My name is William Kaplan, but everyone just calls me Billy. Unless, of course, you're Teddy Altman. Then you call me babe. But that's a story for later. I'm a seventeen year old gay, Jewish Avengers fanboy. And I'm actually living every kid's dream. I grew up on the upper west side of Manhattan, got good grades, and you could say life was pretty good. Boring, at best, but good. I mean, I had it better than some people I knew. I had a good relationship with my parents, had a friend or two, I was your average High School Sophomore last year. I admit I was pretty happy.

And then, Nathaniel found me. That's when everything changed. He told me about the Avengers Failsafe program, and I'll be honest, I fanboyed. Like a lot. Of course, being who I am, I believed him on sight. Sounds strange, I know. Weird boy in metal suit tells you that you're a superhero worthy of The Avengers? Seems legit, right? The thing is, though. I knew I had these weird powers that acted up when I was feeling something strong. I felt like Harry Potter for a little while when I was young. I thought I had Thor's powers of Lightening. It seemed to fit with what Nathaniel was telling me. So, I started my training, I became Asgardian, I became a Young Avenger, I met Teddy Altman. Trust me; I'll talk more about him later.

It wasn't until much later, once I learned that I wasn't an Asgardian, but a witch, picked up the name Wiccan, and met my long-lost twin brother, Tommy Sheperd, consequently learning that The Scarlet Witch is my mother of sorts (It's a long story, I really don't feel like telling it again.) that I realixed just how radically awesome my life is, even given some of the bad things that have happened. I became depressed for months after the crusade, but I'm okay now. It's all better, thanks to Hulkling. I'm going to say this a lot, but I have the best boyfriend….fiancée? Partner? Whatever. Theodore Altman is the best thing to ever happen to me.

Which is why now, a year after the crusade, now that so much has happened, I'm sitting on a couch in Avengers Mansion with Teddy's arm around me while we chat with Iron Man. A part of me still wants to fanboy a bit because I'm talking to Tony Stark. I brush some of my black hair out of my eyes so that I can see him better. He was smiling at me, something I don't get to see him do often, so it was nice. He folded his hands in his lap and looked to the two of us.

"So, Wiccan, Hulkling—"

"Please, Mr. Stark," Teddy interrupted shifting in is seat, forcing me to shift as well, "We're not in super suits here, please just call us Billy and Teddy, if it doesn't make a difference to you."

Mr. Stark nodded, laughing lightly, "Sometimes I forget that you guys are kids some of the time. You can't be super all the time. Unless you're me. Then you're super all the time."

This was the Tony Stark Teddy and I knew. Sarcastic, cocky, but in the kind of way that just made us a bit more comfortable around him. Some of the other Avengers, like Cap, were so serious most of the time that we just felt so stiff. Cap was all business, Mr. Stark was business too, but he had a way of making business a bit more enjoyable for us. It was also the fact that Teddy and I could easily sit so close together, and Teddy could have his arm around me, and no one was telling us to cut it out, or be serious. Sometimes, after a hard day of school and training, you just need to be held by your love; today was one of those days.

"What is it you wanted to talk to us about, sir?" I asked, finally speaking up.

"Ah, right. Thank you for getting me back on track, Billy. Cap asked me to call you two down to talk about your performance last night when you fought with Chameleon."

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked, always nervous now that I had overstepped in my powers. Ever since the Avengers threatened to lock me up if I couldn't control myself, there was always a nagging fear within me that I was going to take things a step too far, and I'd just be kicked out and locked up one day.

But Mr. Stark simply laughed and shook his head, "No, Billy, the two of you did everything right. Unbelievably so, in fact. Cap wanted me to ask you two to go on a special mission."

This sounded a bit odd to me. Why on Earth would Captain America want Teddy and I to go on a special mission for him? The way I figured it, I was probably his least favorite Young Avenger at this point in time, but maybe the year passing had given him some time to calm down about the whole ordeal. I had to stop being paranoid and coming up with five hundred different ways this could come back and bite me in the butt. However, Teddy seemed to be just as confused as I was.

"Pardon my asking, Mr. Stark, but…why us? And why isn't he explaining this himself?"

"Cap needs your specific talents, Billy's magic, and your knowledge of changing. And he isn't explaining himself because he's currently with Clint and the other West Coast Avengers touching base about something I'm not allowed to talk to you about."

I looked to Teddy skeptically, who just shrugged. It wasn't unusual for The Avengers to be cryptic about certain things they didn't think we were ready to know about, or were classified, so I supposed I should be used to it. Though I don't think the fact that some of the stuff I do is important to the safety of the United States will ever fully kick in. It all still sort of feels like a dream to me. As if one day, I'm just going to wake up and this will all have been one fantastic dream. I pray with all of my heart that day never ever comes.

"Good to know I'm only needed 'cause I'm a changeling," Teddy said with a light laugh.

I nudged him gently in the side with my elbow, "Oh come on, Ted. You're so much more than that. You're smart, and funny, and kind, and you care about people and—"

"Alright, loverboy. You can make out with your boyfriend later; there are serious matters at hand here."

I blushed lightly; sometimes it was so easy for me to just forget that there were people around when I was with Teddy. So often it felt like just him and I, and I ramble a lot as it is. Teddy found the whole situation amusing, and hugged me closer to him as my face turned a vibrant shade of vermillion. I turned to Mr. Stark and nodded so that he would continue with the explanation.

"You see, boys. There's a kid that, thanks to Vision, we know desperately needs our attention. He could be a great asset to the Avengers team, but he's also a big threat. He's a changeling, much like you, Teddy. But you only have one form, this kid has thousands. We need you, Billy, to keep an eye on him using your magic, make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

"And where do I fit into this master plan?" Teddy asked.

Mr. Stark wagged his finger, "I was getting to that, patience is a virtue, you know. Anyway. This kid….we think you could help him, Teddy, in more ways than one. His family is very opposing to his using powers. He's a mutant, and his parents aren't very accepting of him. He's very low on morale and he's certainly no help to us if he refuses to get out of bed in the morning. Maybe once Billy finds him, gets him over to Avengers Mansion, you could….mentor him a little. Take him under your wing—I mean that metaphorically. He could really use the help."

"How old is the kid?" Teddy asked, sitting up and resting his elbows on his knees. Now he was interested. I smiled as I watched a look of determination fall over the blonde's face. You could see in his features the concentration he had about the whole ordeal. Now he wanted to know who this kid was, he wanted to help him in the way that he never had help as a kid. He wanted to be his friend, a makeshift older brother. These were the kinds of things that Kept Teddy up at night, and now he was going to get the chance to do what he had always wanted to.

"If my knowledge is correct, the boy is around twelve."

I let out a low whistle. Being twelve kind of sucks as it is, not quite a little kid, not quite a teenager, it was kind of a crappy age. Mix in the fact that you're the mutant child to mutant-phobic parents who are threatening to kick you out and have put you into a depression? How's that for a hard-knock life? It was my turn to sit forward. I knew what depression was like, and I wanted to help make sure this kid got better.

"What's his name?" I asked.

Mr. Stark smiled a bit and sat back in his chair, running a hand through his hair, "His name is Alec Kingston. Resident of Jamestown, Virginia, but that's all we know about the kid, which is where you come in, Billy. Starting tomorrow, we want you here getting as much info about Alec as you can. We need to know everything about him before we try and go get him, anticipate what's going to happen, you know?"

Teddy and I nodded, understanding what was to be expected of us. I thought this sounded pretty cool, we'd get to mentor a kid, a possible recruit for Young Avengers someday. Teddy seemed a little bit nervous, however. I rubbed Teddy's back gently as Mr. Stark told us the information we would need. When to be back here, what to bring, around how long it would take, and soon, Mr. Stark excused us to go home. I stood up and held Teddy's hand, casting a spell to get us back into my room

" .Iwantustobeinmyroom," I whispered as we held hands. Quick as a wink, there we were, standing in front of my bed. I couldn't help but smile, slightly proud of myself for grasping control of my powers. It was a difficult feat sometimes, especially if I was very emotional, but I keep working at it. Teddy sat himself down on my bed and ran a hand through his blonde locks, letting out a deep sigh. I furrowed my brow and sat next to him, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked.

"What if I'm a terrible mentor, Billy? What if I say something wrong and he turns out terrible What if I say something sarcastically and he takes me literally? What if he hates me?"

"Teddy, he's twelve. The boy hasn't seen enough of the world to really hate too many people yet."

"What if I become one of them?"

I sighed. I knew it was hopeless to try and get Teddy to think logically at a time like this, but I would try and at least cheer him up. It's the least I can do as his boyfriend, of course. I kissed his cheek and intertwined out fingers, rubbing his thumb with mine, a small smile forming on my face.

"Theodore Altman, I'm sure this kid is going to love you almost as much as I do."