It's finally here! It is unforgivable how long I took with this. I actually had like 80% of it written for a while now and I've just been trying to figure out how to end the chapter.
Addressing Reviews: As usual, thank you everyone for the positive and constructive feedback! I do read each and every comment that you guys leave for me!
AwesomeMan327: I had to think about how I was going to incorporate the immortality aspect with Torunn. Basically her aging gets progressively slower, (also when I researched this it said that Asgardian children age quite like human children do so I decided that she would just age a little bit slower) Physically, she is the same age as James. No, this isn't the hammer scene, but it is meant to allude to it. Tony sent James back to March 2015, and I imagine AOU taking place in April.
Rhettbutler: No, only James could go back, and it was explained why in Chapter 2.
MUSIC FOR THIS CHAPTER
Who's They - Hans Zimmer
Snow's Speech - James Newton Howard
The Beginning is the End - Smashing Pumpkins
Apocalypse Please - Muse
James' shoulder stung where he had landed on it. He lay there motionless and apathetic. He didn't see a point...his cover had been blown.
"What the..." muttered the man with glasses.
Everyone in the room stood and turned to look in James' direction.
"Who's there?" demanded Tony.
Oh boy, James thought. His heartbeat quickened. From where he lay behind a small sofa, his body remained out of view, however he could hear the footsteps of someone walking toward him.
He heard a faint gasp, and rolled so that he was now looking up at the "new" Tony...or rather, the old one. Tony didn't say anything, but he held his mouth open in utter shock and confusion as he gazed downward at the mysterious boy lying on the floor.
"Tony, what is it?" asked the man with the shorter blond hair, an authoritative tone to his voice.
"It's a...kid."
James finally began to stand, slowly lifting his hands up as he revealed himself to the nine other unfamiliar faces in the room. The billionaire had stepped aside.
Each of them looked as confused and mildly terrified as Tony had been a second ago. James' eyes fell back to the redheaded woman who had distracted him just moments earlier. She was now staring directly at him, brows furrowed, bright red lips slightly pursed.
"Tony, who is that?" asked another taller, slender woman with straight, shoulder-length strawberry blonde hair. James gulped, immediately figuring her to be Pepper.
"I don't know." Tony responded firmly, still holding a look of utter confusion. He turned around to quickly glance at James once more.
"Well how did an unsupervised child make it through security and get to the top floor of your tower?" A dark-skinned man with a narrow face addressed the billionaire like a disappointed parent.
"Rhodes," James whispered, staring blankly at the third person he recognized. He mentally scolded himself a second later for making it audible.
Tony spun around again quickly to face James, "How do you- Jarvis!" he raised his voice and looked up to the ceiling, "Who is this and how did he get up here?"
James recognized the mechanical sounding voice. He thought it was Vision; only the decibels seemed to reverberate from the walls.
"Sir, I cannot find an identity match in the database. Also, footage does not reveal that this boy entered the tower through any of the ground level entrances."
Tony's brows furrowed and his mouth hung slightly open. He stared at the boy for a brief moment before finally speaking, "Okay kid, who are you?"
James licked his upper lip as he pondered what to say next. He continued to hold his hands up at shoulder height while he answered, "I-I was sent here for you. I know you, Tony, but you don't know me...not yet."
"How is that possible?" asked the blond haired man again. This time he softened his tone, taking into account how young James was.
Tony laughed slightly, "Well can you tell whoever it was that sent you to maybe contact me directly? What, are you, with a charity or something? Boy Scouts of America?"
James took a deep breath. He realized how ridiculous it had sounded, especially coming from a fourteen year old, "That's gonna be a little tricky..." he paused for another intake before continuing his sentence, "The person who sent me- was you...about twenty years from now."
Everyone's eyes widened.
"I-I sent you…from the future? What are you on kid?" Tony let out a breathless laugh again and slowly shook his head.
James began to panic, "No, you really need to believe me-"
"Kay listen, we'll get someone to escort you back to the main lobby- even give you an autograph. If you wanted one all you had to do was ask, " Tony reached for his phone in his pocket.
"He's telling the truth." Everyone turned to look at the woman with the scarlet red hair, "I know when someone's lying, Stark," her expression didn't soften but James could feel that she pitied him.
Tony spun around again, this time to face her. His untimely laughter was evidence of the alcohol still lingering in his system, "You're not saying you believe him, Red?" He spoke with a degree of sarcasm.
She looked at James then for a brief moment, studying him. "Of course it sounds ridiculous but he's definitely not just some ordinary kid," she responded to Tony with a swift tone, her expression never faltering.
"Do you think he's a threat?" asked the man with glasses, seeming highly anxious.
"Not sure," she responded, arms now crossed.
"Young man, do you come here bearing mal-intentions?" The deep rumbling voice of the big, blond-haired man took James aback. His long locks swished behind him as he took a step forward.
"No. I came to warn you."
"Of what?" The other blond man with broad shoulders now seemed genuinely invested in what James had to say. He looked directly into the boy's eyes.
James couldn't help but feel somewhat close to the man. It seemed that he had to travel through time just to find another person who was wired to think as he did; who treated every situation as a mission. It was then that James realized how truly barred his life had been. He didn't really know how to interact with people; he had only ever been exposed to four of them. He could only imagine what this world was like; this world before Ultron. People grew and interacted with each other and celebrated trivial things. They went out and had drinks with friends. Parents raised their kids in nice little suburban homes and sent them off to school in the morning. He realized that the worst fear of a child living in this time was probably failing a test. He found it difficult to fathom. They were free. But James Rogers' entire life had essentially just been one giant mission; from the moment he was rescued as an infant, to the moment when and if he finally returned through the portal, a boy out of time, unable to function in the new utopia he and Tony had worked so hard to create. It wasn't living. It never would be. But living and surviving were too different things.
"The end of the world." They continued to stare at him like he was absolutely crazy.
After a moment of silence it appeared as if no one knew what to say, so Tony spoke up, "And you expect us to just...believe it." He phrased it as a statement.
"You have no reason not to," James finally lowered his hands, and attempted to smile. The incessant pounding of his heartbeat still thumped within his ears, clouded his thoughts, and agitated his mind.
"Kid, I really think you should leave," uttered a woman with dark brown hair that was pinned tightly into a neat bun. She too, addressed James by looking into his eyes. She was trying to be calm and sincere, but James felt his chest tighten and sink upon hearing the words.
"No...p-please you have to listen to me-"
"Jarvis, tell Happy to get a car ready..." Tony tried to mutter it under his breath but when he realized that the boy heard it he shot him an unapologetic look, "Maria's right, there's nothing here for you, kid."
The phrase repeated itself in his brain.
There's nothing here for you.
James began to feel nauseous. His throat tightened, shortening his breaths. His heart continued to pound. The sound seemed to grow in volume, drowning out all other noise.
He struggled to keep talking, "Don't...make...me go. You- you need me." He trembled as he pleaded.
"Tony...he doesn't look too hot," the man with glasses knew exactly what was happening.
"Come on, he's just a kid," at first James thought that he had imagined the man with the dirty blond hair and a pair of sunglasses dangling from his shirt saying the words. The room seemed to blur before him, the voices a distant echo reverberating through time.
But the man had indeed taken steps toward James and outstretched his hand. He was thankful for it. He felt like he could no longer support his own weight.
"He's having an attack." The redhead's expression shifted to one of concern. She moved swiftly across the room to where James stood. One second he saw a blur, the next, his mother was standing above him, two hands supporting his shoulders as his knees buckled, assessing his current predicament.
Yes...she was his mother. He was sure of it.
He could hear muffled voices conversing in the background.
"Cap, it's too risky."
"No, we're not doin' this Tony," the second voice belonged to the man with the shorter blond hair again. James could make out his chiseled features now moving toward him as well.
He knew they were discussing what to do with him. He could only bring himself to focus on the image of the woman in front of him. Completely composed, she knew exactly what to do. She kept a straight face. However, her brows and facial muscles were now relaxed, her lips slightly parted.
"What's your name?" the man who had just reached out to James a moment ago now held his hand, and turned back to address him. He raised his chin, motioning for James to say something. The man's sunglasses unhooked from his collar and hit the floor by James's feet.
He hadn't remembered him getting that close. But then, everything was shifting in and out of focus.
He didn't feel like he could formulate any coherent response. He stumbled over his words, "J-James. James Ro-"
Then the blurs of red and bright lights quickly faded to black.
xxx
There's no place for you here.
Incoherent images flooded his brain. His mind was searching, for something.
He was back in the bio dome. The blistering afternoon sun filtered through the lush trees. He could hear the chirps of exotic birds and the screeching of monkeys leaping from branches high above the ground. Home.
He heard a nearby rustling in the foliage, "Azari?" he asked, "Pym, that you?"
The figure emerged. Vision hovered a few feet above the ground, his yellow cape floating behind him.
"Am-am I home?" James asked.
Vision didn't say a word. He merely assessed James like he was surprised to see the boy standing there.
"Vision," he demanded, his tone slightly more stern, "Where are my siblings? Where's Tony?"
Vision's expression turned solemn. He spoke softly, "James, I am afraid there is nothing left. Ultron has destroyed everything. There is nothing here for you."
He licked his lips and slowly shook his head in denial. "No, that-that's not possible. I-I came back."
"Mr. Stark and the children fought to defend the portal until the last moment...when Ultron and his drones came for them."
"That's why I was sent back." James' breathing hitched and his heart sunk. He stumbled backward, almost falling to his knees.
A speck of white fluttered downward, landing on James' arm. He thought it to be debris. Then he noticed more of them, floating down from the sky. His eyes followed the flakes upwards. There was no sky. Day had shifted to night, and there was a giant gaping hole where the sky used to be.
"It is called snow," Vision explained.
"I've never seen it before."
Vision landed softly on the ground. He took a few more steps forward. "I suppose it can be considered a small solace, to witness this brief miracle as the last two beings on earth."
James felt sick to his stomach, "This isn't happening," the words came out as a whisper.
"I am sorry, James." Vision slowly walked past the boy, barely acknowledging him. James felt inclined to follow.
They walked for a short while in silence. At many instances, James felt compelled to say something, anything to break the unbearable quiet, but he could not bring himself to speak.
Finally, Vision paused, and stared out ahead of him. Once James approached from behind, he could see why Vision was troubled.
They stood on a hill, overlooking the fountain and main plaza of the dome. It all lay in ruin. The bungalows and training ground were a blackened mess of debris, and the Avengers monument laid completely destroyed. The trees surrounding the clearing were blown apart as well. James hunched over, his breathing becoming rabid, clutching his chest in utter shock. He wanted to cry.
"I too, tried to defend this sanctuary until the very end. Being part artificial intelligence myself, Ultron only left me alive to torture me with my failure- my punishment for empathizing with humans…This place was my home too, James."
James flung himself down the hill, shouting out for his siblings as he ran, "Torunn! Azari! Pym!" He ran past what remained of the bungalows, trying to search for at least the remnants of his family. He glanced about frantically, not really sure what he was looking for anymore. Finally, the tears started flowing as the realization hit.
He walked toward the fountain, gazing at the ruined headstones. "Tony?" he attempted in a quiet sob. He dropped to his knees in the centre, with no desire to stand up again.
"I would...attempt to offer some advice regarding our next actions, but I see no purpose." Vision had flown down to hover a few feet behind James.
Suddenly, James could hear the sound of someone's footsteps in the rubble, and sense movement from his peripheral. He looked up, and sure enough he could see a figure walking toward them. He noticed the fiery red hair before any other feature.
He felt a pang of relief because he and Vision were not alone after all. As she got closer, James could confirm that it was the woman with the red hair that he had met in the tower. At first he was confused. Then he realized that she had been holding him when he was rendered unconscious. Maybe she was sent back with me, he pondered.
"Vision I saw her in the past, that's my mother!" He whispered with excitement and intrigue as he rose to his feet. As she trudged closer he took note of the black cat suit she wore. It was covered in dust and debris. Guns sat in their holsters pinned to her thighs. The suit was adorned with a belt that featured a bright red buckle. Her hair was disheveled, and she bore a cut across her forehead. He also noticed red on one of her arms. She carried a metal shard in that hand, her skin drenched in blood.
"Mom!" James yelled, jogging towards her, "It's me, James! I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself back there. I'm just...so glad to see you."
"I couldn't defeat Ultron." She spoke the words softly and without connotation. She acknowledged James' presence but she seemed almost entranced. She looked right through her son.
Another tear fell from James' cheek.
"The battle's over." She reached up to caress James's cheek, then turned to her right, as if compelled to walk in that direction.
James stood still, utterly stunned. "Vision...the shard...this is just like the story." The android didn't offer any explanation, so James began to follow her.
She continued walking at the same unnaturally slow pace; each step perfectly timed. Something's definitely not right, James thought. His heart was pounding again.
She finally stopped in front of another pile of rubble, and knelt down onto her hands and knees. Her expression changed to one of deep sadness.
As James approached, the body lying atop of the rubble took form. He gasped when he got close enough to see it: blond hair and navy blue combat suit covered in dust. The dirt and cuts on his face did not serve to make him any less recognizable. His impeccably chiseled features and large frame were enough for James to recognize him as the man who had defended him in front of Tony. His heart sunk when he saw the even larger metal shard that was embedded in his chest. The torso of his blue uniform took on a dark plum colour, as it was stained thick with blood. James cupped his hand over his mouth and his breaths quickened again. Then he noticed the other jagged shards of metal lying next to the body, that were painted red, white and blue.
"Is that?" James breathed. But she didn't answer him. Captain America.
His mother...the Black Widow, began caressing the shoulder and forehead of Captain America's corpse. Her eyes rimmed with tears, and her ethereal features dropping in utter despair, she leaned further down and lightly touched the side of his face, and then kissed him lovingly on the lips.
Shocked beyond sanity and thoroughly confused, James found himself oddly at peace among his parents. One was dead and the other was clearly not of right mind but if this was the end of the world, he didn't know what to expect. He obviously had to come to terms with it.
His eyes clouded with images again.
He still felt the rubble beneath his feet, but his mind was absent from the physical space. He saw darkness, and then he saw Tony- his Tony, with his grey hair and wrinkled face.
"Convince me." he spoke in a mildly serious tone, looking James straight in the eyes.
Then he shifted. He was young Tony again, like he had been in 2015. James tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brows. He was mildly terrified, but mostly still confused.
Tony clasped his hands to James' shoulders, using the boy as support. He began to quake, and sweat in desperation. Tears clouded his eyes and his features tensed with fear. He looked James dead in the eyes.
"Convince me!"
More incoherent sounds and images blurred together until he felt the weight of them hit in his head all at once.
His eyes snapped open, and he squirmed beneath the sheets, half sitting up. He felt warm and damp with sweat. The room was basked in a golden glow, coloured by morning sunlight.
"You're okay," a husky voice spoke calmly.
Then he felt a hand on his chest. He stopped squirming.
"You're okay." The hand retracted to allow him to sit up.
He turned his head to the right to see the red-haired woman sitting on a chair next to his bed. A bed. How did he get-
"We brought you to a guest room on the communal floor after you blacked out," she smiled softly, "You had a severe panic attack...and when you lost consciousness, Tony dropped his stupid charade and insisted that you would spend the night- even got Doctor Banner to assess your condition. He felt bad," she let out a small chuckle, "I think Tony kinda has a soft spot for you now. No one would believe it, but the genius billionaire also suffers from anxiety attacks. Seems like both of you have been through a lot."
He didn't say anything at first. He was trying to process the fact that he was no longer dreaming. He was still in 2015, which still felt a lot like a dream, if he was being completely honest with himself.
"You have no idea," James grumbled out of morning grogginess as he attempted to stretch his muscles.
The woman- his mother, still smiled, her features gentle. Then she stood up from her seat and continued talking, "Our A.I. alerted us when you began to stir. He said it would be best if the last person that you saw when you blacked out was also the first person you would see upon waking. Banner says you're completely fine- physically."
James hooked his legs over the side of the bed. They hadn't changed him out of his clothes. Banner, he thought. The Hulk was also here. He really was with the Avengers.
"You can take it easy," she nodded her head toward the door whilst keeping her eyes on the boy. Her chin-length scarlet curls bobbed with her. She could tell that he was expecting to be verbally harassed again, so she raised her eyebrow and smirked, "They've got breakfast for you out there."
James pushed the sheets aside and stood up.
"I'm Natasha, by the way." She held out her hand awkwardly. His heart fluttered upon hearing his mother's name. Natasha. He looked up to meet her face, matching her quirky smile with his own, incredibly awkward one. He shook her hand.
"James."
xxx
He followed Natasha into the communal kitchen. The walls were light in colour, giving the room a clean, fresh appeal. Steel cupboards and appliances were clustered in the centre. Tables and chairs were stationed closer to the windows. The ceilings rested high, giving the room a weightless appeal. Morning light filtered through the large glass windows and onto the white marble floors. The view of New York looked just as impressive in the daytime.
"Ah, look what the cat dragged in," the man who had held his hand the night before grinned jokingly at his own remark. His voice echoed, audibly revealing the sheer enormity of the room and of the whole damn tower. James was incredibly impressed by it.
"Be nice, Clint," Natasha replied dryly.
A revelation hit James. He recalled Vision mentioning the name Clint Barton to Tony the day before, or rather, twenty years from today. He remembered seeing pictures, and then finally catching a glimpse of Tony's hidden Iron Avengers. Clint Barton, the Archer.
"I'm just playin'," he continued to smile and shook his head slightly. Then he jerked his chin upwards and addressed James, "Morning, kid."
James just smiled back awkwardly, still too nervous to present himself in front of the Avengers after the events of the previous night. They probably thought that he was absolutely insane. Not to mention he had grown up hearing stories about these individuals, and now he was actually meeting them in person.
Clint turned his attention back to his coffee mug and the tablet that he had been reading.
"Well anyways," Natasha addressed the five other people sitting at the large white table. She sashayed past the boy whilst pointing in their direction, "James that's Thor, Jane, Maria, Bruce, and you already seem to know Colonel Rhodes," she playfully smirked when recalling his comment from the night before.
"I told you, everybody knows War Machine," Rhodey spoke up without looking away from his magazine. Somehow James just knew he was smirking on the inside.
Natasha let out a deep short chuckle.
They had each glanced up from their breakfasts to quietly acknowledge their guest. James found himself paying particular attention to Thor...Torunn's dad; the Asgardian Prince. They shared the same long blond hair and bright blue eyes, that lit up as he laughed at something that Jane had just whispered to him. James couldn't help but smile.
"Hi" Maria grinned awkwardly, breaking the silence.
"Hi," James smiled back, scratching the back of his neck with his hand. They were all looking at him again.
"Uh, James, come sit. What would you like for breakfast?" Jane motioned for James to take the seat in front of her and Thor.
James pulled the chair out and sat down, trying to maintain eye contact with her, "Um, I'm not picky."
"Surely a strong young man like you is met with a ferocious appetite?" Thor chuckled, placing his arm around Jane's shoulders. The god had intended for his comment to make James feel more comfortable. His genuine smile was infectious and James felt himself mirroring it.
He took note of the scraps left on Jane and Doctor Banner's dishes, "Okay...I guess I wouldn't mind some eggs and bacon."
"Natasha placed a hand on James' chair from behind, "Lucky for you, we just made a fresh batch." She padded over to the counter to prepare a plate for him.
"That smells amazing who cooked this morning?" Tony walked into the room.
"Mostly Clint," Natasha mumbled from the counter as she used a spatula to slide two eggs onto a large plate.
"Clint you're cooking breakfast from now on," Tony pointed to the archer who kept his eyes glued to his tablet but raised his arm to give Tony a sarcastic thumbs up.
"Where's Pepper?" asked Bruce.
"She left early with Happy. Company stuff. She'll be back," he turned back to Natasha, "How's our guest?"
"Ask him yourself," Natasha raised an eyebrow as she sauntered past Tony. His gaze followed as she placed the plate down on the table in front of the boy. The glorious smell of hot food filtered through his nose. Finally realizing how hungry he actually was, James took a large bite of bacon before turning in his chair to face Tony.
"How you feeling, kid?" Tony's tone was suddenly very serious.
"Better," James replied as he finished chewing.
"Seems like you had quite the attack last night...what do you say we start over?"
He was beginning to sound like the Tony he knew.
"Promise you'll start taking me seriously?" James raised his eyebrows as he brought his fork to his lips to taste the eggs.
"Well, like Nat said, you're definitely not some ordinary kid...otherwise you wouldn't be here."
You have no idea, James thought.
"Where the hell is Steve?" Natasha asked, expecting Tony to answer.
"How should I know? Probably still sleeping," Tony flung his arms out to the side, then retracted them and made his way over to the counter to grab some breakfast.
"Uh, Steve doesn't sleep in," said Bruce.
Without word, Natasha slipped past Tony and made her way around to the elevators.
xxx
The elevator dinged when she reached Steve's floor. The doors opened, meaning that he hadn't locked it down. She stepped out into the foyer. There was no sign of Steve in the main living or kitchen areas. The state of the kitchen revealed that he probably hadn't eaten there this morning. It was clean and tidy.
With some hesitation, she decided to see if he was still in his bedroom. Before she could think about knocking, she caught sight of the open door. Inside, his bed remained unmade and some of his clothes were scattered on the floor.
"Jarvis," she finally thought to ask, staring blankly at his disheveled sheets, "Where is Captain Rogers?"
"Miss Romanoff, Captain Rogers is currently in the gym. He has been down there since six twenty-three a.m. this morning," the A.I. replied.
She smirked as she turned to walk back out to the elevator. How typical of him.
The metal doors slid apart revealing the marble back splash and chrome accents of the elevator car. She sauntered inside and pressed the button for the gym.
When Natasha stepped out onto the hardwood floors she could hear the muffled sounds of Steve throwing punches on some sand bags. She rounded the corner into the large open space. To the right of the sparring ring, stood Steve, biceps flexed, grey sweatpants, and a white, sweat-soaked tank.
"Morning, soldier," she raised an eyebrow and a corner of her mouth as he turned at the sound of her voice, revealing his very chiseled chest.
He didn't speak. Instead he turned back to his task at hand. As his fist made contact with the bag he finally addressed her, "Couldn't sleep," he uttered between grunts.
"You missed breakfast."
He paused again and reached for the chain to stop the bag from swaying. He turned to face her, "I'm sorry, I just...I shouldn't be here. Buck's still out there."
"You feel guilty...for taking a momentary lapse," she raised her chin and folded her arms across her chest. Her deadpan expression faltered, "Steve-"
He began unravelling the gauze that he had wrapped around his fingers, "I know we only came home because Sam needed to take care of family stuff but...I guess the worry is keeping me up because I can't really do anything right now. I'm powerless until Sam and I can get back out there."
"He knows how to survive, Steve. He's been doing it his whole life. You can take a day." She handed him his hoodie, lightly brushing her fingers against his as he accepted it.
He moved closer to her and glanced up at her green eyes. They seemed to radiate her words in visual form. It was genuine and sincere, which Natasha rarely revealed to anyone. Since the fiasco in DC he had seen more of that side of her; the side that he much preferred: the real, bare, Natasha. And he had seen it last night as well. When the mysterious boy appeared before them she had defended him, not because she necessarily believed him, but because she immediately empathized with a child who looked like he had been traumatized a great deal. She took it upon herself to tell him what he deserved to hear.
She was doing it again now. She was taking care of him, trying to relieve him of all of the guilt and blame that he had placed on himself because of what had happened to Bucky.
She placed a hand on his shoulder. The soft, feathery touch of her fingers on his skin soothed his mind.
"How's the kid? He looked deep into her eyes, assuring her that he cared about the problem at hand.
Natasha let out a light breath and curved her lips up, smiling ever so slightly. She kept her gaze fixated on the hand on his arm, "He's...fine. His vitals were all normal when he woke up." She looked up to meet his eyes, "Whatever was troubling him last night it's, it's still there but, he's had time to rationalize it in his mind."
"Still no idea where he came from?" He mirrored her grin.
"I wasn't going to press him," she smiled even brighter, and nudged her head up towards the ceiling, "He's up there eating with the rest of the team."
She finally dropped her arm. Steve immediately felt the warmth fade from the lack of contact. He reached up to lightly grasp one of the red strands that fell in front of her face.
"You took care of him...I owe him an apology."
"Steve we were all-" she fluttered her eyelids closed for a brief second, trying to protest, and then she understood what he really meant, "You're saying you believe him?"
She leaned in, brows creased. He let the red curl slip through his fingers and looked up to address her again, "Why else would he be so worked up? Whoever he is, he's been through too much all at once and it's hitting him hard. He needs someone to support him right now."
"Maybe he's an orphan."
"Jarvis couldn't find an identity match. I think it's a little more complicated than that. Ever since the serum, I've learned that there's no such thing as normalcy in this world."
xxx
James gulped down the last bit of egg hanging off of his fork.
"So where are you from?" Maria asked, trying to discover more about their mysterious guest.
James had to think. He couldn't very well say Arctic Circle until they were convinced that he had travelled here from the future. Few countries' borders actually extended that far north.
"Uh, Canada?"
"Interesting," Clint pursed his lips and slowly nodded his head.
"How did you end up in New York?" Jane asked.
James sighed. Gonna have to try again at some point, "The technology used to transport me here...it didn't just send me to a different time, it could move through space as well."
Jane rested her chin on her palm, leaning over her elbow on the tabletop. She suddenly seemed very enthralled.
"It was derived of cosmic radiation from something called a...bifrost? And energy from an object known as the tesseract, sent to Midgard a thousand years ago and apprehended in 2012 by someone named...Loki. It was one of the stories To-"
They all blinked in disbelief. James then realized that most of what Tony had told him had potentially at one point been classified knowledge. He let out a tiny, shaky breath and swallowed hard.
Thor furrowed his brows, taken aback by the young Midgardian who seemed to know quite a bit about his realm.
"You're saying that someone used Asgardian science and the energy of an infinity stone to send you here?"
Bruce gestured with his hand as he spoke, sounding both amazed and skeptical.
Jane gasped.
"Not just someone. It was-" James started.
"That information is strictly off the books, kid...Who are you, really?" Maria addressed him with a serious look in her eyes, staring intently at the boy.
"It is quite possible that this boy is not of this realm." Thor butted in.
Tony folded his arms across his chest lightly, "Highly probable considering the fact that Jarvis couldn't find a match for him in the database."
"I'm not," James stammered, shaking his head.
Maria and Thor had stood up, intrigued. Tony began taking small steps towards James, "It's okay," he held out a hand, nodding slightly, "We'll help you."
You can't help me, James thought, I need to help you.
"Who are you?" asked Bruce, scrunching his brows.
He took a deep breath, "I'm- I'm James Rogers!"
Just then, Natasha and Steve had walked into the room, catching the end of James' sentence. They froze. Their hardened, yet stunned expressions matched those of their fellow Avengers at the table.