Hey there readers! Blue Wolf here and I'm making my long overdue debut onto the comic section scene here on Fanfiction. Yeah I know, I've got a lot to catch up on, but the ideas just keep coming. But don't worry, I won't stray too far from the original story line. Much. Either way, I've got high hopes that you readers out there'll give me some real positive responses. So without further delay: the disclaimer! I don't own 'Young Avengers' in any shape or form, but if I had a poster of Billy and Teddy, I think I'll die happy.

"Iii" = speech

Iii = thought

Chapter 1: To Be Found Again

Billy Kaplan was always sure it was best to be alone. For all he knew, it was the most he deserved a lot of the time. One of the reasons why he'd left home before his adoptive parents could notice, much less stop him. He didn't want to hurt them, really, but the way he was…. He felt he was a true danger to them, his twin brothers, and possibly to himself. Good reason why he'd also stopped going to school. The last thing he needed was to be snagged by the cops and dragged back home. Not that he had wanted to go back there anyway. He had hardly any friends and the only people who really noticed him were the bullies who'd come and take away his lunch money, or even beat him up for their amusement. The last time he'd fought back, it'd been with the powers he didn't know he had, and all because he had tried to keep another kid from getting hurt by the same bully.

Luckily he'd gotten away scot free that time. But he could only fear the worst about the next time. Leaving everything behind was the only logical thing his mind could come up with, and he knew a lot of things well enough to say he could get by on his own. But the most he did was practice. He practiced his chants and how effective they were when he actually tried, making things move and most of all: flying. That discovery came to be really handy when it came to getting away from cops who had seen his missing person's flyer, or from huge crowds of people in general. So far, as long as he maneuvered away from aircraft and birds, he was, in his mind, completely invisible. Or that's what he believed, until tonight that is.

He'd been hanging around the Avenger mansion like he usually did when he was seriously bored, and needed a place to think about what to do next. What he hadn't expected was for people to be there. Not just a few, but a whole bunch which was strange since barely anyone came to the grounds of the estate anymore. The public just seemed to respectfully leave it be. But tonight was different. He'd spent so long avoiding people that it was hard for him to believe that there would be any in one of his favorite haunts. And the first thing he felt was panic. No way he'd been found. He didn't want to be found, not by anyone, for any reason. For someone to come here and possibly discover him was really, really bad. He didn't want to be found. He didn't want to be seen, and he definitely didn't want to be known. The only thing left to do was somehow get away before anyone noticed him there.

He'd always gone over the fence to get in, or through it if he felt he needed to practice his skills, but now he really had to choose. For the most part, he'd never truly needed to use stealth except for when he needed to get past a bunch of cops gathered on a corner doing he didn't care what. Now if only I could get back there without—

Crack!

Blood ran cold in his veins as a dry twig under his worn sneaker broke in two, echoing over the silence of the estate grounds loud enough to make the group of people in the distance suddenly grow still and quiet. His breath froze in his lungs, fear and instinct kicking in, his mind screaming at him to run like hell away from the strangers he couldn't even see. Panic almost set in when nothing happened for about half a second, but kicked in anyway when a few of them started moving towards him. Despite the moon in the night sky, Billy knew that they'd see him sooner or later. So without so much as another thought, throwing stealth and caution the wind, but running like he was the wind. He'd almost made it to the fence, and freedom, when something large and metallic suddenly came out of the sky and landed in his path. Upon immediate inspection, the person now before him was undoubtedly Iron Man. And was soon accompanied with Captain America and a few others he'd never seen before, but the pregnant woman following close behind did seem familiar.

Focus Billy, focus before things go bad. He thought as he straightened his back and made his stance a little wider. Ignoring his usual fan antics and sticking to reality, Billy knew he was in trouble. That and because he was now surrounded by a whole screw of people. And they all looked really curious about him. The ones he'd never seen before looked around his age, if not a little older. There were two girls, one raven, and the other blonde. The raven haired girl was dressed in dark purple and had various weapons strapped to her back and hips. The blonde was in red and black, and didn't have any weapons whatsoever. But that wasn't enough to distract him from the three remaining members, all of whom were obviously male.

He had to assess them to, or things would get bad for him. Even he knew that sometimes women were stronger than men. But that didn't mean that men weren't dangerous. What he saw however, surprised him: one was Caucasian, like him and seemed to be dressed like Iron Man; another was obviously African American and his attire looked like that of the Captain's old sidekick Bucky. But the last one was very strange. The last guy was green, had lots of ear piercings and had blonde hair instead of black like the Hulk did. Billy knew that this was no time to be overly curious about the people he was being forced to fend off.

Breathing was starting to become difficult, mostly because he felt cornered, and he wasn't enjoying it. Blue lightning sparked from his hands, an action he never understood why it came to work by itself. Thankfully it was enough to convince his supposed captors what he was capable of, instantly making them wary of him. Something he'd always expected and literally feared people would do. Something he hoped his adoptive parents wouldn't show him if he ever told them the truth. And so far, it was happening anyway.

When one of the unfamiliar people, the blonde girl in the red and black spandex suit, tried to move forward from his far right, his reaction was immediate. Almost without thinking, he lifted an arm, took aim, and let a powerful burst of electric energy fly. It flew with deadly accuracy, even if he purposefully missed her by a few inches.

"S-stay back! Don't make me hurt you!" he called out, almost more to himself than the people surrounding him.

Captain America's eyes furrowed in concern but didn't stop reached for the shield he had hanging off his back. "No one wants to hurt anyone. If you'll let us, we just want to talk."

Though the man's tone was soothing, tone and words weren't enough to convince him that he wasn't a danger. A hazard to others and those he cared for. He simply shook his head, practically screaming to himself that the words were a lie. As much as he respected the man, he couldn't bring himself to believe him. "No, I can't …. No! Stay away from me!"

Iron Man's metallic voice was a good distraction, bringing Billy's light brown eyes to rest on the gold and red armored man. "Calm down. There's no need to get anxious over all this. All we want to do is talk."

Fear was really starting to take over now. The fear of being too-well known, of being considered unfit to be among others and thus a danger to all around him. For all he knew, the next to step would be solitary confinement. "I'm not going with anyone, for any reason. So stay away alright?"

"Take it easy will you? We're not going to hurt you! So if you'd just—" the bald black kid tried to say before Billy finally cut him off.

"NO!" thought didn't seem necessary anymore, not when he was surrounded by strangers who were likely to hurt him. But he knew that if he didn't want anyone to die, he had to try and keep his attacks at a low charge. Forcing himself to concentrate, Billy knew the only way out was to knock them all down. And in a few seconds, he did. A ring of blue light exploded from his center, quickly expanding and hitting all of his masked foes in one fell swoop. Much to his relief, he avoided hitting the pregnant woman entirely.

But little did he know that not all of them were down for the count. The green guy was back up again and ready for more. Only when he got up, he didn't come charging at him like Billy expected him to. Instead, he just stood his ground, seeming to stare at him with blue eyes like he'd never seen before. Much to Billy's surprise, the teen in front of him began to change, becoming smaller in stature while changing color, he saw now that the guy before him was just as human as he was. But it's just another lie right? It could be a lie. A trick of some sort meant to throw me off somehow. That has to be it, it can't be anything else.

He knew he couldn't back down. Not now when he had the advantage. From what he could tell from the little demo he was just given, the guy in front of him could only change shape and not much else. Strength was probably a factor, but everything else was out the window. He had to win. He had to get away. He had to disappear to avoid causing more damage he'd already unleashed by now. All he needed was time to get a chant going. Until then, holding off this new opponent was going to be a true challenge.

--Different P.O.V—

The night had been pretty peaceful, if you could call it that. Already he and Patriot had to deal with a drug bust gone wrong, with Iron Lad in tow to help stop the car and tie up the dealers before heading to the mansion. Once there, they met up with Kate and Cassie, otherwise known as Hawkeye and Stature. They'd had another kid with them for a while before he bailed: Tommy Shepherd, thin but fairly muscular with oddly white hair. Kate got him a costume and everything, including a nickname: Speed. And he was fast, almost way too fast for anyone to catch. But he'd left for some reason or other. Not that he'd told them about what it might've been. Like always, he'd come looking like his slightly larger, oddly green self, dressed in black pants and a matching sleeveless top. Breathing in the cool night, he had a feeling that tonight would be much more eventful than originally planned.

As proven by the sudden arrival of Captain America and Iron Man, as well as the obviously pregnant Jessica Jones. Thus bringing any of their 'unofficial' plans of crime fighting to a screeching halt. Iron Lad tried to explain things since he was the one who'd found them all to begin with, with some help from Vision's fail safe program. But since Patriot was being stubborn, again, it was proving difficult to convince the older heroes that their union was just an effort to bring crime back under control. While Patriot angrily snapped at the Captain, something further out into the grounds made a loud snapping noise, making Theodore Altman raise an arm and effectively getting their attention. Apparently they'd somehow heard it too. Someone else was on the grounds, and it wasn't one of them.

Like always, Iron Lad was quick to respond, turning his head to face Captain America in search of suggestions. "Should we check it out? Maybe it was just some animal."

The Captain just stared into the dark of the night, blue eyes practically glaring at the trees a good distance away. "No. Animals can't get over a six foot fence. That's no animal, it's a person."

"Any idea who it is?" Patriot inquired to Iron Lad, sounding a little irritated.

But the boy in question just shook his head at his teammate. "Not from this distance. I might be able to pull up a file from Vision's database if we get a little closer."

Clearly a little annoyed, Iron Man wasted no time in taking the initiative. "Alright then. Let's try this without spooking whoever it is. Got it?"

The teens nodded, following the Captain's lead as they calmly made their way towards the brush along the side of the fallen mansion, hoping that the moon wasn't giving away their intentions. Or so they thought when they suddenly heard the sound of scurried footsteps. Before anyone could say anything, Iron Man was already in the air to land in the intruder's way. What they saw was something not even he expected: it was Tommy, but yet it wasn't. The guy didn't have a costume on, and his hair and eyes were the wrong colors. His hair was black and his eyes a light shade of brown. And instead of confidence, there was uncertainty and fear in those eyes, emotions that for some reason pulled strings in his heart.

Who is that if it's not Tommy? And why is he here? Something weird's going on here. No way Tommy would come back and not tell us earlier. Is this guy related to Tommy somehow? But if that's true… then who is he? Teddy couldn't help but think as they quickly surrounded the boy, the rest of his team showing their amazement when they caught sight of his face. If only the moment of recognition wasn't broken by the teen's darting eyes and bursts of blue lightning from his hands. Whoever this kid was, he was really packing. And by the look of it, none of them really wanted to get hit.

As emphasized when Cassie tried to close the gap a little, her stance suggesting she was going to try and jump the guy. Either he saw her or sensed her, it didn't matter since a few more powerful bolts rushed to his right hand as he raised it a little and immediately fired. Cassie jumped a little to avoid the projectile, but found that the boy's aim was at the ground instead. It was just a warning shot.

"S-stay back! Don't make me hurt you!" they heard him say above the sizzle of scorched earth and smoldering grass. More evidence that the guy was on edge. Attacking him wasn't going to help any. But it was possible that talking might.

Wary of what the kid might do, the Captain kept a hand on the edge of his shield, still hanging from his back as he spoke in the calmest voice he could muster. "No one wants to hurt anyone. If you'll let us, we just want to talk."

The words should've worked, but they didn't. Instead all they did was make the teen even more anxious than before. Apparently the smooth talking wasn't all that smooth. As Iron Man tried his hand at it, Iron Lad spoke softly to them. "The file says he's Billy Kaplan, but what he can do isn't very specific. Something about lightning, and possibly magic. We should be careful about this guy."

"Yeah but why does he look like Tommy—"

A voice filled to the rim with panic cut the conversation short. It was the kid they now knew as Billy, and he didn't look very convinced of anything. "I'm not going with anyone, for any reason. So stay away alright?"

Unfortunately, Patriot wasn't really in the mood for being understanding or sentimental about whatever was wrong with the teen before them. But that didn't stop him from trying to step forward as he spoke. "Take it easy will you? We're not going to hurt you! So if you'd just—"

"NO!" was all they heard the teen say before a shockwave of blue light erupted and sent them all flying like rag dolls into the brush. Jessica, who'd been a little behind, managed to hide behind a tree to avoid getting hit by the blast of powerful energy. Though his friends were much more easily effected by this assault, Teddy found that he wasn't that off balance. Instead it felt like he'd just been pushed over rather than knocked down and out for the count, something that was probably the teen's intention to begin with. Getting up, he turned his eyes back towards the teen who he knew for certain wasn't Tommy. Tommy was capable of traveling at high speeds… and making things explode. Not send lightning and blue light everywhere.

Upon closer inspection, he couldn't help but notice that the brown eyes staring back at him were still filling with mixed emotions of fear and confusion. It took Teddy a few simple seconds to understand just what was really going on. He's still new to all this. If that's true, just how long has he been suffering like this? What happened where his powers suddenly acted up? Could it be that he--?

Teddy dared not think of the possibility. But it was still a fair reason why the other teen was acting so paranoid. He was scared of rejection, the pain others cause when faced with something that they either disapprove of or don't understand. Something he'd feared himself but managed to fight off. But not this kid. He was in the dark about his abilities and himself. And he needed help. Help that Teddy was willing to give. First things first.

Letting out a relaxing breath, Teddy allowed his Hulk-like appearance to fall away, rough green revealing pink human skin and a natural human form to accompany it. The teen before him was responding to super power, if so, the solution lay in mind power. Getting through to the teen before him without resorting to violence was the challenge now. Billy looked ready to fight and then possibly run away, the brown eyes of fear and uncertainly were now swimming in caution. The playing field was truly level now, and Teddy knew he had to win. Or things were going to get difficult. Not moving from where he stood, the blonde teen spoke to where the only the other could truly hear him.

"Just hear me out okay? If you want to run, that's okay by me. But you'll just be running away from the few people who can help you? Got me?"

The raven haired boy said nothing to this, uncertainty coming back strong, while his eyes displayed the inner struggle that raged within. Teddy gave it a minute or so to sink in before he kept going. "I'm not going to hurt you but I am going to come a little closer. Is that okay?"

As he suspected, his words failed to rectify the situation as the teen once again let fear rule over his mindset. "N-no! Stay away! I don't want to hurt anyone… not again!"

"That's okay, it's all good." Teddy said quickly, holding up his hands in visual surrender, this move calming the teen if by only a little. "I can stay here if that's what it takes. We'll just talk. That's still allowed right?"

Billy said suddenly, eyes averted, face now oddly unreadable. "I want to leave."

"So we gathered but that's not—"

"I want to leave, I want to leave, I want to leave, IwanttoleaveIwanttoleaveIwant—"

Teddy didn't realize it until it was almost too late, until the teen's eyes started glowing light blue, his voice seeming to boom with power. He didn't bother thinking, all he did was run forward, quickly reaching forward as an orb of light began to appear around the teen in question as the chant continued to echo in the night air. The blonde teen managed to grab hold of the raven haired boy's shoulder when, in a burst of energy and light, they both vanished. Leaving behind stunned heroes and polarized night air crackling with the remnants of magical power and its effects.

--Somewhere Across Town—

Warm air was instantly swept away by a cool wind, shaking bushes and trees to break the silence of the night. Just by looking around Teddy could see that he wasn't where he'd been less than a minute before. But there he was, holding onto a teen he'd just met, in the middle of what looked like Central Park. This was confirmed by the tall buildings standing far in the distance, many windows glowing a warm yellow or white to signify that someone was still present. High above the moon shone brightly, bringing an eerie glow to the terrain. But his amazement was cut short by the teen he had firm hold on, the raven haired boy falling limply to the cool grass at their feet, making Teddy reach out his other arm to catch him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, blue eyes burning with hundreds of questions as he gently steadied Billy without being too touchy feely about it. The last thing he wanted was for the teen to freak out again. Much less disappear as he was sure they had.

But Billy just nodded, rubbing his forehead, looking a little tired all of a sudden. "Y-yeah, I just… I've just never done that with another person before."

I can imagine. Teddy thought but dared not voice it as he helped the other boy sit down before sitting down himself. The next few minutes passed in silence, the cool air seeming to help calm Billy down the best. That or because there weren't any people around. But Teddy wasn't willing to guess at this point. His job now was to figure out how to get back to the others, and hopefully have Billy with him when he did. Wait… what do I mean by that? I can't be thinking like this now. No way he feels that way too. Or does he? Dammit Teddy! Save it for later!

Deciding it was high time to break the silence, Teddy knew he had to start with the basics if things were going to go smoothly. "My name's Theodore Altman. But a lot of people just call me Teddy. And you are?"

The teen hesitated, but spoke anyway. "William Kaplan. My family just calls me Billy."

"Do they know where you are right now?" he asked in honest curiosity.

"Do yours?"

Teddy couldn't help but chuckle at the quip. "That I'm visiting friends. And yours?"

Brown eyes lowered to the ground, a sad expression appearing on Billy's face. "Doesn't matter, probably better off that I'm not around."

The blonde instantly frowned at this. Only half a minute into the conversation and already he'd found the sore spot. Just how convinced was this kid anyway? "Are you sure that's even true?"

"How can it not be? I'm adopted, and they have two real sons to replace me with. My presence probably doesn't make a hell of a difference." He said, his tone making it obvious just how dubious he was.

"That doesn't mean that they don't love you. I'm adopted too but that doesn't stop me from loving my mom. She's pretty much the only family I have, other than the Avengers that is. Believing otherwise, well, that's just silly."

"So I'm stupid now?" the eyes were back, this time filled with anger. And questions.

Teddy simply chuckled, waving his hands in surrender. "Far from it. You're just assuming the worst when there's no need to assume much of anything. I went through the same thing but it wasn't enough to stop me from running away from my mom. She needs me just as much as I need her. And I'm sure your family needs you too."

"How can you be so sure? I don't even know you." Billy was looking away again.

Except the words he heard next made him turn back towards the blonde as he spoke in the constantly kind voice. "You know I'm Teddy Altman, and I know that you're Billy Kaplan. Everything else I guess we can go over when you're ready. Okay?"

He didn't know if it was his expression or the mere fact that they were staring at each other, but he could swear that he saw a slight blush come onto the raven haired teen's face. Just seeing the boy blush, even if it was hardly visible, made him not want to hold back anymore. And certainly not tonight. Before he could even try to stop himself, he'd leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss right onto Billy's forehead. Even if the contact was brief, he felt a small jolt of electricity, the feel of it almost making him laugh. What he hadn't expected was, as he was pulling away that Billy would move forward, and give him a full blown kiss on the lips.

This kiss was even more shocking, in the literal sense, than the first kiss had been. And this time, it was Teddy's turn to be surprised. He must've looked dazed because when Billy finally pulled back he immediately looked away, as if embarrassed. Practically floored by the suddenness of the kiss, Teddy was speechless. Not sure what to say, he reached forward and gently made Billy turn back towards him and couldn't help smiling: Billy was officially as red as a ripe tomato and was refusing to meet his eyes. And this was something he wouldn't have. Using both hands this time, he cupped the boy's face until the brown eyes he was coming to adore looked into his.

"Were you challenging me just now?" he said in a calm whisper, the smile seeming to change to a grin as the red started to change shades. It was the cutest sight he'd seen in his entire life, and he wasn't about to let it go. But as Billy's mouth opened to say something, a rumble in the distance destroyed the moment, making both boys turn their attention back to reality. They both quickly stood up, searching the horizon for the source of the noise. Within mere seconds, Teddy found it.

"There! Back at the manor! We have to get back!" he exclaimed, pointed in the direction of a large cloud of smoke, coming right from the direction of the Avenger estates. No amount of running would get them there fast enough, hence the reason why he turned back to Billy. "Can you do what you did before?"

"I can try. Just give me a second." Without any more prompting, Billy's eyes began to glow the telltale blue as he began to quickly began chanting the necessary words over and over again. "Iwanttogotothemanoriwantogotothemanoriwant—"

The mysterious orb of light from before began to reappear, this time Billy grabbed hold of Teddy before Central Park vanished right before their eyes. As the light quickly cleared, the scene was revealed to be the Avengers' manor grounds, only with a few changes. Teddy's team as well as Captain America and Iron Man were up and about, except against a large man, who both boys instantly recognized as the Growing Man. And he had only one thing to say:

"Where's the master? Where is he? Where's the master?"

"Who is he talking about? Am I missing something here?" Billy had to ask, turning to Teddy in his confusion, who had already changed into his Hulk-like self.

"I'll explain later." Billy took this in stride, nodding in understanding that the time for talking was long gone. He had to shape up, and fast.

Off to the side, Captain America was calling out above the giant man's constant questioning. "whatever you do, don't—"

Too late. Teddy was already more than halfway there, his right fist coming down on the large man's chin in a violent right hook. All in a single leap created from a pocket of pure adrenaline and instinctive power.

"—hit him." Cap managed to say as the giant fell to the ground.

Teddy simply stood where he'd landed, appearing sheepish. "Whoops."

"The more you hit him, the more he grows." The Captain said in exasperation. But oddly enough, the big behemoth wasn't even twitching. Immediately sending up all sorts of red flags in their heads. Teddy simply stayed in place, looking doubtful.

"I don't know sir. His growth seems… stunted." He said as Billy ran over to stand next to the green teenager, his expression unreadable. Something was off about all this, and he definitely didn't like it. And he wasn't about to let the giant monstrosity get up for round two.

Forced to watch in amazement, a few in horror, the three Avengers and teens alike watched as Growing Man was absorbed by blinding blue light, leaving nothing but a crater where his large form had just been. Teddy had almost not heard Billy's tell-tale murmurs until he was halfway through, and managed to catch the boy before he hit the ground in a dead faint. Just by looking he knew Billy wouldn't be up for a while. The poor guy was out cold.

The rest of the team gathered, all equally curious about what'd just happened to their latest opponent. Upon seeing that the boy in question wasn't going to be very responsive, they resolved to pack it in for the night, Teddy quickly volunteering to take their new-found friend home with him. "It's best that someone who understands him is on call." He reasoned, this logic proving good enough to swallow.

Gazing at them all with an authoritative stare, Captain America decided then to make himself very clear. "We'll be discussing all of this later. In the meantime, go home and get some rest. I doubt whatever Billy did will hold off the Growing Man for long. Until then, no crime fighting unless Iron Man or myself authorizes it since the last thing we need are vigilantes roaming around. Understand?"

The teens had no choice but to nod their understanding. It was best not to cross an original member of the Avengers, on any day. Without another word, Kate and Cassie calmly headed down the small path leading to the front gates, already talking quietly to each other in a way suggesting they'd become fast friends. Patriot stubbornly glared at the older heroes before walking away as well, leaving Iron Lad and Teddy alone with the two said heroes and an unconscious teen in his arms. Though against their protests, Iron Lad insisted on being by himself in case something else happened while they were down on numbers, reassuring them he'd call if something did indeed happen. Without another word, Iron Man took hold of the Captain and proceeded to fly off into the night, Iron Lad quickly taking his own leave.

Realizing he was now truly alone on the mansion grounds, not helping but gaze at the pale skinned teen in his arms. If he'd ever crushed on a guy before, he was smashed now. Were the kid not unconscious and exhausted, he'd had kissed him breathless. Instead, he resolved to smiling down at the peaceful face, readjusting his grip, and made his way off the grounds. The only issue now: how was he going to get back into his house with a complete stranger without his mother noticing he was gone to begin with?

And we are done! But it was worth the work ladies and gents. Very much so since it's definitely a new thing to be writing about, at least in my book anyway. So the pilot's done and I hope you guys enjoyed it! So without further ado, let's see what's to come:

Next chapter:

Chapter 2: Promises Kept

Billy's down for the count and hopefully won't freak when he wakes up. Can Teddy really deal with a paranoid magician on his own? Where did Billy send Growing Man anyway? Curious? Find out next time in the next installation of my latest fic 'Vereor Ipsum':

Chapter 2: Promises Kept!!!

Ps. This chapter's dedicated to my good buddy, Kiri. Enjoy!! ^^