 - The Avengers defeat the Wrecking Crew.

2011 - The Avengers officially introduce the “Avengers Academy” which is simply where recruits go before they become official Avengers. Stature, Powerhouse, and Spider-Girl are the first recruits.

2011 - The Avengers have a discussion about what they will all do in the future. Torunn and Azari understand their places already, and are ready to go to Asgard and Wakanda respectively. They question what the others will do, making Pym, Francis and James think about their future.

2011 - Magni and Modi Thorson are Born.

2011 - Valeria manages to get her Negative Zone Portal working. She and Jim Hammond go to the Negative Zone for the first time and fight Annihilus, before retreating. In retaliation Annihilus sends the Super-Adaptoid to Earth.

2011 - The Avengers beat the Super-Adaptoid with the help of the X-Men.

2011 - Viewing the fight himself, Annihilus believes that the Positive Universe isn’t as strong as it once was, and for that reason believes it will be worth it to attempt a takeover, starting with Earth.

2011 - Valeria and Jim explain to the Avengers what they experienced in the Negative Zone. After some deliberation and a vote they decide to go back into the Negative Zone. They send a team of Torunn, Riri, Pym, Jim, and Valeria, to find out all they can about Annihilus.

2011 - In the Negative Zone the group finds out about Annihilus through the locals there. They meet Ja’Vok Sier, a “hero” of the Negative Zone and he helps them get to Arthros. (Annihilus’ Planet) The trip takes seven days and the group gets into countless battles during that time.

2011 - In Arthros the group fights tons of Arthrosians, and they find out about the Annihilation Wave. Riri and Valeria have a chance to destroy it before it can get going but Ja’Vok destroys their chance. In reality he was a sleeper agent for Annihilus. He explains to them that he has his family, and so he can’t take any chances.

2011 - When the group gets back to Earth they explain that they have a week before Annihilus will make it to Earth. And that they will have to stop him before that. The combined group of Avengers and X-Men begin to concoct a plan to stop Annihilus.

2011 - During a training session a bright flash occurred and an unknown visitor appeared at the Avengers Mansion. After fighting Torunn, Powerhouse, Spider-Girl, Hawkeye, Stature, and kissing James Rogers they learned that she was Lyra. Bruce Banner’s daughter from the future.

2011 - Hearing about Annihilus and the situation they were in, Lyra decided to stay around in the present and help after her mission became obsolete. 

2011 - Captain America, Mind Witch, Gambit, Powerhouse, She-Hulk, and Wolverine go on the mission to stop Annihilus before he can get to Earth. The mission is mostly successful and nearly all of his army is destroyed, leaving just 3 ships left.

2011 - The Avengers and X-Men fight Annihilus and his army of Arthrosians. In the end they are able to take the Cosmic Converter Rod away from him and Talia is able to destroy most of his body. Torunn delivers the killing strike. During this fight Robbie Reyes helped out and they learned he goes by Ghost Rider.

2011 - The Avengers began to disband starting with James Rogers who is taking a sabbatical for an indefinite amount of time from the team. During his time with Dani in the Negative Zone he found she would be a good successor and offered her the shield.

2011 - James Rogers gives the SHIELD and Captain America costume over to Danielle Cage as he leaves the team. Torunn goes to Asgard and for the moment is All-Mother as things in Asgard are tense with Thor in Thorsleep, and Lady Sif in a very sick state. Azari goes to Wakanda to work on becoming King.

2011 - Dubbed the New Avengers by the Media Hawkeye, Yellowjacket, Ironheart, Spider-Girl, She-Hulk, Ghost Rider, Stature, and Danielle Cage as Captain America make the new team of Avengers.

2011 - James Rogers goes abroad. In an attempt to figure out who he is outside of the shield he carries. James heads to Colombia where he lives life undercover. The newfound blonde however finds himself immediately tracking the mystery he finds in Cartagena.

2011 - With Torunn and Azari taking care of their kingdoms, and James taking a sabbatical from the Avengers. Pym and Francis begin to train the New Avengers to be better prepared to face off against any worldwide threats.

2011 - Months have passed since James’ arrival in Cartagena. Though James has met people he can call a friend like Mr. Morillo, or a lover in Valentina Garcia this wasn’t quite what he planned. What was supposed to be an opportunity to figure out his life outside of being Captain America turned into a mad search for the Villamos Cartel, a group selling a dangerous drug across South America giving people super-abilities.

2011 - Deeming his attempt at soul-searching a failure James sets out to take out the Cartel in one swift attack and head back to America. However in his attack against the gang he finds this drug called Banshee in spades. More worryingly is the hostages. A little girl named Carmen in near critical condition is given the blood of James Rogers, now along with this mystery, the girl also finds herself in his care.

2011 - James gains a new ally in La Bandera, a hero who was working for the Cartel against her will, in the last attack her help proved vital. Along with Carmen she stays with James as the two share information on how to stop the Cartel and this drug that gives powers, and also a high risk of immediate death.

2011 - Taking care of Carmen proves to be harder than James thought. The young girl is terrified of what is going on, and reminds James of himself right after Ultron’s attacks. To make matters more interesting, it’s believed James' blood is already beginning to affect the girl in adverse ways.

2011 - After being attacked at a diner for Carmen, James leaves the girl in the care of Valentina and SHIELD while he and La Bandera go separate ways in the hopes of finding out more about the Cartel and Carmen. Already they have learned that this new drug Banshee is an upgraded version of the old Mutant Growth Hormone, MGH.

2011 - A meeting with the Informant gives James information about Carmen’s parents and the trials they undertook under the orders of the supposed “Big Man of Crime.” According to the Informant this man leads a majority of the gangs in South America, is the one who orchestrated the selling of Banshee, and is the one who killed Carmen’s parents.

2011 - With the news of Carmen’s parents' deaths, James makes a decision to take care of the young child who has grown attached to him. Though it won't be easy. Though like Tony before him, James simply starts by being there for the young girl.

2011 - James and La Bandera come closer to figuring out who the Big Man of Crime is. After taking down the Villamos Cartel and interrogating Ernesto and Carmelita Villamos, they learn the name of their leader. Parker Robbins, The Hood.

2011 -  After learning that The Hood is the man pulling the strings they also learn that the man plans to leave considering he knows they’ve taken down a large part of his Cartel. James races against the clock to get to the Hood before he can reach Madripoor, and with that International Sovereignty that would allow him to escape his crimes.

2011 - After fighting dozens of men souped on Banshee, and other men with actual powers James jumps on a plane and fights the Hood and his two very best men. In the end Captain America is the victor taking down the Hood and with him his International Operation.

2011 - With things in Colombia settling down James and Carmen talk and he tells her about his plans to become her guardian. Carmen agrees as she has become quite close with James over the past month and wouldn’t want to live with a stranger. With this settled SHIELD begins the process of making her his official ward, though everyone agrees that this will never reach the public eye.

Chapter Text

YEAR ONE

EAST RUTHERFORD NEW JERSEY, METLIFE STADIUM, JANUARY 9, 2011 , 3:55 PM EST

“LET'S GO GIANTS WOOOO!”

“LETS GOOOO!”

“YEAHHHHH!”

The crowd continued to shout and chant as their favourite team began to get into the supposed victory position.

The Quarterback wasted no time kneeling on the ground and the clock trickled down, getting closer to zero and ensuring New York’s favourite football team got the win. The score was currently 24-17. The Giants had led the Saints for nearly the entire game. And the crowd continued to get louder and louder whenever a touchdown was scored, or a big hit, or an interception was made.

It was amazing. And for the Avengers, they hadn’t had this much fun in a long time. James, Francis, Torunn, Azari, and Pym stood beside each other, cheering with everyone else. They had gotten tickets to the divisional playoff game, a must see according to Francis. And so the group labeled it a team bonding exercise and headed out just the five of them.

It was a little tricky not getting noticed, but they could be very covert and managed to disguise themselves well enough. They all wore big jerseys, blending into the crowd. Azari covered his distinct tattoos with a hoodie, and Torunn smeared war paint over her face. James hid his hair behind a cap, and Francis and Pym insisted that they could look generic enough without any extra effort.

And they had managed well, allowing the heroes to have a normal Sunday. Because that’s what it was. A normal Sunday.

It was crazy to think that this was normal. It was just a few months ago that the entire New York Area was a bunch of metal, and bombs and yet now they were enjoying a football game in the New York snow.

They were lucky, blessed, to be able to enjoy this. All because one teenage boy could apparently warp reality. 

It was insane. But you didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Ever since that day in September the world began to shift, truly shift back to how things had been, in a good way, things began to move extraordinarily fast. 

It was a little bit of a hassle in the first month or two, as people who were still alive from before Ultron attempted to migrate back to their respective homes. Airports were full for weeks, even now they were getting an extreme amount of service, but it didn’t really matter because people were happy.

Old businesses were back, as well as schools, and other establishments. In some cases it was sad as certain folks weren’t around to claim what was rightfully theirs, but in a lot of cases people were going back to a better place.

From September even until now the currency was extremely wonky. From numbers you might have seen in the great depression, to inflation rates James wasn’t sure it should have been legal but it is what it is. It was much better than before.

S.H.I.E.L.D. was working overtime. There were so many legalities, and processes the world was lacking at the moment it was almost obscene. Apparently you couldn’t just go back and claim your house. And houses weren’t supposed to have free utilities and there needed to be tenants, and the produce wasn’t supposed to just come back, and the market was ruined, and etc, etc, etc. The United Nations was going ballistic.

But as always the Avengers saw this as a win. It was unfortunate that a lot of people were killed by Ultron and would never be able to reclaim their jobs. But suddenly there were tons of job openings and that was a good thing.

For example during the years of Ultron’s reign no one was paying teachers to teach, and even when they killed the murderbot that hadn’t changed. Teachers teached, because there was a need , and there had been a lot of people who taught, but hadn’t necessarily had a teaching degree.

Well now they were getting employed, and getting paid for their hard work. There had been a lot of people with knowledge, who didn’t necessarily have the credentials to back up their status who had stepped up when the world needed them most.

Everyone knew that things weren’t going to be perfect, no, but for once it seemed they were at an excess. There were plenty of resources, and plenty of jobs, which they were grateful for. At least people would be able to start living again. 

For the Avengers they had moved into the Mansion in no time at all. Setting up shop at their old home, currently the Biodome was mostly empty. It was sad to see, nostalgic at times, but it was better being closer to where everything was. 

Thanksgiving had come by quickly and this time they had many friends to share it with. Riri, Amadeus, Jim, And most of the X-Men came down from Westchester to celebrate the occasion. And then of course there was the first Christmas and New Years just passed and things were just great.

The Quarterback kneeled down once more as the ball was snapped and the game ended. The crowd was roaring, electric, and it was honestly beautiful. It was great to care about something as trivial as football again.

“Oh man. We have to do this again sometime.” Francis told the group as they exited the stadium, heading to their ‘Avengers-Mobile’ as Francis had dubbed it. It was just a Kia Sorento but whatever, nobody else knew it was just a plain old car, did they?

“I Agree!” Torunn nodded excitedly “It was amazing . We must go back.”

“I had fun,” Azari admitted with a smile “The season is almost over though. Maybe we can try another event soon.”

“I don’t mind.” Pym agreed, a small smile, on his face. And you took those where you could get it. The young hero had been going through a lot since learning of true heritage. So getting him to actually enjoy something was a challenge, but one they did their best to make happen.

“We’ll see what else is there when we get home. Maybe we can get Riri, Amadeus, Tony, and Bruce to come out next time as well.” James added and they all heartily agreed. It was good to not have to worry so much anymore.

As they got to the car, James bolted to the driver’s seat, but wasn’t fast enough as Francis hopped in first with a laugh.

“Oh come on Francis, I wanna drive.” James pleaded as he pulled on the door handle, of course he had locked the car.

“No shot.”

“Man, but you drove here.” 

“As the only adult , on this trip. I believe I will be the only one driving the vehicle. Now get in the passenger.” 

“Oh man, that hasn’t gotten old yet.” Pym remarked sarcastically, and James had to agree, but resigned to his fate headed into the passenger seat of the car, whilst the rest hopped in the back.

It seemed like ever since Francis turned 18 a few days ago, he had been pulling the adult card on the others any chance he could.

He wasn’t sure what he was gonna do if he had to deal with that for an entire year. That would be hell on earth.

“You know Francis, you only have to be 16 to drive a car.” Azari pointed out. But the blonde simply scoffed “You guys were too young so you wouldn’t have known but you always let the older person drive. Everyone knows that.”

The others simply rolled their eyes at Francis' antics, he was always making something up in jest, making the team laugh as he always seemed to be doing these days. It was fun, but for Torunn she sometimes wondered, what else would they be doing.

They kept up with training, yes. They went out and made appearances at schools, and did public speaking events, and kept spirits high. But honestly they barely had to do that anymore, spirits were as high as they had been in 13 years.

With S.H.I.E.L.D. in the mix they heard less, and less from the government these days. Which honestly was nice, but it also meant they weren’t exactly needed. There wasn’t the Masters of Evil, or Ultron to deal with so...what to do?

For Torunn. Her instinct was to go to Asgard. She loved Earth, and would stay with the boys if they asked, they were family. But at the same time they were all fairly young, and they didn’t have anything to do.

When the Avengers weren’t Avenging, what did they do? Well they all had jobs. Tony had been taking care of a Tech empire. Her father was the protector of the nine realms. Black Panther had been the King of Wakanda. Ant-Man had been a brilliant scientist, Janet had been a famous fashion designer. Hawkeye had worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Captain America and Black Widow relished their anonymity and raised James in the quiet suburbs. They had fought long enough. Point being that the Avengers had jobs, they had lives outside of superheroing. Something her and the others didn’t.

Or well, at least some of them didn’t. She was still a princess of an entire realm. She had duties she could attend to in Asgard. And Azari was the Prince, soon to be King of Wakanda. He was probably going to take a trip there in a month or two’s time.

It was Francis, Pym, and James she was worried about. What were they going to do when no villains showed up for months on end? Sit around in the mansion? Keep training for a fight that may never come?

They had avoided the conversation long enough but it was time to start thinking ahead. They had never really thought the world could get to this state of peace in their lifetime, and that was a big reason they had forego’d secret identities. 

She couldn’t imagine enrolling a genius like Pym in 8th grade. Or an international icon like James in the 11th grade. It just didn’t make sense. Francis couldn’t go to school either. Hiding one day at a stadium with thousands of people was one thing. Doing it in a class of 20 for a year was impossible.

And it honestly worried her. When the Avengers weren’t Avenging, What. Would. They. Do? What did they even like? What interested them. She hoped they understood they couldn’t be superheroes 24/7. And so as they were stuck in traffic Torunn couldn’t help but ask the question she feared they were all dreading. What to do now?

“Guys.” Her voice rang out in the quiet of the car, instantly all eyes were on her “I think we should talk about...Well, you know. Our future.”

“Mmmm, what about it?” Francis questioned

“Well I’m worried about you guys. Now that things are better, what are you all going to do?”

“What we always do. Train and fight whatever bad guys show up.” Francis said with a shrug, but even he seemed to know that was a weak answer.

“You can’t do that all the time. There are 12 months in a year. We never fight that long. We haven’t fought in a while.”

“It’s what we have. I don’t get to go to the magical kingdom and live life Tor. I have to stay on Earth and figure this stuff out. I don’t know.”

“I’m not going to school. If that’s what you're wondering.” Pym jumped in quickly “I can’t do school, I’ve always been homeschooled and that’s not changing. Riri and Amadeus have to go but even they are in advanced classes, so I’ll continue to do studies online. And I’ll just work with Tony in the lab on Stark Tech stuff. I really don’t mind it, and I don’t consider it superheroing.”