Chapter 4: the alarm

Five figures stood inside the messy bungalow. They stared as the mess on the bed began to move, revealing a pair of tanned legs, clothed in brown pajama bottoms. Even though they were there almost daily, they were still shocked by the state of disarray the room was in, although Laura's wasn't much better.

"Does he get the sword, the claw, the the web, the spark, or the sting today?" Asked Toruun.

Pym and Laura glanced at each other mischievously and grinned. "It's his royal highnesses turn," they replied in unison.

"I hate you both," was all he said before moving forward. The rest of them only smiled smugly, each having been on the wrong side of what they knew was about to occur. His body glowed as electricity began to emit from his body. He brought his finger forward and when it was about an inch away a bolt of lightning jumped onto the sleeping form's foot.

With a shout of pain, and reflexes you could only get with the super soldier serum, James leapt up, turned on his shield, and slammed it into Azari. The other boy felt a stab of pain in his gut before his was launched through open air and into the mud outside.

The 17-year old James stepped out onto the balcony. He still wore his light brown pajama and his energy shield was active on the red glove on his left hand. It was egg shaped (A/N: I'm not sure what else to call it) with a circular projector on the front. He rubbed his head and opened his eyes to see who it was he had hit.

He turned off his shield when he saw Gwen helping Azari out of the mud. "If you dorks are all done bothering me, I'm going back to bed."

"Who are you calling a dork, Red?" growled Laura as she unsheathed the double claws on her hands.

James sighed. "That would be you, Laura."

She jumped forward slashing through the air. He simply stepped back and grabbed her wrist. He kicked out a leg to knock her feet out from under her and then threw her one-handed through the air and into the mud beside Azari. "Now can I sleep?" He asked lazily.

"But you're missing the game!" Cried Pym, completely ignoring Laura's outburst like it was daily occurrence, which it was.

"What is your problem, James!" Shouted Azari from below. "You've been sleeping all day, missing training, blowing off your chores, and generally being a real pain!"

"Who cares?" Replied the red head. "What am I gonna miss, laundry day? So what if we don't do the chores and train?" With that he back flipped off the edge of the balcony and landed behind the others, even though he hadn't practiced in days.

They all felt a pang of jealousy. His natural abilities, combined with his inherited physique had given his the physical skills that they others trained endlessly for naturally. Whereas the others constantly trained to maintain good physical condition, James was naturally athletic. Whoever had said that fitness was a lame power was totally wrong.

"For what?" he continued. "Seriously, nothing's ever gonna happen in this place! You can act like a king, Pym can play superhero, Laura can run around pretending to be wild, Gwen can run around climbing all the walls she wants, and Toruun can live in fantasy land, saying aye and verily till she's blue in the face! What's the point?"

"The point is, to not be such a jerk!" Shouted the Asgardian from the balcony. His attitude Herut her more than the others because they had been so close growing up. There had been a time when she thought that maybe...

"Oh right, there's no point for us cause our parents are dead," said the boy, breaking into her thoughts. " Your dad just abandoned you, so there's still hope."

That did it. She gripped her sword and launched down at him. He blocked it with his shield. They pressed against each other, trying to push the other one back. It was here that James's lack of practice finally began to show.

"Do you think Asgardians really say jerk?" Pym wondered aloud. They others only shrugged before turning back to the fighting pair.

"Your magic sword doesn't scare me, Toruun!" Said the boy.

"Then allow me to put the fear of it into thee!" She replied as thunder rumbled menacingly from somewhere.

"That's enough!" Commanded a voice.

Everyone froze before turning to see who had spoken. They looked at an old man with long white hair, a white beard, and blue eyes. He wore dark brown pants and a black shirt with red sleeves.

"Tony!" cried Azari. "I was about to tell them to break it up!"

"Ya, we wouldn't have let it get serious!" agreed Gwen.

"James, Toruun! Go to your bungalows and cool off!" Said Tony, ignoring the pair. As they walked away, Pym gave a little laugh while Laura smirked. "You and the others too, Pym."

"Awww!" Complained the boy before they all began to move out.

The old man watched them all begin to leave. "James, wait," he said to the boy as he walked away. "I know you feel trapped here with just the seven of us, but try not to take it out on your brothers and sisters. If you you want to be mad at someone, be mad at me."

I'll apologize to them. Later," he replied.

"Your father was never very good at doing nothing either," Tony continued. "You know you can always come talk to me, James."

But it's not the same, is it?" Said the boy quietly. "Like you say, you're not my dad." With that, he walked up the stairs.

Tony sighed before turning away sadly. In so many ways James and Steve were alike, but in many others they were different. He would have expected the boy to be throwing himself into training, unable to sleep. But here he was, doing the exact opposite. It was just another reminder of what he had lost.

Suddenly, an alarm began sounding. A horn blared while red lights flashed. Tony gasped before turning to James who had frozen and was looking back at him.

"James, go to your room!" He commanded.

"Tony?" said Toruun uncertainly as she and the others arrived.

"Hey Geezer, what's going on?" Asked Laura.

"What are these lights, and that noise?" Continued Pym.

"Everyone, inside James's bungalow until I give the all clear! Now!" Was the old man's only reply.

As one, they all ran inside the room, Tony sprinting down the beach the other way. James took one last moment to stare after him, trying to ignore the feeling that was the last real conversation they'd have for a while.