Feet pound against the grass, the sound of the aircraft growing distant. They're running, as far away from the ship as they can get. They are in a tactical: one up front, two in each side and one behind.
"Why are we running?!" Shouts Scout from his position in the lower left side, looking at James. The older boy turns from his position in front of the group and gives his friend an incredulous stare.
"What do you mean why are we running?! We're not supposed to exist! None of us has been born yet!"
"I have!" retorts Nathaniel spot before Scout, and gets himself slapped across the back of the head by Piper, who is across from him in the upper right side.
"Yeah, but you're two years old, you idiot!"
"Will you stop whining?!" shouts Thalia from behind Piper and looks behind, only to see a human-looking shadow chasing them. "We've been compromised!"
"Manoeuvre 35, guys!" orders James and they all nod. Screeching to a halt, they all turn and make a circle around Piper, who yanks a metallic rod from the little compartment in her pants and plants it on the ground. Immediately, dozens of nanobots pour out of the top and form a dome over them. There's a ripple in the air and a second later, they're gone.
|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|–|
They stay still, barely breathing. Nathaniel swallows loudly and Bianca glares at him, raising a finger to her lips in the universal sign to stay quiet! Scout shuffles nervously and James reaches a hand to grasp his shoulder in silent support. A few seconds pass before a lone figure drops from the sky and makes Thalia jump in fright. Nathaniel quickly covers her mouth before a sound can escape and they wait with their hearts in their throats as the man gets up from his crouch, the metallic wings strapped to his back folding and disappearing from their sight.
"Falcon here, the targets have disappeared." He says, pressing a finger to his ear as he looks around. They watch as he nods to whomever is at the other end of the line. "Roger that." And promptly unfolds the wings again before taking off.
They stay frozen a few more seconds before slouching and sharing a nervous and relived laugh. Piper picks the rod from the floor and the air ripples again. The nanobots break formation and return to the metallic stick. Nathaniel falls to the floor and spreads his arms wide, chuckling.
"God, I almost puked! That was most likely the most stressful minute of my life!" exclaims the oldest and Bianca grimaces.
"That's disgusting, Nate…" utters the brunette, swiping a few strands of hair away from her face and trying to tuck them back into her braid.
"Well, I think we did pretty well," says the redhead, locking eyes with the blond boy and grinning. "Mom would be so proud of us!" Nathaniel grins back and he knows his friend is mentally patting himself on the back for the job well done.
"Oh, I'm sure she would," they all tense at the feminine and disturbingly familiar voice that comes from behind them. "That is, if you'd managed to shake us off."
James turns so fast he almost blurs out. There she is, and although the image is so similar, it is different enough to make him gasp. Fiery red hair, strikingly green eyes and the same teasing smirk she gives him when he gets frustrated when he does his homework wrong. Only that now she doesn't know him, doesn't know just whom she's smirking to, and it makes his heart pound against his chest. Mom…
At the same time, Scout whimpers and lets his face fall onto his hands. He was supposed to keep his senses open so things like this wouldn't happen! Thalia just nudges him and when he looks up, she just points behind him, her eyes wide with wonder. He blinks and turns, only to come face to face with a woman in her twenties that looks like a carbon copy of his mother. Long, brown, wavy hair; light, grey eyes; high cheekbones and full lips. He sees her eyes turn red and something prodding at his brain before he inhales sharply and blocks her off. He quickly turns to his friends and raises his hands in the air. Blue tendrils come out from his fingertips and fly into his team's heads, blocking their thoughts and memories from the Scarlet Witch.
Both women gasp and the red tint disappears, leaving behind a cloud of confusion and awe. A new figure appears next to the redhead, a broad, blond man with piercing blue eyes and a confused frown marring his features. They hear a crunching sound from the other side of the little clearing they're in and Nathaniel is on his feet in a flash, raising his bow but not drawing it when he sees just who it is. A boy roughly their age, dressed in a red and blue spandex suit with a spider in his chest. The archer blinks before an amused smirk curls his lips upwards.
"Peter?" the boy starts, surprised to hear his name from a stranger when the identity of Spiderman hasn't been released yet. Ironman drops from the sky next to the spandex-clad teen and aims his left hand to Nathaniel's chest. Piper moves over his line of fire and raises her own hands. A second later, two of the six metallic rods open with a click and the nanobots come flying out, depositing themselves over her hands and arms and making gauntlets similar looking to Ironman's but instead of red it's blue and instead of yellow, white.
"I wouldn't do that, old man. Mine's are more powerful than yours." Taunts the girl, smirking over at the man and charging the beams at the palm of her hands, making them shine brighter.
"Piper!" hisses Nathaniel, and the girl huffs and lowers her hands.
"Ugh… you're no fun, Nate!" she puts her hands on her hips and glares at the boy.
"Oh, shoot him, be my guest, but I don't think lover boy here would appreciate it much if you puffed out of existence." Whispers the boy so the adults surrounding them don't hear them. Piper just rolls her eyes.
Meanwhile, Scout and Thalia are in a tense staring match with Wanda and Sam, who has returned and is standing next to the witch. Wanda and Scout's eyes keep flickering red and blue –respectively– and finally the girl gives up and groans.
"How are you doing that?! Why can't I see what's on your mind?!" complains Wanda, her accent thicker in her exhaustion. Scout only blinks, before turning to Thalia and grinning boyishly.
"I did it! I blocked her out!" the blonde girl chuckles and ruffles his hair, proud of the little brother of the group. From the corner of her eye she sees the man rise one arm and she's facing him instantly, pointing at him with her war hammer.
"Don't even think about it." She hisses at him. "Who are you, anyway?" she narrows her eyes. She doesn't recognize him, just who is he?
"Falcon." She huffs and rolls her eyes. She already knows that! She's about to retort when Scout tugs her arm.
"I think he's Sam, Thalia." Her eyes widen and she blinks at the man, who is in turn looking at Scout with a confused frown.
"You're Sam? As in Sam Wilson?" she lets her hammer fall with a thud to the ground and both teens just stare at the man like they're seeing a ghost.
At the same time, James and Bianca are in a very uncomfortable staring match with Black Widow and Captain America. The woman's look is making them both extremely nervous and James can't help but fiddle with his vambrace.
"James?"
"Yes, Bianca?"
"Stop." He stops and clears his throat instead. The man raises a brow and smirks, amused.
"You ok, kid?" he asks, and James meets his eyes, blue clashing against blue before he looks away when he sees a confused frown appear on the older man's face. "You look familiar, have we met before?" Bianca snorts and turns her face away, coughing to mask the sudden bout of laughter that tries to break free from her chest.
"He does, doesn't he?" muses Natasha, tilting her head to the side before gazing at the girl next. "You do too; in fact, you all do." She adds, looking over the whole group of teens and narrowing her eyes in concentration. Where has she seen them before?
Thalia swallows forcefully and finally manages to stop staring at the man when he frowns at them. She opens her mouth to apologise, but a voice fills her head and makes her gasp so loud everyone turns to her.
Princess Thalia. Your father is on his way to you. She knows that voice.
"Heimdall?" she whispers, confused. Wanda gives her a surprised look but she ignores it, tipping her head back and gazing up at the sky.
Yes, Princess. I would step aside if I were you. The man's voice has an amused tone to it and she promptly finds out why. Her eyes widen comically when she sees the sparkle in the sky and immediately grabs Scout and yanks him away.
"Move back!" she shouts and the teens, knowing what's coming, jump aside and huddle close, closing their eyes against the bright light. Tony practically has to yank Peter away and turn him to keep him from getting blinded, Sam unfolds his wings and moves them so they're covering both his and Wanda's heads and Steve does the same with his Wakandan shield and Natasha.
"Thalia, what's happening?!" Shouts Nathaniel over the howling of the wind.
"Heimdall! He blew our cover!" the blonde shouts back.
Once the dust settles, they all peek from behind their covers. Thor stands alone in the middle of a runic circle, Stormbreaker clutched tightly in his left hand and his eyes scanning his surroundings wildly. He locks eyes with Tony first and immediately marches over to him, grasping his breastplate and yanking him up to his face.
"Where is she?!" he shouts at the man's face. Tony, obviously irritates, pushes the god away and brushes some dust away from his suit.
"Where is who?"
"My daughter!" all the adults freeze and look at him like he's grown a second head.
"You have a daughter?! Since when?" asks Steve, an incredulous look on his face.
"Oh, God…" Steve turns to Natasha and gives her a questioning looks. "The kids, Steve! That's why they looked so familiar! The blonde girl, she looked just like Thor!" all the adults turn simultaneously to the group of teens, who are watching them with sheepish smiles on their lips. There's a tense minute of silence before Nathaniel opens his mouth.
"Well… I guess the cat's out of the bag." The whole group just groan and facepalms before James has the honours of slapping the oldest across the back of his head.