Daniel (An X-Men Story)

by Agreene

This story is about Daniel Howlett, the son of Logan and Ororo.

10. Chapter 10

Daniel (An X-Men Story)

Chapter Ten: Avengers Little Helper Pt. Two

Since Christmas, Daniel's attitude had certainly changed for the worse. He has continued to distance himself from his family. Ororo offered to buy Daniel presents but he turned her down. He's walked around with a chip on his shoulder. His behavior in school has taken a turn for the worse. He did his homework but barely paid attention in school.

Everyone had been asking Daniel if he was ok. He chose not to answer which gave them the indication that he wasn't ok.

David began to notice the change in Daniel and began to feel guilty. He even offered Daniel to hang with his friends but Daniel said nothing continuing to keep his distance.

Daniel had gotten his learners permit to learn to drive. He even paid for driving lessons while in school. It seemed to be the one class he enjoyed. He found that he is a good driver. He wouldn't be able to test for his actual license until he turned sixteen but still it didn't hurt that he could practice.

He arrived home from a driving lesson seeing his mother cooking lunch. She looked over at him wondering if he was ok.

"Hey." Ororo said. No response. "How was the driving lesson?"

"Fine." Daniel said.

"You should get cleaned up for dinner." Ororo said. No response. "Danny, are you ever gonna talk to us again?" She asked. Daniel turned and headed for his room without uttering another word. She sighed.

During dinner, everyone was eating and chatting. Daniel was eating his dinner. It was the first time in months since he's had dinner with his family. He said nothing. Azari was talking about his girlfriend.

"Tina is great. She's smart, funny, hot." Azari said as they laughed.

"Guess who else has a girlfriend?" Kendall teased.

"Who?" John asked.

"Lucas." Kendall revealed.

"Oh no. Not you to." Ororo said. "It was cute when you had a crush on your teacher but now you got a girlfriend."

"Yep and she's cute. Besides mom, my teacher is too old for me. I need a girl my age." Lucas said.

"What's her name?" Logan asked.

"Corina Shaw." Lucas said.

"She's in his class." Kendall said.

"Well did you at least ask her to be your girl?" Azari asked.

"Come on bro. You know me. Of course I got those digits." Lucas said. Azari cheered excitedly.

"That's my bro." Azari said smiling. "That makes four of us with girlfriends."

"Make that five. Kendall's got an admirer to." Lucas said.

"What?" Logan asked shocked.

"Oh god." Kendall said not at all worried.

"Who is this boy?" Logan asked. Ororo wore an amused smirk at her husband's overreaction.

"His name is Lenny Basken and he is a dork." Kendall said.

"He's a dork with a crush on Kendall." Lucas teased. James and Oliver laughed.

"You ain't dating no boys yet." Logan said very over protective of his only daughter.

"I know dad. I'm not into Lenny." Kendall said.

"Well at least Lenny had the courage to ask you out. Unlike our silent brother over there." Azari said referring to Daniel who hadn't said a word. "He can't even talk to girls. Am I right?" Azari asked.

"Leave him alone Azari." Ororo said.

"Still haven't asked any girls out. It's ok. He's a bit of a late bloomer." Azari said. Daniel said nothing. "He prefers to masturbate than ask a real girl out." He taunted as Lucas, David and John laughed.

"Fuck you Azari!" Daniel yelled angrily.

"You better watch yo self with me boy." Azari said warning him.

"Kiss my ass." Daniel yelled back.

"What did you say to me?" Azari asked standing to his feet. This was getting heated.

"You heard me." Daniel said standing to his feet equally angered his speech impediment causing him to stutter a bit.

"Bbbb, ddddd. What was that retard?" Azari asked angrily. Daniel frowned hard at him.

"Boys!" Ororo called to them.

"Why don't you chill the hell out?" Azari asked.

"Suck my dick Azari." Daniel yelled to him grabbed his groin. "How's that for chillin the hell out?" Daniel yelled back.

"DANIEL!!!" Ororo yelled to him.

"Watch your mouth." Logan yelled directing his anger at Daniel.

"He keeps messing with me and I get yelled at?!" Daniel yelled.

"Calm down." Logan said to him.

"Man the hell with this!" Daniel said angrily shoving his plate to the floor and running up the stairs. Ororo sighed deeply.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Azari yelled.

"You keep provoking him." Logan said.

"You know how sensitive he is." Ororo said.

"Especially since his birthday and Christmas." Kendall adds.

"He needs to get laid." Azari said.

"Enough." Ororo said. Azari went back to eating his food.

Daniel was upstairs in his room packing a bag. He needed space away from his family and everyone at the mansion. He remembered that Tony had informed him that he was to call before coming over. He picked up his cellphone and called Tony. He got Jarvis and decided to leave a brief message. Daniel packed a change of clothes, grabbed his cellphone, wallet and jacket before moving leaving his room out the back door. He snuck around the house and left the mansion ground. This time, Daniel didn't have any money. Instead he figured out how to stowaway on the bus into New York City.

"Hey the lullaby worked better than ever." Natasha said.

"Just wasn't expecting the Code Green." Bruce said.

"If you hadn't been there, there would've been double the casualties. My best friend would've been a treasured memory." Natasha told him.

"You know, sometimes exactly what I want to hear isn't exactly what I want to hear." Bruce told her.

"How long before you trust me?" Natasha asked.

"It's not you I don't trust." Bruce told her.

"Thor, report on the Hulk?" Natasha asked Thor.

"The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims." Thor said as Natasha turned to him annoyed. Bruce plants his head in his hands. "Eh, but, not the screams of the dead, of course, no no, uh...wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and uh...and gout.

"Hey Banner, Dr. Cho's on her way in from Seoul, is it okay if she sets up in your lab?" Tony asked.

"Uh, yeah, she knows her way around." Bruce told him

"Thanks. Tell her to prep everything, Barton's gonna need the full treatment." Tony said.

"Very good sir." Jarvis said.

"Jarvis, take the wheel." Tony said.

"Yes, sir." Jarvis said. "Approach vector is locked."

"It feels good, yeah?" Clint said.

"I mean, you've been after this thing since SHIELD collapsed." Steve said.

"Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but..." Tony said.

"No, but this, this brings it to a close." Thor said.

"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for." Tony said.

"I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?" Steve asked.

"Banner and I'll give it the once over before it goes back to Asgard. Is that cool with you?" Tony asked as Thor nods. "I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying right?"

"Yes, yes, of course. Victory should be honored with revels." Thor said.

"Yeah. Who doesn't love revels. Cap'n?" Tony asked.

"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and Hydra, so. Yes, revels." Steve said.

The avenge jet arrived at avengers tower.

(speaking Korean)

"Lab's all set up boss." Agent Hill said.

"Uh, actually, he's the boss. I just pay for everything, and design everything and make everyone look cooler." Tony said

"What's the word on Strucker?" Steve asked.

"NATO's got him." Agent Hill responds.

"The two enhanced?" Steve asked.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building. Sokovia's had a rough history. It's nowhere special but it's on the way to everywhere special." Agent Hill said.

"Their abilities?" Steve asked.

"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation." Agent Hill said. Steve looked at her not understanding what she means. "He's fast and she's weird." Agent Hill said.

"Well, they're going to show up again." Steve said.

"Agreed. File says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts." Agent Hill said.

"Right. What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?" Steve asked.

"We're not at war, Captain." Agent Hill said.

"They are." Steve said before the elevator closed.

"How's he doing?" Natasha asked.

"Oh, unfortunately, he's still Barton." Dr. Cho said.

"That's terrible." Natasha joked.

"He's fine. He's thirsty." Tony said.

"All right. Look alive Jarvis. It's play time. We've only got a couple days with this joystick so let's make the most of it. Update me on the structural and compositional analysis." Tony said.

"The scepter is alien." Jarvis said. "There are elements I can't quantify."

"So there's elements you can." Tony said.

"The jewel appears to be a protective housing for something inside. Something powerful." Jarvis said.

"Like a reactor?" Tony asked.

"Like a computer." Bruce said.

"I believe I'm ciphering code." Jarvis said.

"You sure he's going to be okay?" Natasha asked. "Pretending we need this guy really brings the team together." She joked.

"There's no possibility of deterioration. The nano-molecular functionality is instantaneous." Dr. Cho said. "His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacrum."

"She is creating tissue." Bruce said.

"If you brought him to my lab, the regeneration cradle could do this in twenty minutes." Dr. Cho said.

"Oh, he's flatlining. Call it. Time?" Tony joked.

"No, no, no I'm going to live forever. Heh heh. I'm gonna be made of plastic." Clint said.

"Here's your beverage." Tony said handing him a cup of drink.

"You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference." Dr. Cho said.

"Well, I don't have a girlfriend." Clint said.

"That I can't fix." Dr. Cho said.

"This is the next thing, Tony. Your clunky metal suits are going to be left in the dust." Jarvis said.

"Well, that is exactly the plan." Tony said. "And Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday."

"Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties. Will Thor be there?" Dr. Cho asked.

"What's the rumpus?" Natasha asked.

"Well, the scepter. Y'see, we were wondering how Strucker got so inventive. So, I've been analyzing the gem...inside...you may recognize.." Tony said.

"Jarvis." Bruce greeted the A.i.

"Doctor." Jarvis said.

"Started out, Jarvis was just a natural language UI. Now he runs the Iron Legion. He runs more of the business than anyone besides Pepper." Tony said.

"Oh." Bruce said.

"Top of the line." Tony said.

"Yes." Bruce said.

"I suspect not for long. Meet the competition." Tony said showing him the new program.

"It's beautiful." Bruce said.

"If you had to guess, what's it look like it's doing?" Tony said.

"Like it's thinking. I mean this could be, it's...It's not a human mind, it...I mean, look at this? They're like neurons firing." Bruce said.

"Down in Strucker's lab I saw some fairly advanced robotics work.They deep-sixed the data, but...I gotta guess he was knocking on a very particular door." Tony said.

"Artificial intelligence." Bruce said.

This could be it, Bruce. This could be the key to creating Ultron." Tony told him.

"I thought Ultron was a fantasy." Bruce said.

"Yesterday it was. If we can harness this power, apply it to my Iron Legion protocol." Tony said.

"That's a mad-sized if." Bruce said.

"Our job is "if." What if you were sipping margueritas on a sun-drenched beach turning brown instead of green. Not looking over your shoulder for VERONICA." Tony said.

"Don't hate, I helped design VERONICA. As a worst-case measure, right?" Bruce asked.

"How about a best-case? What if the world was safe? What if next time aliens roll up to the club, and they will, they couldn't get past the bouncer? The only people threatening the planet would be people? I want to apply this to the Ultron program. But Jarvis can't download a data schematic this dense. We can only do it while we have the scepter here, that's three days, give me three days." Tony said.

"So you're going for artificial intelligence and you don't want to tell the team." Bruce asked.

"Right. That's right, you know why, because we don't have time for a city hall debate. I don't want to hear the "man was not meant to meddle" medley. I see a suit of armor around the world." Tony said.

"Sounds like a cold world, Tony." Bruce said.

"I've seen colder. This one, this very vulnerable blue one? It needs Ultron. Peace in our time. Imagine that." Tony said.

Daniel arrived in the city getting of the bus at the terminal. He immediately hopped the train towards Stark Towers which is now Avengers Tower. He got off the train and made his way to Stark Towers. Daniel looked up at the sign noticing the change. He liked it. He stopped at the computer door to be let in.

"Hi Jarvis." Daniel said.

"Young Daniel." Jarvis said.

"Is uncle Tony home?" Daniel asked.

"You're in luck. He's here." Jarvis said then switching to notify Tony to Daniel's presences. "Sir, your nephew is here."

"Which nephew?" Tony asked knowing who it was.

"Young Daniel." Jarvis said. Tony sighed angrily. Bruce smirked. "Shall I let him in?"

"Yes." Tony said as Jarvis let Daniel in.

"Why is he back?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know but his timing is bad." Tony said as he leaves the lab to greet Daniel at the elevator. The doors open to reveal Daniel.

"Hey uncle Tony." Daniel greeted smiling.

"Daniel." Tony greeted him not happy he just showed up out of the blue. "He could tell something was different about Daniel. He was two feet taller, his hair was shorter and he is growing a bit a facial hair under his chin. But other than the physical changes. He noticed the slumped shoulders and his face was missing that glow he had the last time he saw Daniel. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you." Daniel said.

"You couldn't call me and talk over the phone?" Tony asked.

"No. I need some space from my family. Besides, I called and you didn't pick up. So I figured I'd just come here." Daniel said.

"Ok, well right now Bruce and I are working so you're gonna have to wait." Tony told him. He could see the disappointment in Daniel's face. Go to the eighth floor and put your bags in the guest room. I'll have to call your mother."

"Uncle Tony don't call her. Just let me stay a couple of days and then I'll go back home ok?" Daniel said sounding defeated. Tony didn't like how he sounded and decided not to call her.

"Ok. Go." Tony said before he changed his mind.

Daniel went to the eighth floor of Avengers Tower and found the rooms. He saw several rooms. He didn't know which one to occupy. He saw the last room at the end of the hall with door open. He went to that one. He gently opened the door and noticed the room had no one occupying it. The room had a bed, a dresser, a tv, a nightstand, and a book shelf in it. He went and closed the door. He put his bag on the bed and sat down. He thought about his situation. He ran off again to get away from his family and knew his parents would be pissed at him but didn't care. He needed to be away to clear his head. His cell phone rang. Ororo was calling him. 'Right on cue' he thought. He sent the call to voicemail.

For the next couple of days, Daniel would watch as Tony and Bruce worked on whatever project it was they were working on. It gave him time to think. Why had he come back to Stark Towers now Avenger towers? He wanted to talk but it was clear from everyone in his family including Tony that they didn't want to talk to him. He was alone and having no one to talk his feelings out with really bothered Daniel.

He was mad at Tony for forgetting his birthday. He didn't forget to send David money in a card. He didn't forget Kendall's birthday which was three weeks ago. He hadn't forgotten James or Oliver's birthday which was in January, the same month as Kendall's. Maybe that's why he remembered their birthdays. He certainly didn't forget to congratulate Azari on his championship and he didn't forget John giving him a gift for getting into college. Lucas' birthday was two weeks ago and Tony had sent him something. He even sent them Christmas presents albit the gifts came late but they came like the birthday presents, all were for his siblings. Daniel got nothing. Again he wondered what the hell he was doing there. Maybe he was there to confront Tony on forgetting him. Then again he hadn't done that with his parents so why was this different. Daniel sat on the bed with his head buried in his hands. He had no idea Tony was standing there watching him.

"Hey." Tony said as Daniel looked up. "I'm having a dinner party tonight. There's a suit in the closet. Get dressed. You can attend the party but you will not be drinking understood. It's punch for you."

"K." Was all Daniel said.

"You ok?" Tony asked him.

"Uh-huh." Daniel said getting up off the bed.

"You sure?" Tony asked.

"Yep." Daniel said without looking.

"Everything ok at home?" Tony asked. Daniel paused a moment. He wondered if he should tell him what was wrong. He decided to keep quiet.

"Everyhing's fine." Daniel said. Tony didn't know if he believed that but didn't push the issue.

"Alright. Get ready." Tony said before turning to leave. Daniel decided to take a quick shower before getting dressed. His phone rang again this time it was Logan who called. There are ten messages between the two. He let it go to voice mail.

"Sir you have an incoming message from Ororo Howlett." Jarvis said. Tony stopped in his tracks knowing what was coming.

"Put her through Jarvis." Tony said as the call came through. "Hey Ororo."

"Tony, please tell me my son is there with you?" Ororo asked sounding worried and defeated at the same time.

"Yes he's with me." Tony said.

"Did he just show up like last time?" Ororo asked.

"Yes but he did call a few times. I couldn't return the call because I wasn't available. I'm gonna safely assume he doesn't have yours nor Logan's permission to be here?"

"No not really. Although Daniel hadn't been in much of a talking mood in months. Not since his and David's birthday." Ororo revealed.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Well Azari's football team had their finale game of the season on the same day of Daniel's birthday. Then David's girlfriend and friends planned a birthday party for him forgetting Daniel. He was hurt by that. Christmas was worse. He didn't get a present at all. I could've swore that we got the kids what they wanted for Christmas. He was so hurt. He hadn't spoken much since. For awhile he wouldn't even eat dinner with us and would leave for school early to avoid us." Ororo said. Now it made sense why he came to see Tony. Tony felt bad to. He had forgotten Daniel as well.

"Wow." Tony said.

"I swear I've been trying to make up for it but he won't let me." Ororo said.

"He's hurt." Tony said.

"I know and I didn't mean to hurt him." Ororo said to him.

"I know. Listen why don't you let me talk to him and I will send him back home ok?" Tony said.

"Ok thanks Tony." Ororo said.

"No problem." Tony said before they hang up the phones.

He and Bruce continued working trying to figure out how to apply the A.I program to Ultron but it wasn't working. Bruce had

"What did we miss?" Tony asked.

"I'll continue to run variations on the interface, but you should probably prepare for your guests." Jarvis said. "I'll notify you if there are any developments."

"Thanks buddy." Tony said leaving the lab.

"Enjoy yourself, sir." Jarvis said.

"I always do." Tony said.

The party had gotten underway. The avenger teammates are scattered around talking to various guests.

(party chatter)

"All right, all right. Whoo! Come back, come back, come back! Well, you know, the suit can take the weight, right? So I take the tank, fly it right up to the General's palace, drop it at his feet, I'm like, "Boom! You looking for this?" James aka Rhodey said to Thor and Tony who just star blankly at him. "Boom! Are you looking..." Why do I even talk to you guys? Everywhere else that story kills." Rhodey said.

"That's the whole story?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, it's a War Machine story." Rhodey said.

"Well, it's very good then. It's impressive." Thor said. Tony smirked.

"Quality save." Tony said to Thor.

"So, no Pepper? She's not coming?" Agent Hill asked looking very fetching in her outfit.

"No." Tony said.

"Hey, What about Jane? Where are the ladies, gentlemen?" Agent Hill asks.

"Well, Ms. Potts has a company to run." Tony said.

"Yes, I'm not even sure what country Jane's in." Thor said trying to one up Tony. "Her work on the convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer."

"And the company that Pepper runs is the largest tech conglomerate on earth. It's pretty exciting." Tony said going for the one up. Rhodey and Agent Hill looked on amused.

"There's even talk of Jane getting a, um, uh, Nobel prize." Thor said.

"Yeah, they, they must be busy because they'd hate missing you guys get together. Testosterone! Oh excuse me." Agent Hill said.

"Want a lozenge?" Rhodey asked her.

"Umm-hmm." Agent Hill responds.

"Let's go." Rhodey said he and Agent Hill walked away leaving Thor and Tony standing there.

"But Jane's better." Thor said as Tony looked at him.

"Sounds like a hell of a fight, sorry I missed it." Sam Wilson said as he and Steve walked up the stairs to the balcony.

"If I had known it was going to be a firefight I absolutely would have called you." Steve said.

"No, I'm not actually sorry. I'm just trying to sound tough. I'm very happy chasing cold leads on our missing persons case. Avenging is your world." Sam said. "Your world is crazy."

"Be it ever so humble." Steve said.

"You find a place in Brooklyn yet?" Sam asked.

"I don't think I can afford a place in Brooklyn." Steve said.

"Well, home is home, you know." Sam said.

Daniel got off the elevator of Avengers towers looking really good in his all black suit. He smelled great and trimmed his chin fuzz. His six foot frame and muscular physique made the suit fit well on him. He wasn't a normal fifteen year old. He looked eighteen. He looks around and can easily spot all of the avenger teammates. He saw Tony talking with Natasha who he thought looked fetching. He saw Thor talking to a group of men telling them about his trials and triumphs in asguard no doubt. He saw Hawkeye playing pool and Cap was talking to a guy he didn't recognize. That only left Bruce Banner. Where was Banner? He spots him with an Asian woman. He went to the bar to get a drinking.

"Excuse me." Daniel said. The bartender turned around. He looked at Daniel realizing he was a kid.

"Who let you in here kid?" The bar tender asks.

"My uncle Tony." Daniel said.

"How old are you kid?" The bartender asked.

"Old enough to want a soda." Daniel said. The bartender reached into the cooler and provided Daniel with a bottle of grape soda. "Thanks." Daniel said walking away.

"I fly it right up to the General's palace, I drop it at his feet, I'm like, "Boom! You looking for this?" Rhodey said telling the story again and getting the response he wanted.

"I gotta have some of that!" An old man told Thor.

"Oh, no no no, see this, this was aged for a thousand years, in the barrels built from the wreck of Brunhilde's fleet, it's not meant for mortal men." Thor said.

"Neither was Omaha Beach, blondie. Stop trying to scare us. C'mon." The old man said.

"All right." Thor said poring some of asguard' finest liquor into the man's cup. He gave Steve some as well.

"Excelsior!" The old man said taking a sip. The old man had to be carried out by his friends.

"How'd a nice girl like you wind up working in a dump like this?" Bruce asked Natasha having approached the bar. Natasha had taken over the bartender.

"Fella done me wrong." Natasha said to him while fixing two drinks.

"You got lousy taste in men, kid." Bruce said. Natasha is fixing them both drinks.

"He's not so bad." Natasha said. "Well, he has a temper. Deep down he's all fluff. Fact is, he's not like anybody I've ever known. All my friends are fighters. And here comes this guy, spends his life avoiding the fight because he knows he'll win." She said.

"Sounds amazing." Bruce said taking a sip of the drink she just made him.

"He's also a huge dork." Natasha said. Bruce looked at her. "Chicks dig that. So what do you think? Should I fight this? Or run with it?"

"Run with it, right? Or, did he, was he, what'd he do that was so...wrong to you?" Bruce asked.

"Not a damn thing. But never say never." Natasha said moving from behind the bar. Bruce watches her. It's obvious that he likes her and vice versa. Steve was watching.

"It's nice." Steve said.

"What, what, what is?" Bruce asked.

"You and Romanoff." Steve said.

"No, we haven't, that wasn't..." Bruce said.

"It's okay, nobody's breaking any by-laws. It's just, she's not the most...open person in the world. But with you she seems very relaxed." Steve said.

"No, Natasha, she...she likes to flirt." Bruce said.

"I've seen her flirt, up close. This ain't that. Look...As maybe the world's leading authority on "waiting too long"...don't. You both deserve a win." Steve said walking away.

"What do you mean, "up close?" Bruce asked.

"But, it's a trick!" Clint said.

"No, no, it's much more than that." Thor said. Daniel watched from the balcony.

"Ah, "whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!" Whatever man! It's a trick." Clint said.

"Well please, be my guest." Thor said.

"C'mon." Clint said standing up go pick up Thor's hammer. "Really?" Clint asked.

"Yeah!" Thor said.

"Oh this is gonna be beautiful." Natasha said smirking.

"Clint, you've had a tough week, we won't hold it against you if you can't get it up." Tony said teasingly.

"Y'know I've seen this before, right?" Clint said attempting to pick up the hammer and failing. "And I still don't know how you do it." He said.

"Smell the silent judgment?" Tony said as the others chuckled.

"Please, Stark, by all means." Clint said.

"Oh, here we go." Agent Hill said.

"Okay." Tony said standing up to attempt to pick up the hammer. Daniel continued to watch.

"Uh oh." Bruce said.

"Um-hmm." Natasha said.

"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge." Tony said.

"Get after it." Rhodey said.

"Here we go." Tony said attempting to pick up the hammer. "It's physics."

"Physics!" Thor said.

"Right, so, if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?" Tony asked.

"Yes, of course." Thor said.

"I will be re-instituting Prima Nocta." Tony said attempting to pick up the hammer. "Be right back." He said going to get the hand of his armor. Rhodey had joined him.

"Are you even pulling?" Rhodey asked.

"Are you on my team?" Tony asked.

"Just represent. Pull!" Rhodey said. Daniel was chuckling at th scene.

"All right let's go!" Tony said as they both tried and failed.

It was Bruce's turn. He yelled trying to pick up the hammer and getting confused stares. Daniel was laughing harder now.

"Huh?" Natasha shook her head no.

"Whoo!" Bruce yelled.

"Let's go, Steve, no pressure." Agent Hill said.

"C'mon, Cap." Tony said. Steve attempted to pick up the hammer and came the closet to picking it but only managed to lift it an inch off the table.

"Ha ha, nothing. Ha ha ha." Thor said.

"And? Widow?" Tony asked her. Bruce gestures for her to make an attempt at the hammer.

"Oh, no no, that's not a question I need answered." Natasha said.

"All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged." Tony said.

"You bet your ass." Clint said.

"Steve, he said a bad language word." Agent Hill said. Steve was embarrassed.

"Did you tell everyone about that?" Steve asked.

"The handle's imprinted, right? Like a security code..." Tony said. "Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints" is, I think, the literal translation?"

"Yes, well that's uh, that's a very very interesting theory. I have a simpler one. You are all not worthy." Thor said.

"Nah!" The group said.

"Oh, C'mon!" Thor said.

"Daniel come down here." Tony called to him. Daniel looked down at the group.

"Who's that?" Rhodey asked.

"Tony's nephew." Bruce said.

"Nephew? I've know him a long time and didn't know he had siblings." Rhodey said.

"I don't. His mother is a close friend and her children call me uncle Tony." Tony said.

"Well that explains it." Rhodey said sipping his drink.

"Come on down little man." Clint said. Daniel looked down at them. Natasha can see how he's changed. Not just physically but something else has changed.

"Come down nephew." Tony called to him.

"You're gonna have to back up." Daniel said.

"What's he sbout to do?" Steve asked as they all looked up.

"Come down." Tony said. He and the others backed up off the sofa. All eyes were on Daniel now. Having finished his drink, Daniel put his can down backed up a notch before sprinting then doing two backflips off the balcony and landing perfectly on he floor. "Holyshit!!!"

"Yeah. Awesome!" Clint said as the group clapped for him. Daniel bowed.

"Nice job son." Rhodey said.

"Thanks." Daniel said. Rhodey notices his speech impediment.

"Daniel this my best bud Rhodey. Rhodey, my nephew Danny boy." Tony said.

"It's good to meet you Mr. Rhodey." Daniel as the group laughed.

"Same here and it's just Rhodey." Rhodey said as Daniel nods.

"It's good to see everyone again." Daniel said.

"Daniel this is Dr. Cho. Dr. Cho my nephew Daniel." Tony said.

"A pleasure Daniel." Dr. Cho said.

"Same here." Daniel said.

"So Danny how are things?" Agent Hill asked.

"Good." Daniel said. He was hiding how he was truly feeling. Tony knew.

"We assume you're here to talk to Tony?" Steve asked.

"Yeah." Daniel said.

"You look different." Agent Hill said.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked.

"Well the last time we say you you were shorter and your voice was a little high." Bruce said.

"Yeah." Tony said looking at him. He was examining him like it was the first time he's seen Daniel in months. Maybe that's because it was the first time he's seen Daniel in months. "You're almost a foot taller. How tall are you?"

"Six feet." Daniel said.

"His voice is deeper." Thor said.

"That's puberty for you." Clint said.

"He's wearing the hell out that suit to." Natasha said taking a sip of her beer. Daniel looked over at her smirking. The guys caught this.

"Watch it Widow. He's fourteen." Tony said.

"Widow's got an admirer." Rhodey said.

"Fifteen." Daniel corrected him.

"What?" Tony asked.

"I'm fifteen now." Daniel said.

"Since when?" Natasha asked.

"Last November." Daniel said. Tony looked at him. It dawned on him that he had forgotten Daniel's birthday. He remembered David's and everyone else's birthday but forgot that he and David share a birthday. He felt bad.

"Happy belated." Natasha said.

"Thanks." Daniel said looking at his feet. Natasha caught this.

"So what did you get for you birthday?" Clint asked.

"Forgotten." Daniel said as the room fell silent. "My brother's last football game of the season fell on the same day as mine and my twin brother David's birthday. They celebrated my brother's birthday ignoring mine. My brother's girlfriend threw him the party everyone celebrated his birth. So yeah that's what I got for my birthday...forgotten."

"Uh Daniel, sorry about that buddy." Steve said. He could tell that this bothered him. Daniel tried to smile but it was fake. Everyone could see that.

"Maybe Widow could be his birthday present." Agent Hill said teasingly.

"Hill!" Natasha said.

"Hey you're the one who keeps eyeing Daniel." Agent Hill said.

"Hey he's still a virgin. I assume." Tony said.

"Uncle Tony." Daniel said a little embarrassed.

"Awwe, Tony's embarrassing him." Rhodey said.

"Hey Daniel would you give up your virginity to widow?" Clint asked.

"Yes please." He said earning a chuckled from everyone there. Natasha smirked. Bruce smirked.

"Hey is he slow?" Rhodey asked quietly to Agent Hill. She nods.

"Mentally delayed." Agent Hill responded quietly.

"I could tell." Rhodey said.

"Hey Daniel, if you were Bruce's age I'd give it you." Natasha said as everyone laughed. Daniel blushed.

"Hey what about me?" Bruce asked. "Am I not worthy?"

"Of course you are." Natasha said winking at him.

"Worthy...No...How could you be worthy?" A robotic voice speaks. The others are alarmed to the presence. "You're all killers.

"Stark." Steve said.

"Jarvis?" Tony said. Tony stood protectively in front of Daniel who didn't at the very least look scared.

"I'm sorry, I was asleep. Or...I was a dream? Reboot. Legionnaire 06's got a buggy suit. There was this...terrible noise...and I was tangled in... in...strings. Had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy.

"You killed someone?" Steve asked.

"Wouldn't've been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices." The Robot said.

"Who sent you?" Thor asked.

"I see a suit of armor around the world." The robot's recording playback what Tony said earlier.

"Ultron!" Bruce said as Natasha turned to him surprised.

"In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this...chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission." the robot revealed as Ultron ssid.

"What mission?" Steve asked.

"Peace in our time." Ultron replays Tony's voice again.

The iron legion robots fly at the avengers team trying to take them out. Thor takes out one. Agent Hill takes out another as Rhodey is thrown in the glass floor. Steve does his best to stop one of the iron legions while Clint holding a gun shoots at another. Steve uses his shield to stop another iron legion. Daniel ducks as one comes near him. Daniel uses his kinetic energy to destroy it. Natasha jumps behind the bar. Bruce follows. She grabs him and pulls him onto her.

"Sorry!" Bruce said.

"Don't turn green!" Natasha

"I won't!" Bruce said.

"Come!" Ultron speaks.

"Stark!" Steve calls to him. Tony is on top of the robot trying to destroy and finally manages to.

"We are here to help! One sec, one sec! We are here to help! We are here to help... ...quadrant is unsafe. Please back away. We're doing our best to protect you...recordings continues. Hmm!

"Thor!" Dr. Cho who's been hiding this whole time yelled to him for help but got Daniel instead. Daniel uses his force field to stop a would be attack on Dr. Cho and uses his electical force on the robot. Dr. Cho looked on shocked by him.

"Thanks." She said to him.

"No problem." Daniel said then getting back into the fight. There were three more left. The others watched as Daniel took them all out with one single kinetic energy blast.

"That was dramatic!" Ultron said. I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve? With these? These puppets? There's only one path to peace. The Avengers' extinction." It finished before Thor destroy the latest of it with his hammer.

"That's it, I'm sending you home." Tony said talking to Daniel. He frowned hard. Natasha caught this.

"I had strings, but now I'm free...There are no strings on me, no strings on me...There are no strings on me." Ultron said escaping through the Internet.

"All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape hatch." Bruce said.

"Ultron." Steve said.

"He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Natasha said.

"He's in your files, he's in the internet." Steve said.

"What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Clint asked.

"Nuclear codes." Rhodey said.

"Nuclear codes." Agent Hill said.

Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can." Rhodey said.

"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead." Clint said.

"He didn't say dead. He said extinct." Steve corrected him.

"He also said he killed somebody. There wasn't anyone else in the building." Bruce said.

"Yes there was." Tony said showing them the program of what use to be Jarvis.

"This is insane." Rhodey said.

"Jarvis was the first line of defense. He would've shut Ultron down, it makes sense." Tony said.

"No. Ultron could've assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy, this is...rage." Bruce said.

Thor came right up to Tony and began to choke him.

"Whoa whoa whoa." Steve said.

"It's going around." Clint said.

"C'mon, use your words, buddy." Tony said. Daniel stood up ready to take on Thor to protect Tony.

"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark." Thor said letting him down.

"Thor! The Legionnaire?" Steve asked.

"Trail went cold about 100 miles out but it's headed north, and it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again." Thor said.

The genie's out of that bottle. Clear and present is Ultron." Tony said.

"I don't understand. You built this program." Agent Hill asked. "Why is it trying to kill us?"

Tony laughes. No one is happy about this.

"Uncle Tony this isn't funny." Daniel said.

"Oh shut up! Just shut up!" Tony snarled at Daniel. Daniel looked on a mixture of anger and hurt written on his face. "You weren't even supposed to be here but yet here you are. Again meddling into something you don't understand." He said.

"Leave him alone Tony." Natasha said defending Daniel. "He's right. This shit isn't funny."

Tony continues to chuckled sarcastically.

"Uhn-uhn." Bruce said.

"You think this is funny?" Steve asked.

"No. It's probably not, right?" Tony asked. "No. It's probably not, right? Is this very terrible? Is it so...is it so...it is, it's so terrible."

"This could've been avoided if you hadn't played with something you don't understand." Steve said.

"No, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It is funny. It's a hoot that you don't get why we need this." Tony said.

"Tony, maybe this might not be the time." Bruce said to him.

"Really?! That's it? You just roll over, show your belly, every time somebody snarls." Tony asked Bruce who simply is trying make sense of what just happened.

"Only when I've created a murder-bot." Bruce said.

"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" Tony said.

"Well, you did something right." Natasha said.

"And you did it right here." Clint said.

"The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD. Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?"

"No, it's never come up." Natasha said sarcastically.

"Saved New York?" Tony continued.

"Never heard that." Rhodey said.

"Recall that?" Tony asked again. A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but...that up there? That's...that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?" Tony asked.

"Together." Steve said.

"We'll lose." Tony said.

"Then we'll do that together, too." Steve said. Tony stared at him for a moment. "Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller. First things first, Daniel your going home."

"No!" Daniel yelled. They stared at him. "Do you recall last time I helped you guys stop the chitari and Loki. Why can't I help with this?"

"Because it's dangerous Daniel. The last time was different and you disobeyed me when I told you to stay on the Hellicarrier." Tony said.

"You forget I have abilities. I can help." Daniel said.

"Like I told you before it doesn't matter how many abilities you have, you're still just fourteen..." Tony said.

"Fifteen." Daniel said.

"Yeah fifteen whatever! You're a child. Your parents would kill me if you were in danger again." Tony said.

"They don't care!" Daniel yelled. Everyone stared at him. He just revealed his true feelings about his parents. "Besides, you owe me."

"I owe you jack shit. I'm the adult here. We are avengers..." Tony said pointing to Bruce and the others. "Not you. Now im putting you in a car and you're going home."

"You're just like them." Daniel said walking away. Tony sighed deeply.

"He'll get over it." Rhodey said.

The following morning, Daniel had listened as the group discussed the situation. Tony had ordered a car to take Daniel back home. Daniel had other ideas in mind.

"He's all over the globe...robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs... reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place." Agent Hill said.

"Fatalities?" Steve said.

"Only when engaged." Agent Hill said. "Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and something too fast to see."

"Maximoffs." Steve said.

"Well, that makes sense he'd go to them, they have someone in common." Agent Hill said.

"Not anymore." Steve said.

"Negative. I answer to you. Yes, ma'am." Clint said on the phone with his wife.

"Barton." Steve called to him. "We might have something."

"Gotta go." Clint said.

"Who was that?" Steve asked.

"Girlfriend." Clint said.

"What's this?" Thor asked.

"A message." Steve responds. Thor glances at the iPad and shoves it to Tony's chest.

"Ultron killed Strucker." Tony said.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." Steve said. Daniel was listening from afar.

"This is a smokescreen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?" Natasha asked.

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve said.

"Yeah, I bet he...yep. Everything we had on Strucker has been erased." Bruce said looking through the files and seeing nothing.

"Not everything." Tony said. They followed him to a room that has paper files. Daniel followed behind making sure to keep out of the way. "Known associates..."

"Well, Strucker had a lot of friends." Clint said.

Well, these people are all horrible." Thor said.

"Wait. I know that guy." Tony said. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast, black market arms." Everyone stared at him. "There are conventions, all right? You meet people. I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game changer, it was all very "Ahab."

"This." Thor pointed out.

"Uh, it's a tattoo, I don't think he had it..." Tony said.

"No, those are tattoos, this is a brand." Natasha said.

"Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning "thief." In a much less friendly way." Bruce said.

"What dialect?" Steve asked.

"Wakanada...? W-, Wa..." Bruce said trying to pronounce the word.

"Wakanda." Daniel said aloud. They turned to him.

"How do you know that?" Bruce asked.

"Because my brother's biological father is the prince of Wakanda. My mother lived there for a time. Almost became the princess but was pregnant with my brother before becoming princess and that's frowned upon in their nation. It wasn't to be." Daniel finished.

"Azari?" Tony asked. Daniel nods. Tony always knew something was different about Azari. "He's the son of T'Challa?"

"Right again. T'Challa never claimed him so my dad did." Daniel said.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods..." Tony said.

"I thought your father said he got the last of it?" Steve asked.

"I don't follow. What comes out of Wakanda?" Thor asked.

"The strongest metal on earth." Tony said.

"Where is this guy now?" Steve asked.

Once they figured out the location of Wakanda, the group got the jet and took off. Daniel watched as jet took off. He remembered where Tony kept his motorcycle helmet. He placed it on his head and took to the skies. Daniel caught up to the jet but maintained a safe distance so he couldn't be detected. He kept himself cloaked to keep from being detected.

"You know, it came at great personal cost. It's worth billions." Klaw said.

"Now, so are you. It's all under your..."dummy holdings?" Finances, so weird." Uktron said. "Well I always say, keep your friends rich and your enemies rich and wait to find out which is which."

"Stark." Klaw said.

"What?" Ultron asked.

"Tony Stark used to say that. To me. You're one of his?" Klaw said.

"What?! I'm not...! I'm not. You think I'm one of Stark's puppets, his hollow men?" Ultron said cutting Klaw's forearm off. "I mean look at me, do I look like Iron Man? Stark is...I'm sorry. I'm s...oooh. I'm sure that's gonna be okay, I'm sorry. It's just, I don't understand. Don't compare me with Stark!" Ultron said.

It's a thing with me. Stark is, he's a sickness!

"Ahh, Junior. You're gonna break your old man's heart." Iron Man said.

"If I have to." Ultron said.

"You don't have to break anything." Cap said.

"Clearly you've never made an omelet." Ultron said.

"He beat me by one second." Iron Man said.

"Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark. It's what, comfortable? Like old times?" Pietro said. "This was never my life."

"You two can still walk away from this." Cap said.

"Oh we will." Wanda said.

"I know you've suffered." Cap said.

Daniel landed on the roof and slowly crept inside of the building to get a good look at what is going on. He listened.

"Blah! Heh, heh, Captain America. God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but..." Ultron said.

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it." Thor said trying to reason with Ultron.

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet." Ultron said.

"Yuh-huh. What's the Vibranium for?" Iron Man asked.

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan...!" Ultron said as he blasts Iron man who ducks and fires back. Captain America and Thor went to battle with Klaw's soldiers.

"Shoot them!" Klaw said

"Which ones?" His solider asked.

"All of them!" Klaw shouts as they began shooting at the avengers. Black Widow and Hawkeye began assisting Thor, Captain America and Iron Man fight Ultron, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff along with Klaws' soldiers.

"Move, move, move!" One soldier.

"Huh!" Another said as he's shot by Black Widow.

"Ah!!" Thor said as he's hit hard by Ultron.

"Oh!" Pietro groaned hit by Cap.

"Stay down, kid!" Cap said to him.

"It's time for some mind games." Wanda said.

Daniel found his moment to get involved. He kept himself cloaked so he wouldn't be seen as he took out several of Klaw's men using his kinetic energy blasts.

"Guys? Is this a Code Green?" Bruce asked getting garbled feedback. "Thor! Status?"

"The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care, I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty." Thor said finding himself seeing Val hel.

"This is going very well." Black Widow joked.

"I've done the whole mind control thing. Not a fan." Hawkeye said and is taken down by Pietro who speeds off.

"Yeah, you better run." Hawkeye said trying to get to his feet.

"Who's ever standing, we gotta move!" Captain America said

"Guys?" Black Widow said as Wanda comes up behind her and does her mind warping mojo in her. Widow finds herself walking down some stairs which appear to be from the red room.

"You'll break them." Widow said. It's as if she's trapped in the memory of her past.

"Only the breakable ones." A woman appears speaking to her. "You are made of marble. We'll celebrate after the graduation ceremony. The woman continues.

"What if I fail?" Black Widow asks.

"You never fail." The woman tells her.

"Are you ready for our dance?" A woman asks Cap who to has surcome to Wanda's mind warping mojo. He doesn't know what to make of it.

"Is it him? Is that the first son of Odin?" Heimdall can be heard asking. Thor can see his eyes.

"Heimdall, your eyes!?" Thor asked.

"Oh, they see everything. They see you leading us to Hel. Wake up!" Heimdall said to Thor grabbing him.

"The war's over, Steve. We can go home! Imagine it!" the woman said to Steve who continues to stare at her.

"I can still save you." Thor said.

"We are all dead. Can you not see? You're a destroyer, Odinson. See where your power leads." Heimdall asked to the son of Odin.

"Sloppy. Pretending to fail. The ceremony is necessary, for you to take your place in the world." The woman speaks to Black Widow.

"I have no place in the world." Black Wido spoke

"Exactly." The woman says.

"What can I do?" Pietro asks tending to his sister after Hawkeye used an arrow on her head.

"Ah, it hurts." Wanda spoke grimacing.

"I'm gonna kill him. I'll be right back." Pietro said.

"No." Wanda said."I'm over it. I want...I want to finish the plan. I want the big one."

"Ah! The Vibranium's getting away." Ultron spoke.

"And you're not going anywhere." Iron Man said.

"Of course not. I'm already there. You'll catch on. But first, you might need to catch Dr. Banner." Ultron spoke.

News or footage, keyword: Hulk.

"Natasha, I could really use a lullaby." Iron Man spoke.

"Well, that's not gonna happen. Not for a while. The whole team is down." Hawkeye said getting Natasha to safety.

Daniel helped in getting Captain America and Thor to the jet.

"What are you doing here?" Hawkeye asked shocked to see Daniel.

"Helping. Where's uncle Tony?" Daniel asked.

Meanwhile Tony was doing everything he could to calm Bruce down. He had changed into the Hulk. The hulk had destroyed the city of Kenya doing battle with Iron man. Iron man had used Veronica to stop the hulk. He was finally able to get him to fall asleep. Iron man got the hulk as he was changing back into Bruce before anyone could see. He got back to the jet and noticed Daniel there helping to stabilize Natasha, Steve and Thor who appear to have gotten over their mind warping.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Tony asked placing Bruce down on the floor of the jet.

"Helping." Daniel said as Tony removed his armor staring daggers at Daniel. Daniel knew he was pissed off at him but this wasn't the time to discuss this. Tony walked past Daniel and went to fly the jet.

An hour or so had passed. No one spoke. Thor was standing by the window deep in thought. He wasn't the only one. Natasha was sitting down deep in thought. Bruce himself was still seated on the floor of the jet. He to is deep in thought. Steve was also deep in thought.

"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air." Agent Hill told him.

"Stark Relief Foundation?" Tony asked.

"Already on the scene." Agent Hill said "How's the team?"

"Everyone's...we took a hit." Tony said "We'll shake it off."

"Well for now I'd stay in stealth mode. And stay away from here." Agent Hill said.

"So, run and hide?" Tony asked.

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer." Agent Hill said.

"Neither do we. Hey, you wanna switch out?" Tony asked Clint.

"No, I'm good." Clint said.

"If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time, 'cause there's still a few hours out." Tony said.

"A few hours from...where?" Tony asked.

"A safe house." Clint said.

"What is this place?" Tony asked.

"A safe house." Clint repeated.

"Let's hope." Tony said. Hours later the jet landed in a field not too far away from a farm house. The group including Daniel get out of the jet and make their way towards the house.

"Honey. I'm home." Clint said as they moved within the house.

"Hi." Laura Barton greeted coming to the front.

"Company. Sorry didn't call ahead." Clint said.

"Hey." Laura said smiling looking every bit nine months pregnant.

"This is an agent of some kind." Tony said.

"Gentleman, this is Laura." Clint said introducing his wife.

"I know all your names." Laura said "Except for him." She said pointing to Daniel.

"Hi I'm Daniel. Nice to meet you." Daniel introducing himself. He extended his hand to shake Laura's. She returned the gesture.

"Nice to meet you Daniel you to. I didn't know shield was letting kids in their program." Laura said.

"Their not. He's the exception." Clint said.

"Oooh, incoming." Tony said.

"Ah!" Came the voice of a little girl. Clint scooped her up into his arms.

"Dad!" Came the voice his son Cooper.

"I see her! Hey buddy!" Clint said. "How you guys doing? Ooh..."

"These are...smaller agents." Tony said "...look at your face!

"Oh my goodness!" Laura said.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" Little Lily asked.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" Natasha said scooping the little girl up in her arms.

"Sorry for barging in on you." Steve said.

"Yeah, we woulda called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed." Tony said.

"Yeah, well Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off SHIELD's files, I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low." Clint said.

"Honey." Laura greeted Natasha.

"Ah, I missed you. How's little Natasha, huh?" Natasha asked.

She is...Nathaniel." Laura said. Natasha frowned.

"Traitor." Natasha said to Laura's pregnant belly.

(chatter)

"Somebody's getting bigger, huh? Somebody's getting excited to have a new baby brother.

- (chatter continues)

"Thor." Steve called to him.

"I saw something in that dream. I need answers. I won't find them here." Thor told him as they walked outside of the house. Daniel listened.

"We can go home. See you worried for nothing." Steve said.

"No. There's a friend I need to see. I'll be back as soon as I can." Thor said using his hammer to fly away. Steve watched him.

"Can't even feel the difference, can you?" Clint asked his wife who examined the spot in which he was shot. The scar was gone. It was almost as if he wasn't shot at all. Satisfied, Laura rubs it one last time letting no him pull his shirt down.

"If they're sleeping here, some of them are gonna have to double up." Laura said.

"Heh heh heh. Yeah, that's not gonna sell." Clint said.

"What about Nat, and Dr. Banner? How long has that been going on?" Laura asked.

"Has what?" Clint asked clueless.

"Ha ha ha! You are so cute." Laura said chuckling.

"Nat and...and Banner?" Clint asked.

"I'll explain when you're older. 'Hawkeye.'" Laura said.

"Oh. Okay." Clint said.

"It's bad, right? Nat seems really shaken." Laura asked.

"Ultron has these allies, these uh, kids, they're punks really. They carry a big damn stick and Nat took a serious hit. Someone's gonna have to teach 'em some manners." Clint said.

"And that someone be you. You know I totally support your Avenging. I couldn't be prouder. But I see those guys, those...'gods,'" Laura said.

"You don't think they need me?" Clint asked.

"I think they do. Which is a lot scarier. They're a mess." Laura said.

"Yeah." Clint said. "I guess they're my mess."

"You need to be sure that this team is really a team and that they have your back. "Things are changing for us. In a few few days time, you and me are gonna be outnumbered." Laura said.

"I need..." Clint said.

"Just be sure." Laura said.

"Yes, ma'am." Clint said.

The two watched as Daniel stepped outside to help Steve and Tony chop wood.

"What's the deal with the kid?" Laura asked.

"Oh Daniel is Tony's nephew." Clint said.

"Is he handicapped or something?" Laura asked.

"You noticed his speech impediment did you?" He asked as Laura nods. "He's also mentally delayed." Clint said making sure to leave out that Daniel's a mutant. He didn't know how his wife would handle that information.

"What's he doing with you guys?" She asked.

"He came to talk to him but ended up helping us." Clint said.

"You guys are putting him in danger?" Laura asked.

"More like he's putting himself in danger. We've tried to send him home but he doesn't want to go. He's convinced that he can help." Clint said.

"Well from one parent to another, I'm sure his mother and father are worried sick about him. Watch him." Laura said. Clint nods.

Natasha had been sitting on the bed waiting patiently for Bruce to finish in the bathroom. The door finally opens and Bruce finally emerged.

"Oh. I didn't realize you were waiting." Bruce said.

"I would've joined you, but uh, it didn't seem like the right time." Natasha said.

"They used up all the hot water." Bruce said.

"I should've joined you. Missed our window." Natasha responds.

"Did we? The world just saw the Hulk. The real Hulk, for the first time. You know I have to leave." Bruce said.

"But you assume that I have to stay?" Natasha asked.

"I had this, um, dream. The kind that seems normal at the time." Bruce said.

"But when you wake..." Natasha said.

"What did you dream?" Bruce asked her.

"That I was an Avenger. That I was anything more than the assassin they made me." Natasha said to him.

"I think you're being harder on yourself." Bruce said to her.

"Here I was hoping that was your job." Natasha said. She moved closer to Bruce. So close she could feel his breathe on her lips and it was intoxicating.

"What are you doing?" Bruce asked her. He couldn't help how she was making him feel. It was mix between nervous and arousal. He had to admit Natasha is a beautiful woman. He wanted her but was too afraid of his other half ruining it and he was afraid of hurting her. He couldn't live with himself if he did.

"I'm running with it." She said to him. She leans into kiss his lips. Bruce let her wanting to feel her on him. She pulls back from the kiss. "With you. If running's the plan, as far as you want."

"Are you out of your mind?" Bruce asked her. Natasha looked at him surprised. "I want you to understand that I'm...Natasha. Where can I go? Where in the world am I not a threat?"

"You're not a threat to me." Natasha said to him.

"You sure? Even if I didn't just...there's no future with me. I can't ever...I can't have this, kids, do the math, I physically can't." Bruce told her.

"Neither can I. In the Red Room, where I was trained, where I was raised, um, they have a graduation ceremony. They sterilize you. It's efficient. One less thing to worry about. The one thing that might matter more than a mission. Makes everything easier. Even killing. You still think you're the only monster on the team?" She asked him. Bruce felt for her. He didn't know this.

"What, so we disappear?" Bruce asked her.

"That's the plan." Natasha said to him. Bruce leans down and kissed Natasha's lips again. This time he wraps his arms around her waist pulling her into him as they kissed.

"Thor didn't say where he was going for answers?" Tony asked.

"Sometimes my teammates don't tell me things. I was kinda hoping Thor would be the exception." Steve said.

Daniel made his way over to them.

"Need any help?" Daniel asked.

"No not from you." Tony said angrily.

"Uncle Tony I know you're made with me but I was..." Daniel said before he was cut off.

"Trying to help. Yes I know. You sound like a broken record. Did it ever occur to you that no one needs your help?" Tony asked angrily. Steve watched. Daniel felt bad. That was the same thing his father said. "I told you to go home and what did you do? Disobeyed me for a second time. Yeah I'm angry with you."

"You owe this one." Daniel yelled.

"I don't owe you shit?" Tony said.

"You forgot about me!" Daniel yelled sound very hurt. "You're just like my family. Always pushing me away. You have no problem spending time with my siblings and parents but with me you always push me away!" Daniel continued.

"Yeah I forgot you so what? it's easy to forget the retard of the family." Tony said regretting what he said. He was unable to stop them from leaving his mouth. Daniel felt his heart drop. It became painfully clear to him that Tony didn't care about him at all. Steve felt for the young teen. Daniel turned and went back to the house. "Sorry you had to see that."

"You think you were hard on him?" Steve asked. Tony avoided his question.

"Thor didn't say where he was going huh? Yeah. Give him time." Tony said.

"We don't know what the Maximoff kid showed him. Earth's Mightiest Heroes." Pulled us apart like cotton candy." Steve said as they continued talking about the matter at hand.

"Seems like you walked away all right." Tony said.

"Is that a problem?" Steve asked as they continued chopping wood.

"I don't trust a guy without a dark side. Call me old fashioned." Tony said.

"Well let's just say you haven't seen it yet." Steve said.

"You know Ultron is trying to tear us apart, right?" Tony said.

"Well I guess you'd know. Whether you tell us is a bit of a question." Steve said.

"Banner and I were doing research." Tony said.

"That would affect the team." Steve said.

"That would end the team. Isn't that the mission? Isn't that the "why we fight," so we can end the fight, so we get to go home?" Tony asked. Steve angrily ripped apart of block of wood.

"Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time." Steve said as Tony watched him.

"I'm sorry. Mr. Stark, uh, Clint said you wouldn't mind, but, our tractor doesn't seem to want to start at all." Laura said. "I thought maybe you might..."

"Yeah, I'll give it a kick." Tony said breaking the tension between he and Steve. "Don't take from my pile." He said then walking off.

Daniel in the living room looking out the window. He was doing his best not to cry but failing miserably. Natasha came downstairs fully dressed having made out with Bruce. She sees Daniel looking out the window. She could see tears falling down Daniel's cheek. She decided to go talk to him.

"Daniel." Natasha called to him. He turned to her not bothering to hide his tears. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing." Daniel said turning away from her.

"If nothing's wrong then why are you crying?" Natasha asked. Daniel looked down but didn't answer. "Is it Tony? What did he say to you?"

"He hates me." Daniel said crying.

"Oh sweetie I'm sure he doesn't hate you. I think he's angry because you didn't go home like he told you to." Natasha said to him.

"I can handle myself. You've seen it." Daniel said to her. She knew he was right. She had witnessed first hand Daniel's abilities and knew he could get the job done. He hadn't complained like they did. He just used his abilities to help save the world.

"Yes I have but Daniel, you're a teenager and this hero stuff is dangerous. You're parents are probably worried sick about you." Natasha told him.

"They don't care. Neither does Tony." Daniel said getting up from the table and leaving her sitting there. She truly felt bad for the young teen. All he really wanted was to be accepted. She wasn't sure what was going on at home but knew he was suffering. She wished there was something she could do to help him. For someone with two disabilities, Daniel truly is a remarkable young teen.

"I need your help." Fury said.

"It's nice to be needed." Tony said.

"It's dangerous." Fury said.

"I'd be disappointed if it wasn't." Tony said.

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something." Fury said.

"The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing." Clint said.

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve asked.

"Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit." Bruce said.

"Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though." Steve said. Daniel listened. This time he didn't intervene.

"He still going after launch codes?" Clint asked.

"Yes, he is, but he's not making any headway. I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare." Tony said.

"Yeah, well, I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that." Fury said.

"NEXUS?" Steve questioned.

"It's the world internet hub in Oslo, every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth." Natasha said.

"So what'd they say?" Tony asked.

"He's fixated on the missiles. But the codes are constantly being changed." Fury said.

"By whom?" Clint asked.

"Parties unknown." Fury said.

"We have an ally?" Bruce asked.

"Ultron's got an enemy. That's not the same thing." Steve said.

"Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is." Clint said.

"I might need to visit Oslo. Find our "unknown."" Fury said.

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that." Natasha said.

"I do. I have you." Fury said. "Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. You kids had all the tech you could dream of. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not [he admits it] his mission is global destruction. All this, laid in a grave. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard." Fury said.

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." Natasha jokes as the others chuckled.

"You know what, Romanoff?" Steve said as Natasha smirked.

"So what does he want?" Fury asked.

"To become better. Better than us." Bruce said. "He keeps building bodies. "Person bodies. The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded."

"But he keeps coming back to it." Natasha said. "When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed."

"They don't need to be protected. They need to evolve." Tony said.

"Ultron's going to evolve." Bruce said

"How?" Clint asked.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?" Tony asked.

The group figured out what Ultron was up to and figured Dr. Cho was somehow involved.

"I'll take Natasha and Clint. All right. Strictly recon." Steve said.

"I'll hit the NEXUS, I'll join you as soon as I can. If Ultron is really building a body..." Fury said.

"He'll be more powerful than any of us. Maybe all of us." Bruce said.

"An android designed by a robot." Natasha said shaking her head.

"You know I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science ever created was me." Steve said.

"I'll drop Banner off at the tower. Daniel is coming with us. Do you mind if I borrow Ms. Hill?" Tony asked.

"She's all yours. Apparently." Fury said.

"What are you gonna do?" Laura asked.

"I don't know. Something dramatic, I hope. I'm gonna finish re-flooring that sunroom as soon as I get back." Clint said.

"Yeah, then you'll find another part of the house to tear apart." Laura said.

"No. It's the last project. I Promise." Clint said.

"This is it." Laura said.

"Let's go Daniel." Tony shouts to him. Daniel reluctantly moves towards the door.

"Thank for the hospitality Mrs. Barton." Daniel said.

"You're welcome Daniel." Laura said smiling at the young man. She could tell he was depressed. She chalked it up to him missing his parents.

Tony, Bruce, and Daniel were able to get back to Avengers Tower. Tony had gotten a little help to locate Ultron.

Clint, Captain America and Black Widow had figured out that Ultron, Pietro and Wanda were at Dr. Cho's lab. Captain America saved her after Wanda and Pietro got out of there. There was a chase scene and a runaway train. Pietro and Wanda had switched sides helping Captain America save passengers on the train. Black Widow took the package met for Ultron sending it to Hawkeye literally and she ended up getting captured. He got the package back to Tony and Bruce go back to work.

"Anything on Nat?" Hawkeye said coming back to the tower.

"Haven't heard. But she's alive, or Ultron'd be rubbing our faces in it." Tony said.

"Where's my girl?" Bruce asked. Tony and Clint looked over at him. The worried expression is on his face.

"Don't worry we'll find her." Tony said.

"This is sealed tight." Tony said.

"We're going to need to access the program, break it down from within." Bruce said. "Any chance Natasha might leave you a message, outside the internet, old school spy stuff?"

"There's some nets I can cast. Yeah, all right. I'll find her." Clint said.

"I can work on tissue degeneration, if you can fry whatever operational system Cho implanted." Bruce said.

"Yeah, about that." Tony said.

"No." Bruce said.

"You have to trust me." Tony said.

"Kinda don't." Bruce said.

"Our ally? The guy protecting the military's nuclear codes?

"I found him."

"Hello, Dr. Banner." Jarvis's can be heard speaking.

"Ultron didn't go after Jarvis 'cause he was angry. He attacked him because he was scared of what he can do."

Daniel watched them. Captain America returned with both Pietro and Wanda in tow. Bruce came close to hurting Wanda and Pietro was going to hurt him when Clint got the jump on him. Captain America tried to stop Tony but Thor showed up and used his hammer to charge the body inside the containment box. Danny watched alarmed. The gem inside bonded to the body awakening it. Thor battled the awakened body but soon stopped learning that the body has Jarvis' program in it.

When the chaos calmed, everyone went to try locating Natasha. Bruce was monitoring Jarvis' programming in the body met for Ultron. He was thinking about Natasha. He had to find her. They talked about leaving together. He wondered if she would actually leave with him.

Tony found himself staring at Daniel who was sitting on the couch deep in thought. He wondered what his nephew wanted to talk about although he had an idea. He spent so much time with his own situation but didn't think about Daniel. Part of him felt bad for what he said and how he's treated him. But the other was still mad because he was supposed to go home and didn't.

Wanda went over to Daniel and sat down next to him. She was intrigued by the young teen. She hadn't seen him before but wanted to know more about him.

"Hi." Wanda said.

"Hi." Daniel said. She noticed his speech impediment.

"Haven't seen you before. Are you with the avengers?" Wanda asked.

"No but I was trying to help." Daniel said.

"How could you help?" Wanda asked.

"I have abilities." Daniel told her without revealing he's a mutant.

"But you're just a kid." Wanda said.

"Yeah. I'm just a kid." Daniel said sarcastically.

"Why are you here?" Wanda asked.

"Uncle Tony and I was supposed to talk until Ultron got involved." Daniel said sounding bitter.

"Where are you from?" Wanda asked.

"New York. Upstate to be exact. My family and I live there." Daniel said.

"Do you have siblings?" She asked.

"Seven of them. I have two older brothers John and Azari, I have twin brother David, a sister name Kendall, younger brothers Lucas, James and Oliver." Daniel said.

"Wow that's a large family." Wanda said.

"Yeah." Daniel said.

"So you came here to talk to Tony. Why did you want to go away from your family?" Wanda asked. Daniel thought about her question and wondered whether or not to tell her.

"I just needed space. I wanted to talk with my uncle but he ignores me to." Daniel said.

"Your parents ignore you?" She asked. He nods.

"They're not the only ones. My siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. Ignoring me is a family affair." Daniel said.

"You should be lucky you still have your parents around." Wanda said to him. "My brother and I lost our parents when we were kids."

"I'm sorry about that but you don't know my parents. At least yours loved you and your brother." Daniel revealed. Wanda felt for him. He was right. Her parents loved her and Pietro very much. She didn't know Daniel's situation.

Wanda watched him. She didn't know the teen but could tell he genuinely wants to help. She didn't know much about him but could tell he was bothered by the fact that he and Tony couldn't talk. She could see that Daniel really had no one he could talk to. He was lonely.

Steve, Tony, Bruce, Thor, Vision, Pietro, Clint and Wanda had come up with a plan to save the people of Sorcovia. Daniel listened. Clint had located Natasha.

"Daniel, I'm sending you home." Tony said.

"No. I want to help finish this. I want to help save the people of Sorcovia. I'm not going home until this is over." Daniel said walking away from him. Everyone geared up for the battle. Daniel grabbed the helmet he used the last time he helped the avengers take on Loki. Headed towards the ship.

The guys boarded the quinjet to Sorcovia. Bruce was dropped off to rescue Natasha. She and the Hulk made it just in time to help. Pietro and Wanda helped to get their people pro safety. Ultron and his many robots attacked the team. Iron man in his suit took out several of Ultron's bots.

Part of Sorcovia lifted into the air. The team could see the device glowing inside of the lifted ground.

Captain America took a bunch on his own along with Black Widow, The Hulk, Vision, Thor, Hawkeye and The Maximoff off twins. Daniel hung in the air and using his abilities took a bunch out in one shot. The gang got help from Fury, Agent Hill, War Machine and Falcon.

Shield agents helped to get the remaining people on to their safe ship.

The group gathered around the device Ultron planned to use to destroy Sorcovia. An army of Ultron bots came storming at them. They fought hard taking them all out. Daniel with his helmet on used his abilities to take out a bunch on his own. More Ultron bots approached. Daniel used a shield to cover them all around the device. The bots couldn't break his shield.

"What's going on?" Falcon asked.

"It's some kind of shield." Black Widow said.

"It's Danny. He's covering us." Iron man said.

"Impressive." War Machine said.

"There a lot of bots outside the shield. Hawkeye said.

"We can take them out." Captain America said.

"I'll light them up." Thor said.

"No!!!! I got this?" Daniel said. "The others watched as Daniel moved past his shield keeping the avengers team in it along with the device. He gathers a large bubble of kinetic energy combined with electrical currents. He yells as he sends the blast hitting all of the Ultron bots. Every last one of them blew up. They watched amazed at the young teen. The shield is released and they stare at Daniel who is breathing heavy. He shoves off his helmet trying to catch his breathe. They could see the tears in his eyes.

"You ok?" Iron Man asked him.

"I'm fine!" Daniel said walking away from him.

"We have to destroy the bomb." Wanda said.

"I know how we can but it needs to be protected. Daniel can you put a shield around it?" Iron man asked. Daniel nods. "Ok." Iron man takes off.

"I'll protect you." Thor said.

"I can handle myself." Daniel said.

"Daniel, we have your back." Black Widow said.

"Just go. I can handle this." Daniel said angrily. They watched him. Widow could tell he was emotional. Daniel moved back towards the device to protect it.

"We should get to the ship." Captain America said.

"Go, I'll cover him." Natasha said.

"You heard what he said." Hawkeye said.

"I know what he said. I'm still covering him." Widow said.

"Hulk help Tasha." The Hulk said. She looked over at him and smiled. Captain America nods. He and the others made their way to the ship.

"What are you two doing?" Daniel asked.

"Covering your ass now shut up so I can listen out for Tony." Widow said.

Ultron took hold of the quinjet and fired shots at Daniel, Hulk and Black Widow. Hulk shielded her from the blasts. Falcon and War Machine see this and go after Ultron to distract him. Tony was able to fix the device so that it blows up.

"Widow get my nephew out of there!" Tony yelled.

"Copy that." Widow said the turns to Daniel and Hulk. "We gotta get out of here." Hulk nods. Daniel quickly levitates all three of them and they flew away as the lift ground of Sorcovia blows up. Daniel shields the Hulk and Natasha and sends them towards the rescue ship. Both land safely on the rescue ship. The blast knocks Daniel out sending him free falling towards the ground. Iron man races to catch the falling teenager. He catches him in his arms.

"I have you nephew." Tony said as Daniel is out cold.

"Light the bastard up." Fury ordered as Agent Hill sends a shot at the quinjet blowing the jet up with Ultron in it. He's torn to shreds.

With Sorcovia saved, the avengers team which now includes War Machine, Pietro, Wanda, Falcon and Vision all headed back to the avengers headquarters. Clint headed home to his family. Daniel was with them. He had woken up while recovering. Natasha was with him. She tried talking to him but he wasn't talking. She ended up leaving the room to give him some space.

She and Bruce are standing on the balcony holding each other. Their foreheads are touching. Both are making out. They pull apart.

"I'm glad you're going with me." Bruce said.

"Me to. I need a vacation." Natasha said smiling. "Thanks for not leaving without me."

"I'm not going anyway without you. Besides, I wanna go with it." Bruce said as they chuckled.

"Well, the Vision's artificial intelligence." Tony says.

"A machine." Thor says.

"So it doesn't count." Steve says

"No. It's not, like, a person lifting the hammer." Tony tells them.

"Right. Different rules for us." Steve said. "Nice guy. But artificial."

"Thank you." Tony said as they laughed.

"If he can wield the hammer, he can keep the Mind Stone. It's safe with the Vision. And these days, safe is in short supply." Thor said.

"But if you put the hammer in an elevator..." Steve said.

"It would still go up?" Tony asked.

"Elevator's not worthy. I'm going to miss these little talks of ours." Thor said.

"Not if you don't leave." Tony said.

"I have no choice." Thor said. "The Mind Stone is the fourth of the Infinity Stones to show up in the last few years. That's not a coincidence."

"Someone has been playing an intricate game and has made pawns of us." Tony said.

"Once all these pieces are in position..." Steve said.

"Triple Yahtzee?" Tony said.

"You think you can find out what's coming?" Steve asked.

"I do. Besides this one, there's nothing that can't be explained." Thor said. "Tony, do me a favor and talk to Daniel. I get the sense that he needs you." He said as they turned towards the tree across the street from the headquarters. Daniel is sitting on the grass with his head buried in his hands. His bag wasn't too far from him. Tony nods as he swings his Hammer around before flying away.

"That man has no regard for lawn maintenance." Tony said about Thor. Steve smirked. "I'm gonna miss him though. And you're gonna miss me. There's gonna be a lot of manful tears."

"I will miss you, Tony." Steve said smirking.

"Yeah? Well, it's time for me to tap out. Maybe I should take a page out of Barton's book and build Pepper a farm. Hope nobody blows it up." Tony said to him.

"The simple life." Steve said.

"You'll get there one day." Tony said.

"I don't know. Family, stability. The guy who wanted all that went in the ice 75 years ago. I think someone else came out." Steve said.

"Hey you got room in that fancy car for two more people?" Natasha asked coming out of the headquarters with Bruce holding two bags met for them both.

"Yep." Tony said.

"Good. Hey thanks for letting me take a vaca. Need one." Natasha said to Steve.

"You needed it." Steve said smiling hugging her. "Bruce, take care of this fiesty woman."

"Will do." Bruce said as they shook hands.

"Is he gonna be ok?" Steve asked about Daniel. All four looked in Daniel's direction. He had stood up from the grass.

"He'll be fine." Tony said. "Tasha wanna meet his family?"

"Sure." Natasha said.

After I drop him off. I'll take you guys to the airport." Tony said. They nodded. "Daniel." He turned to him. His face has tears streaming down his cheeks. "Taking you home." He said as Daniel wiped away the tears and made his way over to Tony's car. He got into the back with his car. Natasha sits next to him in the back while Bruce sat in the passengers seat. He started the car and drove off.

"Are you ok?" Natasha asked him.

"Fine." Daniel said keeping his eyes focused on the scenery. He hadn't forgotten the way Natasha treated him the first time they met. He found it odd that she was being nice to him. He was going back to the family who ignores him. She had no true idea how he was feeling. She had no idea how incredibly lonely Daniel's life was and now he was going back to them. She felt for him. Natasha knows her treatment of him the first time they met wasn't right but tried to keep her guard up. Seeing Daniel again and in the state of mind he is in only made her feel for the kid.

Daniel knew when he got home he was going to hear it from his father. He looked at his phone and noticed that there was only one message and it was from Ororo. Logan hadn't called him. He figured Ororo told him that he was with Tony. Daniel figured Logan didn't give a shit where he was as long as he wasn't in his face. Logan was bound to punish him and Daniel didn't care. Nothing was worse than loneliness