Here's the fourth installment in the Junior Initiative series! Enjoy! The first part in italics is the last bit of the previous story so that you know what's going on.
When the seven teens got back to the JID Building – exhausted and beaten despite having accomplished their first ever mission – they were instantly hit with another, even more overwhelming dilemma when Sid's voice met them while they were still outside the house.
"Andy?"
"Yes, Sid?" the seventeen-year-old asked tiredly.
"Dakota wishes for you and the all the others to go through the back entrance and meet her in the training level."
"Sid, why?"
"Agent Hill is here."
Andy snapped, "Sid, so what?"
"It appears that she has brought the Avengers as well."
The exhausted teenagers looked around at one another in confusion as they stood on the grass outside the JID Building, and Andy in particular took to a loud string of vicious curses before asking, "Sid, what the h*** do you mean Maria brought the Avengers too?"
"Agent Hill got here exactly four minutes ago and the Avengers were with her. They are all presently combing the house for your sister, since Agent Hill knows she is still here. I believe they are about to expand their search to the outdoors, so I recommend following Dakota's request and sneaking into the training level through the back entrance before you are spotted. Dakota has locked the indoor entrance and had me shut down the elevator. She seems frightened."
"I'm sure she is," Andy muttered, fuming as he started with everyone else towards the mostly-forgotten outdoor entrance to the basement that was the training level. "The first time these super-freaks show up at our door, and it's got to be now. Where in the name of Odin's freaking grave were they two days ago before Fury dragged us through Asgard?"
"Maybe our being sent out on a mission is what prompted Maria to bring them here?" Ryan theorized, helping Andy pry open the protesting metal door.
"She never has much liked the idea of our being put in the line of fire like that," Hazel added.
Speculation was stopped for a minute when the teens entered the training level only to find that it appeared empty.
"Koty?" Andy called out in a stage whisper.
A strangled gasp came from under the desk of his tech center, and his sister darted out into the open, running up and squeezing the air out of him. He hissed as what he assumed was a bruised rib protested angrily to Dakota's actions. Andy, however, didn't care at the moment, and wrapped his arms around his half-sister all the same.
"Are you okay?" he asked in concern.
"Yeah," Dakota answered, nodding against his chest and holding up a handgun that she held.
Andy thought that maybe it was the one that she had taken from Scarlet a half a year ago, but he didn't ask. They had a much bigger thing to deal with for now.
"Are you guys okay?" Dakota returned the question, her blue eyes dark as they quickly scanned every inch of him.
"Minor bruises here and there and Blaine isn't talking about it," Andy answered lightly. "But all in all we actually got through it very easily. Somebody in that realm must like us."
"Oh my word!" At the mention of Blaine, Dakota suddenly shoved away from Andy and went to examine the sullen archer. She ran a hand along the blood that had spattered on his arm, asking, "What happened to you?"
He answered hollowly, "I killed Loki."
Eif, who had been examining her unfamiliar surroundings and companions with curiosity, suddenly turned fixated eyes onto Blaine, repeating slowly, "You… killed… Loki?"
Blaine nodded, his eyes caught somewhere between weary and wary as he realized that he was technically talking to the god's widow.
Eif's reaction surprised them all. "Best day ever!" she squealed, a grin splitting her face.
Beside Andy, Ryan choked on a laugh, but Andy was none too amused, unable to be sidetracked from the issue going on upstairs with the arrival of the Avengers. "Not really. Are you sure that it's the Avengers upstairs, Dakota?"
She nodded rapidly, staying glued to Blaine's side as she answered, "Look at the security cameras; I've got them up on the computer now."
Andy obliged her, and what he saw brought forth another string of curses. The six Avengers were indeed prowling around outside on their turf – literally – and now was just not the time for the JID kids to have to deal with that.
"Why are they here?" Scarlet ground out.
Andy looked around at the others then, noticing for the first time that they seemed as agitated at this new development as he was.
"From what I've managed to make out of their conversation," Dakota volunteered. "Maria finally brought up to them some of her concerns about what had been going on with us."
"You mean the entirety of our lives thus far?" Hayne asked, glaring at the computer screen from behind his glasses.
Andy took a nervous step away from the other boy, wondering if they might see a second visitation from his "friend" that day.
He sighed, suddenly realizing a couple of things. One: they couldn't hide out here forever. Despite the fact that the teens had locked the room tightly from the inside, he didn't doubt that an Avenger or two could easily get said door open if given a chance.
"Sid, lock every door in the house. I want Maria and the Avengers outside until I say so, do you understand? Don't obey any orders from Maria or the Avengers until I say so. Alright?"
"Both are done."
"Thanks, pal."
That led him to the second thing that needed to be addressed, an important question concerning it being: "Just how much did Maria tell the Avengers about us, Dakota?"
"She's not told them who's who, if that's what you mean; I think she might be a little afraid to. She told all of them that they each have at least one child in JID, but nothing else. But…" Dakota paused painfully. "Andy, I've been watching them on the security cameras. Mr. and Mrs. Stark are calling for me – my name specifically, even though Maria never gave out our names. They know I'm here; they've known the whole time, haven't they?"
Andy blew out a deep breath, praying that his little sister wouldn't hate him for withholding his knowledge of the situation as he answered, "Yeah, kiddo, they have."
"But not you?" she clarified.
"No," Andy shook his head. "I'm a product of one of Stark's flings in Mexico. Neither one of them know that I exist. None of them know that any of us exist, except for-"
"Blaine and Scarlet," Dakota cut in, taking Blaine's hand and leading him over to the monitors. "The Black Widow separated herself from the group, and she's been calling for them in particular too. But Hawkeye hasn't…"
Dakota and the others let the unspoken question hang in the air until Andy sighed again, caving in with an, "Okay, okay. Information overload time." He fired up another monitor and opened up each of their eight files, opening the holograms into the air behind him. "Here we go," he said, settling into his captain's chair and whirling so that he could face the holograms where they hung in the middle of the air. "First off, please promise that none of you are going to hurt me or hate me after this; we have to provide a united front once we let them back into the house." Seven hesitant nods later and Andy began his speech. "Alright, age before beauty. Ryan Rogers. You guys know most of this story by now, but what you may not know is that Steve Rogers – Captain America – had no idea that Lieutenant Carter had given him a child until Maria told him today." Andy pointed to the teens' respective profiles as he added, "And the same can be said for Thor, Dr. Banner, and, yes, even Clint Barton. Eif…" Andy paused, turning to face the quarter-goddess. "What kind of a name is Eif, anyway?"
"Nordic," she answered in confusion.
"It's awful. Can I call you 'Demi'? You know, because you're a demi-goddess? That's at least an acceptable name."
"As you wish…" Eif answered slowly.
"Great," Andy said with a nod. "Anyway, where was I?"
Hopefully you guys enjoyed this! Reviews equal love and rainbows! Thanks, guys!:)