FINDING HOME

SUMMARY – Renee Dwyer was Tony Stark's half-sister. When Renee is murdered in her home in Jacksonville, Tony knows something isn't right. He is distraught and needs answers. When his digging unearths several more related deaths and a niece he never knew existed, how will he react? Can Bella overcome the horrors of her past and make a new life with the only family she has left?

MARVEL'S AVENGERS X TWILIGHT CROSSOVER…

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER – All Avenger's characters belong to Marvel Comics, and all Twilight Saga characters belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing, and no copyright infringement is intended.

CHAPTER 11

Embry was on the usual patrol route, running a tight circuit around the borders of the reservation, just in case a nomad decided to pass through the area. There hadn't been any major action on this side of things in so long many of the wolves didn't see the point in patrolling anymore, and Sam had let up somewhat. These days one wolf ran through the night, so they each only had to patrol once every week or so.

Of course, now that SHIELD was in town looking for Bells, Sam had them rotating to cover the agents as well, six hour shifts day and night. Embry found he had missed sharing his mind with his pack brothers in the last few years, and now having someone to share patrol with, he remembered why he liked this in the early days.

Jared had relayed all of the details from the SHIELD team conference as they happened, and after he was relieved by Collin, Embry had replayed them all for the younger wolf so nothing was missed. Jared was no doubt sharing everything he'd learned with everyone else who was camped out back at Sam's place now, but they would keep passing things along in the pack mind in more detail as everyone rotated through over the next few days.

He was completely baffled when he remembered hearing through Jared's ears as Tony Stark called Bells his niece. It didn't make any sense to him, and he found himself running through the possibilities in his head yet again.

He knew that Charlie didn't have any siblings, or at least any that he knew about, but then again, Charlie had never really spoken about his family much. Maybe Stark was a half-brother, or a step-brother or something. But then why had the former Police Chief lived in a century-old run-down family home, with barely enough to make ends meet while his flighty ex-wife raised Bells on a first-grade teacher's salary? Had the billionaire hung them out to dry? Or did he not know about them?

Or maybe Stark was really Renee's brother? That would make more sense since none of the pack knew her very well, and it was possible that she had family out there they'd never heard about. But how could Bells not know since Renee raised her? Would she have really kept something like that from them?

"Hey Collin?" Embry reached out with his mind to the other wolf, "Do you remember when Stark had the press conference announcing that he was actually Iron Man?"

"Of course man, everyone remembers that," Collin replied grumpily, not happy about having ended up on babysitting duty while the agents were… Drinking? Embry really hadn't been paying any attention to the images in his pack brother's mind until then. What the hell were those two up to?

"They've blown through almost three full bottles of whiskey," Collin informed him, "And they don't even seem mildly buzzed. It's like watching Paul and Jared drink. The alcohol goes down, but there's absolutely no impact at all."

"You think they might not be human?" Embry asked, suddenly focused on the things Collin was seeing more than the actual world around him as he continued running his route.

"I have no idea," Collin replied, "They're definitely not vampires. And they don't smell like us. Soldier-boy, um, I think they said his name is Steve, he smells human for sure, but the other one, Thor, his scent is just a little off. I've never smelt anything quite like it. Human, but not. They're both definitely… something."

"Well, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised," Embry laughed, "They're looking for Bells. If they were normal, run of the mill humans I'd honestly be a little shocked, especially if they're working with Iron Man."

"Anyway, what were you asking?" Collin spoke up when Embry fell silent, "About the Iron Man press conference…"

"Do you remember when it was exactly?" Embry clarified his question.

"I don't know, three years maybe," Collin said lightheartedly before he realized what that meant, "Shit! Bella might have known about him all along, but he was missing in the Middle East back when everything went down with Victoria and the newborns. And by the time he was back and doing all the superhero stuff, she was already on the run. Do you think she'd have even heard about the Iron Man stuff wherever she was?"

"Bells would have had to be living under a rock to have missed that," Embry replied with a chuckle, before he realized all too suddenly that with everything that had happened she might have literally been hiding out in some cave somewhere or something.

He was about to say something else, when suddenly he was dragged back into his own mind forcefully as a new scent registered coming from First Beach. He took one long sniff before he was flying toward the source of the scent with reckless abandon.

"What have you got?" Collin called to him worriedly, suddenly on high-alert in his post outside Forks Lodge, "A leech?"

"Wolf," Embry corrected before letting a howl rip through him, calling to the others…

Josh had been running all night and all day and the sun had set again, and still he didn't let his legs slow their grueling pace. He'd have been much faster normally, but his hind leg was still mending, even as he pushed to keep moving now, from the vampire's violent slashing back at the bar.

But he couldn't stop, not while every second was another second that his enemies had Bells in their clutches. He had to get to La Push, to his son's pack; they were the only ones that could help him get his mate back now.

Of course, Josh had tried to follow Victoria himself after he'd fought off the other creatures, burning the pieces as he went. He never would have just let the redheaded bitch drag Bells away without giving chase, his injuries be damned. But she'd made a beeline for the Gulf, and once she hit the water there was no trail for him to follow. She'd resurface eventually, and she'd have Bella with her when she did. So now he needed re-enforcements to help him search and prepare for one hell of a fight.

It was late by the time he reached the once familiar boundaries of his former home, and his body was beginning to fail him under the strain. He was limping at a near-human pace down the damp sands of First Beach when he heard the first howl in the distance. One of Sam's wolves had caught his scent and was coming towards him.

Josh didn't even have the energy left to take a defensive position in case they attacked before he could explain. He just let himself fall to his belly on the sand, his broken and bloodied leg whining at the sudden movement, a pathetic whimper escaping his lips just as the first wolf broke through the tree line…

Embry approached the strange wolf cautiously at first, but when the pained whimper reached his ears and the horrible combination of blood and leech reached his nose, all his hesitation was thrown aside. This was one of his people, a lost pack brother come home, and he needed help.

He crossed the remaining distance between them and laid down beside the wolf on the sand, a clear sign that he meant him no harm, before nudging him gently with his head. He couldn't hear him in the pack mind, so he wasn't sure how else to communicate that he wanted to help and he needed to know what had happened.

"Stay where you are Collin," Sam ordered as he entered the pack mind followed immediately by Paul, "Embry report." It was an alpha command and his tone clearly meant he wanted answers. With the news of Bells and the uncertainty of the SHIELD agents here, everyone was on edge so Embry wasn't surprised that he seemed worried.

"Another wolf. First Beach. Not one of ours, but definitely Quileute. Hurt, badly. And I can smell at least a dozen different leech scents on him. He was attacked," Embry quickly filled them in as they joined him just inside the tree line.

"I don't hear anyone else in the pack mind," Paul pointed out, not questioning Embry's assessment, just trying to get some concrete answers.

"I don't know why," he told them quickly, licking the wolf's paw when he seemed to be barely holding onto consciousness, afraid if he fell asleep he might not wake up, "He's in really bad shape here guys."

Josh fought to keep his eyes open, thankful for the presence of the other wolf beside him, but too weak to phase back. He wished he had asked Bella what each of the wolves looked like in this form. He could only hope that the howl he'd heard before was a call for the others; he needed to speak to Sam and knew he wouldn't be able to stay conscious for more than a few seconds once he changed back into his human form.

Just when he thought he couldn't fight it any longer, two more wolves made their way out of the trees. A monstrously large midnight black wolf that he prayed was his son, and an only slightly smaller silver wolf.

"I'm going to phase human," Sam announced to the others, "It might be the only way to get him to trust us. And we are going to need him to phase back if we want to help him."

Josh watched as the black wolf walked back into the cover of the trees, only to return a moment later a man. A tall, russet-skinned man that he instantly knew was his Sam. "You're safe now," his son promised him as he approached him slowly, hands raised slightly in front of him in a sign of peace, "My wife is a nurse; she'll know how to help you," he continued, shocking Josh thoroughly with the thought that his little boy was all grown up and married now, "I just need you to phase back so we can get you back to my place; we won't be able to move you like this."

Needing no further prodding, Josh focused all his energy on the form he wanted to take, feeling his broken body bend and morph back into a man.

"There you go," Sam seemed pleasantly surprised that he'd been able to phase so quickly, likely believing he was a young wolf who had just phased for the first time. That is until his eyes found Josh's face, and sparkled with recognition, "Dad?" he whispered, shocked.

"Sam," Josh breathed, already feeling his last bit of strength leaving him, "Need help. Vampire."

"I know," Sam cut him off, "We could smell them on you. You're safe here," before he turned to the other two wolves, "Phase back and help me move him."

His son moved to his side as soon as they left for the tree line, taking his hand in his own, his eyes welling with tears, "Dad? How?"

"Sam, listen to me," Josh cut him off, needing to tell him before he passed out, "Bella. Vampire took my Bells. Help, please," and then his vision faded to black.

A/N: This story broke 100 reviews today! :) Thank you guys so much for all of the amazing feedback and support. It makes it so much more fun to write when my readers are being so responsive and engaging. Please keep them coming and I will try to update soon.