Dinomus- Kevin Allen is my version of the Stan Lee cameo every Marvel movie has. A while back, I did a story called 'The Authors in the Crossover', a Castle and Bones fic, that featured a fan fic writer as a suspect. I gave the character my name, Kevin Allen, as an in-joke. A running bit known to some of my readers is that fictional Kevin Allen (who doesn't even act like me anymore and if he had a different name would literally be a character I created) stole the Pope's Hat.

Unattributedwriter- Thank you. While I am not a big Marvel fan (I am a DC junkie...I don't even own a Marvel trade, though I have thought about getting Spider-Girl to see what the hype is about) I do tend to research the characters to make sure I am getting things right. Also, as this story goes on and if there is demand for sequels, I will begin to move away from the movie-verse and craft a blending of it and the comics and the tv shows.

D-Didou-D- Franklin Hall is a scientist who becomes the villain Graviton, master of Gravity. I wanted to make Janet's death be senseless...she dies only because Hall chose to go through their apartment. Should there be demand for sequels, he will appear again. Plus, he looks like Alan Moore, and it is funny to see Alan Moore freaking out and beating up superheroes

Someguyshere and Darkly dreaming- One of things I am trying to do is flesh out characters that didn't get alot of time in THE AVENGERS, like the slag known as Maria Hill

1995

"Come on baby, please stop crying."

It had been a long few days and Richard Castle ('Not Hank Pym...I am Richard Castle.') rocked his baby girl who was, at that moment, apparently trying to deafen all of New York. He had been hoping for a bit of rest, but Alexis had seen to it that such hopes were pipedreams.

The entire day was a blur for him. Castle ('I was born in New York...my name is Richard Castle') had been dragged away from the body of his wife, unable to even function or understand what was going on around him. The next thing he remembered was sitting in Fury's office, the cyclops staring so hard with his one good eye he'd been sure it would pop out.

He'd told Fury he was done. He'd given the man years of his life and in the end Fury had failed to live up to his word. He had promised Castle ('I am not a scientist...I am a writer...I am not Hank Pym...') that he would protect his family and he'd failed to do that. Castle would not risk his daughter's life...he couldn't do that. So he was done, end of story.

Fury had threatened and battered and done everything short of begging but Castle had stood his ground. He would not work for the government anymore...he would never do another experiment again. Fury had pointed out that there were people out there that would love to get their hands on one of Fury's men, now out in the wind. Castle had told him that the government made people disappear all the time...they would just need to do the same with him.

Once he'd gotten Fury moving the wheels of change had moved at a lightning pace. In the time it took him to change Alexis' diaper he'd been given an entirely new life. He was Richard Castle. He was a writer ('Hank loved to make up stories for Janet...but I'm not Hank, am I?') raising his daughter Alexis Castle.

That had been his one stipulation: Alexis would keep her name. He knew it would have been smarter to change it, but every time he looked down at her with her chubby cheeks and gummy smile all he could think about was Janet spending weeks going through books to find the perfect name. He couldn't dishonor her memory by renaming their child.

He'd been flown to New York after that, given all the right cards and accounts (including a fat bank account and a posh New York City apartment as compensation for his loss...like any of that could replace his wife) and introduced to Agent Martha Rogers. Agent Rogers was one of Fury's deep cover people; to the world she was a famous actress, well known for being eccentric. In reality she was a skilled leader and agent who watched over New York and reported back to Fury about everything. It had been easy for the agency to set Castle up as her prodigal son, returned to the nest with a new baby. Agent Rogers was to keep an eye on him and protect him should his cover be blown.

Castle hated the woman so much...

Alexis let out another wail and he tried shifting her about, hoping that maybe he would find the magical position that would get her to stop crying and go instantly to sleep and never cry again and life would be perfect and-

"Hey!" Castle's eyes widened as Alexis wrapped her little lips around the nipple of the baby bottle and began to suckle, her mewling cries subsiding as she focused on filling her belly. "Yeah, that's it…drink up! Got to get that tummy full!" He began to gently sway, Alexis' eyes drifting shut as her world was reduced to the mere contents of a bottle.

Castle moved towards the windows, watching the lights of New York. It was so different here…at the base you could only get darkness by sealing yourself in your room. There were no windows and the halls and labs were lit 24/7. Here, he could stare out at the moon and see the rising sun and actually feel like a real person and not a rat in a cage.

Alexis' little fingers curling around the blanket she was swaddled in, still greedily sucking on her bottle. Castle gently ran his fingers along her silken hair, murmuring to her.

"Knew you would like that milk, princess. I told mommy that and…"

Castle felt his world spin as everything that had happened suddenly came crashing down upon him.

The baby slowed her nursing of the bottle, paying no heed to the tears that rained down on her from her daddy's eyes.

~MC~MC~MC~

Central Park, Present Day

"So wait…" Beckett said, dipping her spoon into the cup of ice cream Castle had bought for her from a nearby vendor, "I want to make sure I have this right: Alexis is, in fact, your daughter."

"Yes."

"But not Meredith's daughter."

"I wasn't even married to Meredith."

Beckett scratched her head. "Ok, and Martha is…"

"A SHIELD agent in deep cover in New York. Fury has one in all major international cities. Washington DC, New York, London, Beijing, Flint…"

"Flint, MI?"

Castle shrugged. "Hey, the Russians are the ones that still have their nukes pointed at it, so don't look at me." He sucked on his spoon, thanking God for inventing caramel. "My mother…Agent Rogers…was assigned to watch over Alexis and me. Fury was worried that we could get attacked by rogue countries who wanted my technical expertise to create bombs. She took on the role of my mother."

"That must have been weird." Beckett took another bit, knowing that the ice cream was marching straight towards her thighs but not caring in the slightest because, hey, she was unemployed and had a man so she was set.

Castle laughed. It was good to hear him laugh again…Beckett had missed that. He had been so solemn this year, so moody; she hadn't realized how much she missed his laughter and his humor until it suddenly appeared again.

Of course, they all had been through a rough year. The death of Montgomery, the sniper, the sexual tension between them… but Beckett had put the first two behind her and had plans for tonight that would continue to drain any sexual tension right away. She glanced down at her ice cream, suddenly inspired and wondering if there was any way that she could convince Castle to stop off at a market before returning to the apartment.

Beckett was thinking over the pros and cons of sprinkles when she realized Castle was looking at her. "Uh…I kinda got sidetracked. Can you repeat that?"

"My mother and I didn't…get along at first. It was really confusing…in public she would be like you have seen her, with all the 'darling' and 'oh Richard dear!'" Beckett giggled at Castle's rather fine impression of his mother…or secret agent pretending to be his mother… "But when we were alone, she was all business. She would be lecturing me about safety and proper procedures…kinda reminds me of Gates, now that I think about it." Castle gave a full body shudder at the thought. "It also didn't help having Alexis around."

"What do you mean?"

"My mother felt that it was important for her to look like a grandmother, doting on Alexis. I, on the other hand, just saw an agent trying to hold the last remaining piece of my wife and would flip out on her."

Beckett nodded. "You know, I wish I could say I understood, but truthfully I don't think anyone could. Your situation is…well…"

"Don't worry, I get it."

"So what changed things between the two of you? You obviously don't mind calling her mom…"

Castle scratched the back of his head. "Yeah…well, you've met Meredith…"

"Your ex-wife who wasn't really your ex-wife."

"Right. Seems one of Fury's flunkies thought Martha wasn't cutting it and decided to set me up with Meredith, who is another SHIELD Agent, by the way."

"Is there anyone who isn't a SHIELD Agent?"

"Honestly, I thought you were one when we first met." Castle cut Beckett off before she could ask his reasoning on that. "Meredith breezed in and informed us that she was playing my wife and Alexis' mother…"

"I'm sure that went over well."

"…in front of Alexis."

"Oooo."

"Yeah. Needless to say, the day ended with Alexis in tears about 'disappearing mommy' and Martha and I screaming at Meredith till she went trotting back to Fury. I really should thank her, though…that got mother and I much closer."

"How do you see her now?" Beckett threw her cup in the trash and continued to lead Castle deeper into the park.

"Pretty darn close. It's easy to forget nowadays we aren't really mother and son." Castle looked about, deciding that this part of the park was pretty well deserted (a blessing in and of itself). "Ok, so do you have any more questions or do you want to see me in action."

Beckett grinned, settling herself on a park bench. "Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world. I want to see what faces you make before you admit the whole growing/shrinking thing is a giant lie."

"No pun intended," Castle muttered. "Ok, so we are going to start with shrinking." Reaching behind his head, Castle pulled out a red piece of cloth and yanked it over his head. He reached towards his belly and touched a small metallic device and Beckett's eyes widened at the sight of the material sealing around Castle's face, leaving only his mouth exposed. His eyes were covered by a reflective silver surface and two long strips extended up from his forehead.

"What is that?"Beckett asked.

"Oh, right…usually when I do this the people watching know about my gadgets. Alright, so there is such a thing called unstable molecules. They were invented by a Dr. Richards. You see, molecules normally can only take one form and, if you alter the form, it takes great force to return them to their original shape, and even then it might not be possible. Unstable molecules are able to be…well, it's complicated, but I can program them to change shape, size and even structure. It allows my suit to grow or shrink with me. I can also make it very light, so it feels like I am not even wearing it, or incredibly dense, to the point that it is bullet-proof. I can even change my hood into a helmet and breathing device to allow me to shrink almost anywhere."

"And…the bug antennas?" Beckett asked, pointing to two small thin 'thorns'.

"Communication device." Castle tossed Beckett his phone. "I have it already dialed up…alright…one for the money, two for the show…"

The next thing Beckett knew, Castle's clothing was falling to the ground and he had completely disappeared. Her eyes almost shot out of their sockets as she looked about, expecting him to jump out from a tree and reveal this was all a trick.

"Castle?"

"Down here!" Castle called out over his phone. "Come closer but be careful…don't want you to squish me!"

"uh…ok," Beckett said nervously, getting on her hands and knees and crawling towards the pile of clothing that sat on the grass. She prayed no one walked by at that time, as she knew it would only result in her being sent off to the funny farm. "Castle?"

"Here I am!" Castle said, emerging from the clothing. Beckett stared at her inch long partner, who was standing happily on his shoe with his hands on his hips. "What do you think?"

"You…you…you actually shrank!"

"I told you I would!"

"I didn't believe you!" Beckett screeched."I thought this was all one of your…you know, one of your pranks."

"Nope. But if we are being honest, I have shrunk down a few times to sneak peeks at what you keep in that locked drawer in your desk. Why do you own so many Pokemon magazines anyway?"

"You did what?"

"Uh…and now, for my next trick, you'll need to step back…"

Beckett, ready to pester Castle more about what he had been doing in her special drawer, quickly began to back away as mini-Castle began to swell up, rising higher and higher in the air. Castle stepped away from his clothing, his head reaching to just the very top of the nearest tree before he stopped his growth. Beckett looked up…and up…at Castle's towering form, her jaw hanging loose at the sight of him standing nearly 20 feet tall.

"Well, what do you think?" Castle whispered, his voice still loud enough to make it feel like he was nearly shouting.

"I…I…" Beckett stammered.

"And this isn't even that big," Castle said with a smirk. "Originally I could only go to 50 feet before suffering ill effects, but due to my body becoming use to the Pym Particles I've managed to get to…hmm, I want to say 500 feet."

"Castle, this is…wow…" Beckett fanned herself. "This is giving me all sorts of ideas for tonight."

Castle smirked at that. "Oh, I'm sure I know plenty of things we could try out."

Beckett blushed. "I forgot that both you and your wife could do this." She took a step closer to him, placing her hand on his calf, as if trying to assure herself this was real. "Can Alexis do this too?"

"No. She doesn't even know about this," Castle admitted. "I so rarely use these powers nowadays…it just isn't a-"

"DAD?"

Castle closed his eyes. "She's right behind me, isn't she?"