Author's Note: Yay Piper gave Strucker a headache. Anyway, moving on. I own nothing.
25. The Next Step
Harry and MJ stayed the night at the Tower, the teens not stirring until around noon the next day. They all shared a late breakfast in the kitchen, Sam Wilson, who had stuck around after the mission, he'd been on cleanup detail with Thor and Clint, made them breakfast. He was actually a great cook, and made sure to include a vegetarian option for Danny. He leaned closer to Steve as the teens joked and spoke under his breath as Piper laughed.
"I get it now." Steve nodded at him. Sam had never actually met Piper before, but now he could see it, why every single Avenger had been wound tighter than a spring. She was bright, she had an innocence in her eyes that didn't quite match up with what he'd seen at the Hydra base. He'd stuck around to help out the CIA and FBI, it hadn't seemed right to him to join the family on the Quinjet. Because that's what they were, at least from what he'd seen. She might be Tony's kid legally but all of the Avengers would lay down their lives for this girl.
"I knew you would." Sam rolled his eyes and elbowed him slightly. He was still relatively new to this whole superhero thing but he knew teasing when he heard it. He turned back to his griddle as Tony stepped into the room. He took a deep sniff and blinked.
"It smells fantastic in here." Sam grinned and waved from the griddle. Tony turned to Steve.
"It's official, I'm giving him a room on your level. He needs to stay more often." Sam laughed slightly.
"Been a bit busy pulling some strings for Cap here on a case he's working." Steve went slightly stiff, his expression falling into a melancholy one as Piper glanced over at them. She frowned as she speared another bite of pancake onto her fork. Tony patted Steve on the shoulder.
"You'll find him Steve." Steve nodded as Tony stepped over to Sam holding out a plate for one of the omelets Sam was currently making. Sam glanced at the billionaire and shrugged as he loaded his plate. Tony scooted in between Piper and Ava who let him with a slight smile. He grinned at his daughter.
"You, my small child, are absolutely brilliant!" Piper grinned slightly. The bruising on her face, which should be mostly healed by now, hidden under a dressing Bruce had put there last night.
"You found the virus." Tony nodded.
"I found the virus and it's a piece of genius! Took Hydra half the night to clear it from their systems! We have so much information now, seriously so much I have no idea where we're gonna start!" Piper grinned into her glass of orange juice. Harry's new Stark Phone, which he was going to have to hide from the world in favor of a the O9 phone, buzzed and he glanced down at the number. It was his bodyguard. He stepped aside to answer it. MJ excused herself to head to the restroom and Tony leaned in, lowering his voice.
"There's also some information I think the five of you might find very interesting but we'll deal with that after our guests have left." He took a bite of his omelet and sighed looking at Falcon who was still standing across the room at the griddle, though he was working on another batch of pancakes at Steve's request.
"Sam Wilson, can I put you on payroll? Seriously just so you can come over and make breakfast." Steve laughed at Tony as Sam rolled his eyes.
"Hey ten of the Hydra agents yesterday would have gotten away if it wasn't for Sam." Sam nodded as he slid some fluffy pancakes onto Steve's plate.
"Plus I also do therapy, not just pancakes." Tony stared at him then at Steve.
"Where did you pick up this wonderful human being?" Sam snorted.
"The VA in Washington." Sam nodded.
"Which won't take me back since I am technically active duty again." Tony snorted.
"That's it I'm putting you on the payroll. We all need someone who can talk us down from the bad times, and Steve found us a trained professional. Besides all the other Avengers are on the payroll." Sam raised an eyebrow.
"So wait I'm officially an Avenger?" Tony waved his hand in the vague direction of Sam's shoulders as he chewed.
"It's official. Welcome to the team." He said through a mouthful of eggs and peppers. Piper laughed as Harry came back into the room.
"That was Frank. He's coming to pick me up in about twenty minutes, they've doubled security on the penthouse and he's bringing dad's old security team too. At least for the time being." Piper pulled Harry into a hug, Tony hesitated then patted him on the shoulder. He reached into his pocket and handed Harry a watch. Harry stared at him, confused.
"It's partally to replace the one Hydra took, but if you press both of these buttons at once, it sends a distress signal to the NYPD and the Avengers." Harry blinked at him as Piper practically tackled her father. Tony patted Piper on the shoulder.
"Hey, don't get sappy on me now. It's for your protection. Mr. Rand Industries over there has one too. And I'm working on Piper's. Kids of billionaire's tend to be targets. I know how that feels, it's never fun. And if I can help I will. Besides Piper likes you so I better make sure you stay alright, no one wants to incur her wrath after what we saw yesterday." Piper rolled her eyes, her hands shaking slightly. Tony pulled her back into a hug, quietly apologizing into her hair as Harry nodded.
"Thank you Mr. Stark." Tony nodded over his daughter's shoulder. She pulled away and hugged Harry. She and Steve escorted him down to the garage where Frank was picking him up. MJ joined them, Harry offering to drop her off at home. He wasn't too keen to get back to his empty penthouse but he knew Piper needed time alone with her family. He pulled Piper close as he wished with all his heart that he'd arrive home to find his father waiting for him, even though he knew he wouldn't.
Once Piper and Steve arrived back on the family level Tony got serious. He cleared his throat and sipped his coffee as the enhanced teens around him continued to dig into the food in front of them. It was nice to know he could keep so many enhanced individuals healthy just by making sure there was enough food around for them. Steve's friend Sam seemed a bit surprised by all the food the teens in front of him were able to pack away. Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Ok so we have a good news bad news situation here." Piper raised an eyebrow.
"The good news is that my kid is a genius and her virus data mined Hydra for at least four hours, so we have our choice of which base we want to go after next. Also it mucked up everything it could get its hands on, even if it didn't have time to rip it out. So they'll have a hell of a time figuring out what we have and what we don't." Piper nodded, she already knew this. Sam held up a hand from where he was standing beside the sink where he'd just placed the griddle.
"Um… Question that will probably sound a bit silly once I know the answer but how come you're sharing this with teenagers. I mean Piper I get, she's your kid but…" He trailed off as Tony snorted.
"You didn't tell him?" The mechanic directed this question at Steve who shrugged. Tony turned back to Sam.
"I know you're not from New York but you've heard of the new team wandering around since before SHEILD fell?" Sam nodded slightly.
"Spidergirl's team, the Ultimates right? Oh!" It dawned on him as he did a quick headcount. "So wait which one is which, I mean the boys are pretty easy to tell but both girls are relatively the same height and wear full suits." Piper glanced at Tony who shrugged. She raised her hand.
"Spidergirl." Ava waved next to Tony.
"White Tiger." Sam nodded slightly.
"You know that actually makes a bit of sense, so are they all yours?" He asked Tony. The kids shook their heads but Tony nodded.
"Yes they're mine and nobody messes with my kids." Giggles passed around the table as Tony stared down Steve as if challenging him to question his words. The soldier simply leaned forwards and snagged another sausage off the table.
"On that note, I found something else in the files." Piper chewed thoughtfully as Tony spoke. "It looks like Hydra was data mining Oscorp, the shall we say undocumented part of the company." Piper's eyes darkened slightly.
"Octavius." It wasn't a question but Tony nodded anyway.
"Seems like it. So I had a thought at about three am. The Avengers can't be everywhere at once. It makes logistical sense, also tactically if we leave Octavius to someone who's dealt with him before." Piper's eyes went wide as she processed what he'd said.
"You're gonna let us go after him." Tony nodded sipping his coffee. Piper stared at her father. Kraven had so far been the only real villain he'd let the team go after since discovering the truth, mostly because he hadn't found out what was going on after it had already happened. The team stared at them. Tony sighed.
"I'm not happy about it, but it makes sense. You five have the most experience dealing with Octavius, Piper you've been reading his papers since you found out he was alive. You know the most about him out of all of us. It only makes sense that you call the shots on this." He held up his hand as Piper opened her mouth to speak.
"Hush for a minute, I have conditions. Nothing overseas, unless I ok it. If you go over my head and steal a Quinjet you're grounded. Each of you is getting a signal, if things get too hairy, if someone gets shot, if one of you is injured to the point where you can't get up, if one of you gets kidnapped again, you call. You be as safe as possible out there." He was cut off as Piper tackle hugged him again. He wrapped his arms around his daughter and spoke again. "And if you find anything else about your parents come to me, you can always talk to me." Piper swiped at her eyes and nodded.
"Thanks dad." He grinned and ruffled her hair.