Hey again, guys! I'm back!
1) Thank you for your concern. I'm better now, or I hope I am. I can't thank you enough for your love and support. It really, truly, honest to goodness helped.
2) I'm participating in Camp NaNoWriMo! My project is this story and Darkness Wakening, which NEEDS TO BE UPDATED DANGIT. Really sorry about that guys.
3) This chapter has an almost-but-not-quite reveal of somebody's 'issue'. Enjoy!
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Lori hurried down the sidewalk, clutching her bag of goodies in one hand and a Starbucks iced coffee in the other. Her breath came in gasps of air as she struggled to keep air moving through her lungs.
"Can't catch me!" she heard someone shriek from behind her. Lori grinned and ran faster, sprinting away from Nathan and Lena, both of whom had been deemed 'it'.
Lori ignored the disapproving looks adults were giving her as she glanced to her left. Stephanie was gaining- she couldn't let her best friend pass her. As soon as Stephanie was running next to her, Lori tripped her and sped on.
Stephanie tucked, rolled, and came to her feet in one smooth movement, her own bag of stuff clinking as she hugged it to her chest to keep it from getting broken. She glanced up to see Claire on the second floor of the mall, walking at a fast pace.
Claire glanced over her shoulder and saw Brenda jogging to catch up with her. "See them?" she asked breathlessly as the two walked side by side.
"Yep. Lena's on the first, Nathan's second," Claire murmured.
"Catch ya later!" Brenda said quickly, and began jogging again.
She could hear laughter behind her, and glanced over her shoulder briefly. Claire was now it, as evidenced by Nathan's hand on her shoulder, and the girl caught sight of Brenda through the crowd and grinned devilishly. Brenda poured on the speed.
Down below Brenda was Lena, running as fast as she could. She was no match for the super soldier, however, and Lori was good with illusions. There was one person she could possibly catch, and that person was sitting on a bench with a magazine up to cover her face. Lena stopped in front of her. "Tag," she said simply. Tasha groaned and stood up, throwing her magazine back onto the bench.
Above them, Nathan smiled at Claire. Brenda had left them in the dust, and they felt comfortable enough to act like the couple they were in the crowd. "Tasha's it," he said with a grin.
"The hiding tactic didn't work, I see," she said right back. "She woulda summoned her suit in a heartbeat though."
"Good thing she didn't. We shouldn't blow our cover." Claire nibbled on her lip softly. Nathan kissed her to make her stop.
"Oh, get a room!" someone called to them. They smiled together as they drew apart.
"One day," Claire vowed softly. Nathan grinned at her.
"C'mon. Let's go. The 'rents are waiting," he said warmly.
The younger set found the Avengers right where they had promised to meet- the dead center of the mall. The seven were seated around a table. Tony and Loki had Starbucks, while Natasha sipped on a cup of tea. Clint was eating a pretzel and Steve was eating a hot dog. Thor and Bruce weren't snacking on anything.
The younger Avengers all arrived precisely at the same moment. Stephanie slid into the seat next to Steve as Lori leaned on Loki's head. Unfazed, he continued to sip his frozen coffee as she copied his movements exactly. Tasha sat down next to Tony and stole a sip of his drink. Claire grabbed half of Clint's pretzel and scarfed it as he stared at her incredulously. Nathan dragged a chair over to sit next to Natasha as Lena and Brenda followed his lead.
"Got everything?" Tony asked lazily, leaning back in his chair.
Stephanie scanned through her bag again and grinned. "Yep."
The others echoed her after a minute, keeping the contents of their bags secret from the others.
"The car's out front. Let's go," Tony said, accepting a piece of paper from a girl who asked him to sign it and scribbling his name. Tasha gave the young girl a wink and peace sign as he handed it back and stood.
They made their way out to the parking lot, where the bike and three cars they'd brought were waiting. Thor and Lena got into the truck with Clint and Claire, while Loki and Lori shared a ride with Natasha and Nathan. Bruce, Brenda, Tony, and Tasha were in the convertible, as usual, and Steve and Stephanie had Steve's old army bike. They peeled out of the lot quickly and headed straight back to Avengers Tower, where Pepper, Jane, and Siklali were waiting.
The first thing that signaled something was up was the rusty old pickup parked next to Jane's 'Science-mobile', as someone- no one remembered who- had dubbed it.
"Hey, you dragged Tasha's old car here!" Claire joked, making a wide circle around the car. Tasha punched her shoulder as she passed.
"Jarvis, who's here?" Tony asked as he approached the elevator.
"Miss Foster didn't say. There are two people, a young woman and an older man," Jarvis said crisply.
"No-"
"-freaking-"
"-way," Claire, Tasha, and Lori chorused in almost perfect unison.
"Why, what's up?" Tony asked sharply.
Stephanie and Nathan just facepalmed.
The elevator doors opened and they could see three people seated at the coffee table. They turned as Jarvis announced their arrival and showed their faces: Pepper, Jane, and-
"Doctor Selvig!" Thor boomed, striding forward to gently pat the scientist on his back. Of course, 'gently' for Thor was still almost enough to knock the poor man over. Selvig smiled broadly at Thor and shook his hand cheerfully.
"Thor! It's great to see you again!" Selvig said, before gesturing to Lena, who was standing right beside Thor. The two were the same height, which was comical- seeing as Selvig was at least three times Lena's age. "And this must be-"
"Lena Odinson, Dr, Selvig. We met briefly after the battle," Lena said cordially, shaking his hand. "It's nice to meet you officially."
"Where's Siklali?" Brenda asked worriedly, looking around.
"Miss Lewis is currently with her, Miss Banner," Jarvis said. "They're on their way up to this floor. I took the liberty of informing them that you had arrived."
Brenda's concern melted into a smile. "Thank you, Jarvis," she said warmly.
The elevator doors dinged and opened, revealing two people- Siklali and another familiar face. Siklali's face lit up and she ran to Brenda, wrapping both arms around her waist. Brenda stooped and hugged the child back, whispering softly to her. Siklali nodded to whatever she asked, and Brenda scooped her up.
Darcy Lewis watched the younger girls for a moment before noticing everyone else in the lounge. One eyebrow rose as she looked at everybody, obviously playing match-the-faces.
"Did somebody stick you guys into a cloning machine or something?" she asked finally. "Because I swear, this is the creepiest thing I've ever seen."
Lori laughed cheerily and waved from her seat at the bar. Tasha was seated beside her on the bar itself, as Claire sipped on some drink while she leaned against the stone slab. Their elder counterparts were scattered throughout the lounge, talking to others, eating, or drinking.
"Those three are trouble," Stephanie warned, laughter filling her voice as she walked over to Darcy and held out a hand. "Stephanie Rogers. It's nice to meet you...?"
"Darcy Lewis. You're Captain America's daughter?" Darcy asked, shaking her hand briskly.
"You could say that," Stephanie said with a shrug. "Those three are Lori, Tasha and Claire. They're Loki's, Tony's, and Clint's doppelgängers, respectively." She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "They're trouble."
"I heard that," Lori drawled, taking the glass that Nathan handed her and sipping on it.
"You were meant to," Stephanie said easily, winking at Darcy and walking over to where Brenda and Siklali sat, coloring away.
Darcy walked over to where the four Young Avengers were standing or sitting and chatting. "So who else is here?" she asked.
"Well, there's Stephanie, who's Roger's clone. Then you have Brenda, who's Banner's doppelganger. Lena's the last one, she's Thor's daughter."
"So Lena is different?" Darcy asked curiously.
"Nope. Just a term for it."
"And you, handsome?" she asked Nathan, winking at him.
Claire tensed silently, trying not to get angry.
"Natasha Romanoff's doppelganger. And I'm taken, I'm afraid, by this charming young lady," he said warmly, gesturing to Claire.
Tasha did a spit take. "You're dating again?!" she practically shrieked. The soft conversations dimmed a little at her exclamation.
Darcy pouted a little bit, before her ears perked up and she said, "Ooooh, I sense a story. Tell!"
Neither Claire nor Nathan seemed keen to say anything, so Tasha spilled instead. "They were going out for years before they broke up. It was really spectacular, too- huge blazing fight in the middle of the cafeteria. They really went at it."
"Why did you decide to get back together?!" Lori asked, shocked.
"Because we decided to be civil to each other, at least," Claire said hesitantly. "I mean, after Stephanie yelled at us, I guess both of us decided that we could tolerate the other."
"That's good," a familiar voice said. They all jumped- Tony, Bruce, and Natasha had all come over to the bar as well. "Now maybe you'll behave better." Natasha shot Nathan a glare; he put his hands up in mock surrender. Claire just giggled.
Stephanie stood up, arms full of bagged items. "I'm heading down to my room to drop this stuff off," she told the room at large. "Anyone coming as well?"
"Me!" a chorus of voices rang out, and the various Young Avengers scattered to grab their purchases. The seven crammed into the elevator and descended, dropping teens off along the way.
Stephanie had almost made it to her room when a throbbing sensation cut through her stomach again. She tensed silently, hoping no one had noticed. No one had, or so she hoped, as she stepped into the area that she shared with Claire and Nathan.
They split up, with a quick warning from Stephanie to 'not get up to anything', and deposited their purchases. She tossed her bag onto her bed and closed the door quickly. "Jarvis, deactivate all bugs," she ordered quickly, sitting down and pressing one hand to her abdomen.
"Consider it done," Jarvis said, voice almost concerned. "Are you ok?"
She took a deep breath. "I will be," she said firmly, and dismissed him fully from her room with a wave of the hand. Once Stephanie was sure he'd left, she put both hands on her stomach and sighed.
"It's ok, sweetie," she breathed softly. "Mama's here."