A/N: Thank you all very much for your kind reviews. I'd like to ask that while I am fine with you asking for updates (it's probably good for me, actually), please don't order me or tell me to. It's a bit annoying. I apologise for not updating sooner. I hope you like this!

"Miss. Potts, we have some unfortunate- Miss. Potts?" Fury paused at the door, realising that the subject of his address was still sound asleep. He turned to Hill and muttered, "Get an extra bed in here so she doesn't hurt her back sleeping on that lumpy sofa." The agent nodded and left.

Fury approached carefully, wanting to avoid waking the children. "Miss. Potts," he said quietly. He reached out and patted her shoulder.

Pepper sat straight up, blinking. "I'm sorry, sir, we're all out of lox. We do have bagels."

Fury took a step back. "I'm sorry?"

Focusing her gaze on him, Pepper giggled nervously. "Oh! Sorry, Director. I was dreaming that I was working in this deli in New York, it was very odd."

Choosing not to dwell on this, Fury moved on to his main order of business. "Miss. Potts-"

"Pepper!" Pepper insisted. "Honestly, sir, I do believe you have some sort of memory problem."

Was she always this grouchy in the morning? Fury resolved to ask Tony once they got out of this mess. "Pepper, then. We have news."

She raised her eyebrows. "News. Good news or bad news?"

"Neither," he said with a quick tip of his head. "Or both, if you prefer. I believed the two pieces of news balanced each other out if we were talking about news as a whole, but there are two separate pieces of news-"

"Sir," Pepper interjected. "The news." Was he always this rambly in the morning? Pepper resolved to ask Tony once they got out of this mess.

"Right. We have discovered the cause. We will be working towards a solution."

"That's... good news."

"Correct. The bad news is-"

"Oh, dear."

Goodness, she was negative. Obviously she was not a morning person. "The bad news is that Loki is involved, and we can't question him until he trusts us. So you will need to take care of him for a while longer. As well as that, even after we talk to him, we'll need time to work it out. So..."

"I have to watch all the little monsters for a while longer," finished Pepper. "Oh, goody."

"Stay positive, Pepper!" he smiled.

Goodness, he was bouncy. Obviously he was a morning person. "Fine. How long?"

He shrugged. "Could be any time, I'm afraid. Loki is fairly unpredictable."

"Really. I hadn't noticed. It couldn't have anything to do with the fact that he's the God of Mischief, or anything."

Fury winced. "Little snarky there, Pepper."

A small yawn turned their attention to the seven little children.

Pepper smiled drily. "Sorry, sir. I'm on the clock. Have a nice day." She all but shoved him from the room and collapsed on the sofa with a sigh.

"Pepper?" asked Clint sleepily.

"I am going to kill your boss," she replied.

"Why?" wondered Bruce, his voice thick.

She stood up and started getting out some clothes. "He's far too happy."

"Tony, I seriously doubt that Steve bound and gagged himself."

Tony fidgeted. "It wasn't me!"

"I'm gonna count to three. One... Two..."

"ALRIGHT!" Tony squeaked. "Fine!"

Pepper raised her eyebrows. "Yes?"

"Thor did it."

"Tony."

With a small sigh, Tony made his own way to the naughty corner. Pepper was seriously considering simply naming it his territory. Well, his and Clint's.

"Natasha, would you and Bruce untie Steve? We're going to play a game." Pepper clapped her hands. "Alright, guys! Let's gather round, we're having a game!"

Tony peeked over his shoulder. "Me too?"

"No," she said firmly. "You stay. You have four minutes left. Loki, come join in."

Loki looked at her disdainfully for a moment. Thor toddled over to him and tugged his sleeve pitifully, making little begging noises.

Heaving a great sigh, Loki joined Thor in walking back to Pepper, all the while pouting resignedly at his brother. Thor himself was much happier now that his brother wasn't scorning him, and Pepper's heart melted for the fourth time at the blissful look on his face.

Steve patted Pepper's leg to get her attention. "No more tying up?"

Pepper ruffled his hair. "Sorry, squirt. I told Tony not to play cowboys."

"Wasn't playing cowboys! Steve was an alien!" came an indignant voice from the corner.

"Really. And you decided to tie him up?"

"You said no repulsors," grumbled Tony. "And rope doesn't hurt."

Pepper sighed.

Natasha bounced up to her. "What are we doing?"

"We're going to play a few games!" Pepper replied, trying to sound upbeat. "Everybody get into a circle, let's have a get-to-know-you game first." She sat cross-legged on the floor and patted the ground. Natasha sat next to her happily.

Waiting for the team to assemble, Pepper considered each member. Tony she was already used to dealing with. Natasha was her friend anyway, but Pepper was still surprised at how helpful and cooperative the little girl was, considering she was an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Clint was more sensible as an adult than as a child, although that still didn't say much. Bruce was quiet and easy to deal with, but Pepper always worried about provoking him. Steve was sweet at the best of times, however, there were still obvious hints of the soldier in him which made him a little wild sometimes. Thor was mental, that was for sure, but he didn't really bother her, choosing to wreck the room instead. Loki... Well, she wasn't quite sure what to make of him yet. It seemed that although they were easy enough to deal with separately, they became rather like a time bomb when they came together. No wonder the bad guys didn't like them.

A poke in the shoulder from Natasha brought her back down to earth. She looked to see all seven children sitting in a neat circle and staring at her expectantly. She cleared her throat. "All right, guys, let's just go around the circle! I want you all to say your name, something about yourself, something you like and something you don't like."

"Why do we have to get to know each other?" asked Steve. "We already know each other."

Bruce jabbed him and looked meaningfully at Loki. Steve made a silent "oh" with his mouth.

"Okay! I'll start. My name is Virginia Potts, but most people call me Pepper. I work at Stark Industries. I like to sing, but I don't like to dance. Natasha, your turn!"

Natasha sat up importantly. "Hello!" she began. "I'm Natasha Romanoff, I speak Russian, and I like to fight! Even though violence isn't always the answer," she added hastily, looking at Pepper, who stifled a laugh. "And I don't like to lose." She glared at Clint for a second.

"Very good, Natasha. Bruce, what about you?" Pepper invited.

Bruce fidgeted. "Hi," he said shyly. "I'm Bruce Banner. I'm an expert in gamma radiation," he said slowly, taking care not to mess up the words, before looking a bit confused. "Or, I was..."

Pepper bit her lip. She wasn't sure how much the kids remembered, and she figured it was best not to strain them, considering the strange forces they were dealing with. She definitely didn't want them to explode, or something. "Okay, what about what you like and don't like?" she prodded cheerfully.

Bruce thought for a minute. "I don't like green. But I like science."

"My turn!" piped up Steve. "Hi everyone! I'm Steve Rogers. I'm a super-soldier!" he said proudly, wilting a bit when Tony rolled his eyes.

"Tony!" Pepper scolded.

"Sor-ree," grumbled Tony.

"Go on, Steve," encouraged Pepper.

"I don't like bullies, but I like standing up for people," finished Steve.

"That's good!" Pepper said, smiling when Steve beamed. "Tony?"

"The name's Tony Stark," said Tony casually. "I'm a billionaire and a genius who used to work in weapons, but now I work with clean energy. I don't like paperwork. I love parties."

Pepper was starting to realise that they were all speaking with more advanced vocabularies than the day before. She wondered what that meant. "Clint?"

Clint looked up from the patch of carpet he'd been mutilating. "Yeah?"

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Your turn, numbskull."

"Natasha," warned Pepper.

Clint grinned embarrassedly. "Sorry. I'm Clint Barton. I'm an archer. I like combat." He paused, thinking. "I don't like torture. It scares me," he admitted quietly, his eyes filling briefly with pain.

Despite her scorn of him only a moment earlier, Natasha scrambled across the circle and gave him a hug. "It's okay, Clint," she said softly, sounding much older than she was.

"Of course it is." Clint managed to smile. "You're here, aren't you?"

Forcing herself not to cry, Pepper settled for a sniff and a wobbly-sounding, "Thor?"

Thor shifted uncomfortably, painfully aware of the emotional scene next to him. "Um, I'm Thor Odinson," he said without much of his usual bravado. "I come from Asgard. I like Midgardians. I don't like disloyalty." He winced a bit as his brother stiffened.

Pepper wondered briefly if they even had tact on Asgard.

"Sorry, brother," Thor mumbled. "I didn't mean you. Not that you were disloyal! Uh..."

"Let's move on, shall we?" Pepper suggested hastily. "Loki?"

Loki appeared to consider for a second. "I'm Loki Odi- Laufeyson," he corrected himself tonelessly. "I have a weird past. I like ruling. I don't like being overshadowed." He glared at Thor.

Awkward silence.

"Okay!" said Pepper, fast running out of chirpiness. "That was fun, right, guys? Let's play something else!"

"Ooh, ooh!" Steve stuck his hand in the air. "I have an idea!"

She was going to regret this. "What's your idea, Steve?"

Steve put his hand down triumphantly. "Hide and seek!"

The group cheered and immediately all of them darted off- even Loki, to Pepper's surprise. She smiled for a moment, before suddenly realising that they had all disappeared. "Oh, dear."