Hey guys! Wow, I'm on a roll now! I usually like to wait a day, but I just had to get this one out.

Thanks for the reviews guys. I was getting kinda worried that the last chapter wasn't up to standard, but if you guys are happy, then I'm happy.

Disclaimer: I only own Maggie.

:JARVIS:

'reading'

. . . . . . . . . Change in place.


As soon as Tony entered the meeting area, he headed straight for the table.

"JARVIS, pull up every piece of information that you can find on Maggie Wilcox."

:As you wish, sir.: Tony sat on the edge of the chair, elbows resting on the surface of the table and fingers crossed in front of his chin as information began to emerge on the holographic display. He frowned slightly as his eyes read through everything. He'd heard the name Wilcox before, but he couldn't place it.

"Is this everything?"

:All information on Miss Margaret Wilcox is right here sir. She doesn't appear to be a very well documented young lady.: Tony hummed, skimming through everything. His attention was caught by an article covered by one of the smaller newspaper companies, dated 12th June 2007. Five years ago last Tuesday. Upon his command, the story was brought forward. He read through it carefully.

'Tragic fire leaves girl orphaned' was the heading. He frowned in contemplation as he read.

'A neighbourhood is left in a state of shock after what experts are calling a freak fire claimed the lives of two people in the early hours of yesterday morning, leaving a thirteen year old girl orphaned.

Fire tore through the Wilcox household at around 1 am yesterday morning according to eyewitnesses. An elderly woman raised the alarm when she saw the flames out of her window. Despite desperate attempts by fire crews to extinguish the blaze, it was too late to save the lives of both Gemma and Shane Wilcox, mother and father of Margaret Wilcox, respectively. Neighbours are shocked by what has happened.

"It's terrible," the 64 year old neighbour who raised the alarm, and does not wish to be named, tells us. "They were such a nice family, never any trouble. They always kept themselves to themselves, but always said hello whenever they saw anyone."

"It's just awful," she goes on to say. "Poor Maggie. She's a good kid, she doesn't deserve this. None of the family does."

Fire crews are still baffled as to what actually caused the blaze, and a spokesperson has stated that it is a miracle that the girl survived without a mark. It is believed that the fire started in the bedroom of Margaret Wilcox, but there is no sign of foul play...'

Tony closed his eyes and leaned back. He'd read enough. Thirteen years old. Maggie had been thirteen when Hydra had kidnapped her. Could they have had something to do with this? It was possible. After all, if they'd done their research, they would know that, being pyrokinetic, Maggie probably wasn't going to be affected by the fire in the same way as everyone else, even going so far as to be immune to it. Again, only Maggie could answer that. It was a touchy subject, though, entirely different to the conversation they had just had. It was far more personal. He remembered the day his parents had died, how much he didn't want to talk to anyone about it, let alone complete strangers. God, he hadn't thought about that day in a long time. He hadn't been close to his father, not really. He'd been closer to his mother, and even then, both of his parents had sometimes been too busy for him. He sighed, immediately pushing the thought away. There was no use in comparing experiences. Maggie's was definitely the more tragic. From everything he'd read, they'd been a close family.

"Poor kid." Tony almost jumped out of his skin, swinging around in the chair so fast he very nearly fell out of it. If it hadn't been for the reactor in his chest, he felt sure he would have had a heart attack. He'd been so absorbed in his information gathering that he hadn't even noticed that he was no longer alone.

"Steve! I have a bad heart you know!" he exclaimed, clutching at his chest. He glared at the Captain. "What, have you been taking lessons from Panther or something?" Steve said nothing, his eyes fixed on the news article, his expression sombre. Tony brushed himself off and straightened up, turning back to the story.

"It's tragic, I know."

"You think Hydra had something to do with this?" Steve asked after a moment's reading.

"I dunno. It doesn't seem to be their usual MO, but since when have the bad guys ever stuck to routine?" Steve hummed. "You think they did?"

"I'm not sure. Back in the 40s, I knew when Hydra had a hand in a crime and when they didn't. But now, things have changed so much…even my old enemies are different." Tony looked at the Captain. Sometimes it was easy to forget that the blond wasn't from this time. He'd fitted in so well with the team that it almost felt as if he'd always been there. He looked back to the display. Steve sighed.

"Whatever happened, only Miss Wilcox can fill us in. How is she, anyway?" Tony smirked a little.

"A lot calmer. I think she's accepted the fact that she's safe here." Steve cocked an eyebrow, humour evident in his eyes.

"Safe? Here?" Tony sighed dramatically.

"Yeah, yeah, ok. As safe as she can be with a bunch of superheroes who are almost constantly attacked by super villains bent on world domination. Happy?" Steve simply smiled. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Do you know what she's up to now?" Tony looked back at him, a sly look in his eyes.

"Why the sudden interest, Cap?" Steve ignored the look the billionaire gave him.

"I'm curious, that's all." Tony leaned his hip against the side of the table, folding his arms and smiling.

"You know she's still a kid and you're technically an old man, right?" Steve blushed. Captain America actually blushed. Where was his camera? It would have been some great blackmail material.

"I don't mean like that. I'm just curious as to how she managed to escape from a Hydra facility." Tony cocked an eyebrow.

"She burned her way out. We saw the damage." A sudden realisation hit the billionaire. "Wait, wait, wait. You wanna know if she can fight, don't you? You wanna be the one to teach her." Steve cleared his throat.

"Aside from Panther and Hawkeye, I'm the only one who has formal combat training. And yes, I'd like to train her. We could use another member on this team, and her power could give us an advantage in the field." Tony grinned.

"Forever the soldier, huh? I was thinking the same, actually, about having her as a member of the Avengers. You know, before SHIELD get their hands on her." Steve turned to him.

"You think they'll try?"

"I wouldn't put it past Fury to try something like that. But it's not just that. It's something he said to me when I had that meeting with him, about looking after her, and that she could be useful. I'm not entirely sure what he meant by that, and I'm trying to find out. Personally, I think he knows something that we don't, but he's making us do the hard work in finding out ourselves." Steve nodded. He looked sidelong at the billionaire, changing the subject somewhat.

"Speaking of training, how about I teach you how to fight, we were interrupted before." Tony backed away from him a couple of steps, hands raised.

"Oh no, no way. Not after last time. I have my armour and my weapons, and that's more than enough to take down any villains." Steve smiled, a knowing expression gracing his face. Tony looked at his watch. "Oh gee, would you look at the time. Pepper's expecting me at the office, you know, to do office work, paper work and all the other boring stuff she has me do. Gotta fly, Cap." Steve smiled and shook his head as Tony made his quick escape. Any excuse.

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Jan had seemingly decided that the best way to show the teenager around was literally from top to bottom. Starting with the roof based pool. Maggie squinted as they stepped out into the bright sunlight, stopping and stretching her arms out. She smiled, allowing the warmth to wash over her. She'd missed the sun. She'd been allowed outside only when she was being moved, and even then it was only brief. She opened her eyes to see Jan smiling at her. Grinning, Maggie bound up to her, not noticing that there were others there. She gasped and ran to the roof edge, looking out at the landscape.

"We're in New York? You didn't tell me we're in New York!" Jan laughed.

"I didn't know you wanted to know."

"Are you kidding? I was born in New…York…erm…hi?" Jan turned to where she was looking. She grinned as the great green form of Hulk pulled himself out of the pool. He simply grunted at the girl.

"Hey big guy. I'd like you to meet Maggie. Maggie this is Hulk." Maggie waved timidly, coming over to stand just behind Jan. He crossed his arms and stared at the girl, who seemed to shrink behind the shorter woman. Jan looked between them and placed her hands on her hips.

"Now Hulk, be nice." She sounded like she was talking to a child, much to Maggie's surprise.

"Hulk not nice. Hulk smash." Jan cocked her eyebrow at him.

"Don't make me zap you, big guy." Hulk actually smirked at that.

"Like to see you try, bug girl." Jan frowned.

"That's Miss Bug Girl to you, buster." She prodded him in his heavily muscled forearm. "And don't you forget it." Hulk simply rolled his eyes and stared at Wasp. Again, to Maggie's surprise, his eyes seemed to gleam with…something. Mischief, perhaps? Jan answered with a grin. Giving the teenager one last look over, Hulk turned and dove back into the pool, splashing the two with water. They both let out shrieks as they stood completely drenched.

"Hulk! You're gonna pay for that!" No answer. Jan turned to the teenager. "You ok?" Maggie nodded, and started laughing. Jan followed suit. Her head was suddenly covered with a towel. She yelped and ripped the offending thing off, turning to the grinning, non-costumed Clint.

"Thought you could use a towel, you look a bit wet."

"Oh, noticed that did you? You can't count though, there are two of us." Clint simply shrugged. Maggie shook her head.

"That's ok, Jan. I can dry." Jan turned to Maggie just as a small, weak flame encased her. Maggie closed her eyes and seemed to relax into it as the water evaporated in thin wisps of steam. It didn't look like the one Jan had seen earlier on that morning, it looked softer, more pleasant, but she was still worried. She didn't want the teenager collapsing on her. Clint, on the other hand, began backing away, hands raised.

"Hey, you're not gonna explode or anything are you?" Maggie's eyes opened and the flame immediately. She folded her arms and threw a heated stare at the archer.

"I might, if you annoy me enough." Clint opened his mouth to make some kind of remark, but Jan beat him to it.

"Are you ok?" Maggie nodded.

"That was only a weak fire, not a flare. It doesn't take as much energy to burn, well, not enough to exhaust me, anyway." Jan nodded, turning to Clint. He still eyed the teenager as if she was going to combust at any moment. The older woman punched him on his bare arm. He winced, rubbing the sore spot.

"Jeez, would you stop that? I need that arm for my arrows!"

"Stop being such a baby, Hawkeye." Maggie giggled, mixing with the rumbling that was Hulk's chuckle. Clint pouted at the both of them. He turned to Maggie.

"Ok, I can understand you not sticking up for me. You're new here. But you?" He turned and pointed at the giant form resting against the rim of the pool. "You're supposed to be on my side! Where's my back up, Jade Jaws?" Hulk simple smirked.

"You're on your own, bird brain."

"Bird brain? Who're you calling bird brain, chuckles? You wanna go, huh? C'mon, I can take you!" Hulk simply grinned and ducked back under water, ignoring the archer.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Jerk." Jan had had the brains enough to move both her and Maggie a safe distance away the moment the two began their banter. And good thing too, or they would have been soaked yet again by a Hulk-created wave. Clint, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He all but shrieked, in a manly way of course, when the wave crashed against him, drenching him instantly. Jan and Maggie laughed, descending back to the lower levels. They did hear Clint swear revenge, followed by a splash.

"Shouldn't we help him?"

"Who? Hulk and Hawkeye? Nah. They're always at it. You get used to it after a while. They're good friends, really." Maggie nodded and followed the woman.

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It impressed the teenager to no end just how big the mansion was. Seriously, the place was huge! Jan showed her through all the rooms, pointing out where the each of the Avenger's bedrooms were, and finally took her through to the lounge.

"Whoa, look at the size of that TV!" Jan smiled as Maggie slumped onto the sofa, sighing as she relaxed into the chair. All the excitement was beginning to tire her out.

"You're not done yet, are you? You haven't met the rest of the team, and I still have loads to show you." Maggie perked up.

"There's more?" Jan laughed.

"You bet there is!" She pulled a card from her pocket and held it over what looked like a scanner. Maggie had seen them dotted around the mansion, but hadn't thought to ask about them. To her utter amazement, the fireplace appeared to grow from the floor upwards to form an archway. A disembodied voice caught her attention.

:Welcome Miss Van Dyne, AKA Wasp:

"Jan? Who was that?"

"Oh, silly me. I forgot to introduce to JARVIS. He's the AI that runs the house. Tony created it. Say hi, JARVIS."

:Good day, Miss Wilcox, Miss Van Dyne. I trust everything is well?: Maggie scratched her head.

"Erm, yes? Thank you?"

:You're most welcome.: Jan stifled the laugh.

"C'mon, I have to show you the coolest part of this place. Be prepared to be amazed."

And Maggie was. The moment they stepped under the fireplace/arch, a door closed in a similar fashion to an elevator. Wait a minute. This was an elevator! And they were going…down? Jan smiled at the look of pure amazement plastered across the teen's features. It was good to have someone else who was just as excitable as she was. The elevator soon came to a stop.

"Ready?" Maggie nodded, following her out as soon as the doors opened.

"Whoa!" She thought the building was big!

"Maggie, welcome to our secret headquarters. Well, it isn't that secret, really, but you get the idea. C'mon." She followed the woman, wishing she had more eyes.

"That's the armoury, you know, for Iron Man. That over there is the lab for all the boring science stuff. Hey Hank!" Jan called. Hank barely looked up, totally engrossed by whatever he was looking at. The teenager saw Jan slump slightly, but it passed so quickly, she wasn't sure if she'd imagined it. Shaking her head, she followed Jan onwards.

They came to a large area that looked like a metal maze.

"Here's one of my favourite places. This is our Training room. Panther's down there training at the moment. Best to leave him to it, you can meet him later." They pressed on. Maggie cast one look back, catching sight of a man in a black cat suit. Turning around, she ran to catch up with the shorter woman, though her eyes were everywhere but in front of her. Not looking where she was going, she almost knocked into none other than Tony Stark, who was stood with Jan. He took hold of her shoulders and steadied her.

"Whoa, hey steady there kid," he said with a smile. There was something softer about his eyes this time round, sympathetic even. She smiled bashfully, brushing her hair behind her ear as he dropped his hold.

"Thanks Mr Stark." He raised an eyebrow.

"You're kidding me with the Mr Stark thing, right? I'm not in the office, or at a press conference. Just call me Tony." She nodded.

"Ok. Thanks, Tony."

"That's better." He smiled and began to walk away. Jan called after him.

"Tony! Hang on a sec!" He stopped and turned. "Have a favour to ask."

"Shoot."

"Maggie and me, we're going shopping and we need a ride in to town."

"Well, I was just heading straight over to my office, but what the heck. Sure I'll give you a ride. It just delays me being bored to death by the demon that is paperwork." Jan beamed.

"You're great, you know that?" He smiled, smug.

"I've been told. Numerous times." He winked at the teen, who blushed again. "Meet you upstairs in, say, ten minutes?"

"Are you kidding? We have to get Maggie some different clothes!" He rolled his eyes. He knew what that meant.

"Alright, half an hour, then. Gives you plenty of time." Jan sighed, but took the deal.

"Fine, see you in half an hour." He smiled and left.

"C'mon, Maggie. We're gonna have to cut our tour short. You can meet everybody else later." Taking her hand, Jan all but dragged her back to the elevator. Maggie had no choice but to follow. One thing was for sure, today was going to be full of activity.


Ok guys, here's the next instalment. Thank you to my wonderful reviewers, you know who you are. Remember to review, guys!