When Nick Fury introduced his new 'Avengers Initiative', Steve was weary and had many concerns. He had worked with a team before, all those years ago, but for some reason, the idea of a team of 'superheroes' was hard to swallow. He didn't know what to expect but he trusted Nick, so he agreed.
Natasha and Clint had worked with Shield for a while. They were the top two agents Shield had, but even they were concerned with the new 'Avengers' team Nick had told them about. They preferred their solo missions and not needing to rely on anyone but themselves. But when Nick, their boss, had asked them to join they agreed- hoping they wouldn't regret it.
Bruce was just uncomfortable. He didn't want to be on a team, he didn't want to be a weapon, heck, he didn't even want to be around people! He didn't like the whole situation and would have refused and walked out if not for the fact he knew just how powerful and dangerous Shield was. If they didn't get him now, they would get him later, and he preferred to stay on their good side.
Despite their concerns, the bottom line was they all agreed. Now several months of bonding, training exercises, and missions- they were glad they did. They learned to rely on each other and they genuinely liked being in each others' presence. So when Nick brought up the idea of building an 'Avengers Compound' they agreed, happily.
In fact, they were discussing it while they stretched in Shield's large training wing made especially for them. It was the size of two football fields complete with a shooting range, weight room, sparring area, obstacle course, and target practice arena.
They were currently in the middle of the sparring room and laid out on the mats stretching when their heightened senses picked up on a small head peeking around the side of the wall. When they turned to look, the head quickly disappeared with a gasp, but they took notice that it was a short person with a head of black curly hair.
They waited a few seconds, but there was no movement or sound from behind the wall.
"Hello?" Steve said finally.
"Sorry," the voice said softly. It was high-pitched and a little raspy.
"Did you need something?" Clint asked when the voice didn't say anything else.
"I heard about the Avengers, I wanted to see them practice," the voice said. They heard a bit of shifting but the person stayed hidden.
Steve frowned. "Can you come out so we can see you?"
Steve was beginning to think he imagined the whole interaction by the long amount of time the voice took to make any sound. But finally, after what felt like hours, there was a slow movement as the person came from behind the wall.
If they were not professionally-trained superhumans and spies, they probably would have gasped audibly. The 'voice' was apparently a small boy, less than four feet tall, who was olive-colored and wore sweats and a red hoodie. The boy had a forearm crutch in each hand and was leaning heavily on them.
"What's your name, buddy?" Bruce asked softly.
The boy blushed, a soft pink brushing his cheeks. "Tony," he responded shyly.
"Nice to meet you, Tony," Bruce smiled welcomingly. "My name is Bruce."
"I know," Tony frowned. "You are Dr. Bruce Banner. You have a PhD in Physics which you acquired from the California Institute of Technology. I have read all of your papers on your study of Gamma Radiation."
Bruce smiled but looked sceptical. "How old are you, kid?"
"I'm seven," Tony said.
Bruce's eyes widened.
"Nice to meet you, son, but our practices can get pretty dangerous, so you're going to have to leave," Steve said.
Tony's eyes watered. "Please can I stay and watch? I'll sit in that corner over there. You won't even see me!" Tony pleaded.
Steve looked at the corner, it was secluded so it would probably be okay. They still had no idea whose child this was, but it seemed he was disabled, so he couldn't be too much trouble, right?
"Fine, you can stay over there for about 10 minutes, but then you have to go, okay?" Steve sighed.
The boy's eyes lit up. "Okay, thank you so much!" As quickly as he could, he limped over to the corner, leaning his crutches against the wall and sliding to the ground. He should have asked for a chair, but this would do.
The team's eyes lingered on the boy for several seconds, but soon they went back to stretching. About 30 minutes later, they had totally forgotten about the boy. Natasha and Bruce were sparring, Steve was using a punching bag, and Clint was shooting arrows at targets.
Tony watched this all with excitement in his intelligent eyes. When one of Clint's arrows stuck in the wall several feet from his corner, Tony couldn't help but crawl over to retrieve it. He realized the arrows Clint was using were not normal ones, in fact they seemed to use technology to travel at that high of a velocity with no wind resistance.
He brought the arrow back to his corner and sat for about five minutes, opening the inside of the arrow and studying the mechanics. He was right, along with a faster velocity the arrow also had a target assistance- which Tony had to assume was a safety guard so civilians were less likely to get hit if the target Clint shot at moved.
After cutting, moving, and reconnecting some of the wires, Tony called Clint over. "Excuse me? Arrow-guy?"
Clint paused his shot, looking towards the corner. "Yes?"
"Can you shoot this arrow please?" Tony asked sweetly.
Clint's eyes narrowed, looking from the arrow to the kid. "Fine," he huffed. He took the arrow from Tony's hand and went back to his target. By now, the whole team was watching suspiciously.
Clint put the arrow on his bow, lined up his target, and shot. As soon as the arrow hit, the whole target blew up, scorching the two targets next to them. "Woah," he marveled.
Tony, still in his corner, was giggling loudly. The whole team turned to him.
"How'd you do that, kid?" Clint asked, walking over.
"My name is Tony," Tony frowned.
"You didn't answer my question," Clint said.
"What are your names?" Tony asked instead. "I only know Dr. Banner and you look like Captain America, even though you're not wearing the suit."
Steve frowned at the kid, Captain America being found was not common knowledge yet. Nick had wanted to train the team before the world learned of them. None of them had been seen fighting in public yet so no one but Nick and a small select few knew anything.
The team looked at each other, sending silent looks.
Clint knelt in front of Tony. "If we tell you who we are, I don't want you going to the playground and telling all your friends about the superheroes you met," Clint said sternly.
"Don't worry, sir. I don't have any friends, and I doubt I'm going to the playground anytime soon," Tony said flatly. The team looked at the crutches next to him and Clint blushed softly after a shove from Natasha.
"Hello Antoshka, my name is Natasha, you can call me Nat," she smiled. "I'm Black Widow."
"I'm Clint, known as Hawkeye," Clint said.
"You can call me Bruce, and I turn into the Hulk," Bruce said shyly.
"And I'm Steve, also Captain America," Steve sighed.
Tony's eyes were wide and he bounced in excitement. "Can I join? I want to be an Avenger!"
The team glanced at each other.
"I can help you guys! I build lots of cool robots, and my Uncle said-"
"Sorry, Tony, maybe when you get older?" Steve said softly. "For now, you should focus on school."
Tony's gaze dropped to his lap. His hands fidgeted. "Maybe, can I keep watching you guys? So that I'm ready when I can join the team?" He asked in a small voice.
Steve melted at the big brown eyes that stared up at him hopefully. "Sure," he sighed.
Tony smiled wide. "I think my Uncle might be looking for me, so I gotta go, but i'll be back tomorrow at the same time! And the next day and the next day and the next day!" Tony said excitedly.
The team nodded, smiling at the enthusiastic boy.
Tony, again regretting that he didn't grab a chair, struggles to stand from his low point on the floor.
"Here, buddy," Bruce says, lifting Tony up by his armpits. Clint grabs the crutches that lean on the wall next to him and hands them to the small boy.
"Thank you very much, Avengers," Tony says formally. "Enjoy your training."
They all laugh as the child saluts them before walking out of the room. After staring for a moment, they all shrug and continue working out.
After that first meeting, Tony came to visit them every day. He would sit in the corner, now with a chair, and take notes as they worked. Despite the fame they acquired when Nick finally revealed the team to the world, they made sure to spend as much time with Tony as they could for he was their very first fan. Many times they talked to him while they trained- asking him about things he likes to do, his favorite subjects in school, and what he wants to be when he gets older.
After two weeks, they all were in love with the boy.
Steve had called a toy company that was designing action figures of the Avengers and had specially made ones delivered for Tony before they were even in stores. Tony would play with the mini Avengers as the big Avengers trained, copying their movements with the dolls' stiff limbs.
Clint had learned the boy's favorite snack was fruit snacks so he went to Sam's Club and bought a large 100 pack of Scooby-Doo themed ones. Every time Tony arrived for the training session, he would have three fruit snack packs and a reusable water bottle (with Tony's name on it, of course) waiting for him.
Bruce, the education-centered man he was, brought Tony a new crossword puzzle every day. Each was on a different subject, and while Tony struggled slightly with the history and literature ones, he absolutely loved the science and math ones. When Bruce saw that Tony was too good for the simple science questions, he went home at night and printed his own version to really challenge Tony.
Natasha, who had taken up knitting in her free time, worked on a blanket for Tony. Her therapist at Shield had recommended it since it was a pretty calming task. After the first week, she had knitted a large red blanket, since Tony told her it was his favorite color, and put it on his chair. When he saw the blanket he was so happy, throwing himself at Natasha for a hug. Tony was always cold and his frail frame didn't help so he was grateful for the warmth.
Despite being spoiled with gifts, Tony was so grateful for every little thing the team did for him. His parents never bought him anything special and Jarvis was never able to buy him presents because he could not leave the house except as transport for the Starks. The money they had went to other things- like stocks and more materialistic items- they never saw the need to spend any money or attention on their son.
The Avengers though, could not resist. Everything Tony's parents neglected to notice about the boy- they loved. His non-stop rambling, his intelligence, how he cared about everyone.
Tony was the sweetest, smartest, funniest boy they'd ever met. That was why they were so concerned when he stopped showing up for training.
On Monday, they waited thirty-minutes past their usual start time, thinking the boy was running late, but he never showed.
Tuesday was the same.
And Wednesday.
And Thursday.
And the rest of the week.
They had no idea what the boy's last name was or who his parents were, so they had no idea who to contact or how to contact the boy.
Finally, in the second week of the boy's absence, they were so concerned that they brought it up to Nick.
"Agent Fury, there was a boy that we met a few weeks ago in the training room," Steve started.
Nick kept his face emotionless but tilted his head slightly.
"He was seven years old with black hair and brown eyes. And he walked around with crutches," Clint added. "Have you seen him?"
Nick's eyes narrowed. "Would that boy's name be Tony?"
The group looked a bit shocked but nodded.
Nick sighed and turned. They all rushed to keep up as the man walked swiftly down the hall. The team frowned when they entered Shield's connecting medical center.
It was a small building, meant only for agents on missions-gone-wrong, but sure enough at the end of the hall was a large door painted with flying robots and periodic elements.
When Nick reached it, he thought for a second before releasing a long series of knocks. When he finished there was a small giggle from the other side of the door and a raspy "Yes!"
Steve looked at Bruce. "It was Morse code for 'can I come in, I have guests.'," Bruce told them.
They nodded and followed Nick into the room.
It was large, about the size of an average person's living room, but still incredibly huge for a hospital room. The walls were painted a light blue and the floor was a white tile with a soft red rug on the far end of the room. By the rug was a bookshelf that held books, toys, and small robots. The small table on the corner of the rug had two child chairs pushed into it. On top of the table were random metal pieces and tools. The walls were covered with posters-each one highlighting a different member of the Avengers team and the final one above the bed was the largest poster with them as a group. Under the poster was a hospital bed that was surrounded by a bunch of beeping machines that displayed different numbers and metal poles that held several bags of different colors. On that bed, was a small sickly child- specifically their small sickly child.
"Hi, Avengers," Tony said brightly, in contrast to his pale face.
Tony was covered in wires and IVs, monitoring his sick body and feeding medicine through his veins. He had a tube going around his ear and up his nose, which was barely visible under the oxygen mask he wore on his face. There was no trace of the black curly hair they were so used to seeing, only a large woolen hat sat on the boy's head. He couldn't wear a hospital gown due to the multitude of wires stuck to his chest, so his emaciated body was visible to all in the room. His ribs poked out his chest and the lack of fat only made it more obvious how laborious it was for him to breath.
None of the Avengers said anything, they just stared, frozen.
"Come out here," Nick growled, pushing them out into the hall.
"What's wrong with him?" Clint asked as soon as the door closed.
"He has cancer," Nick sighed. "He had it when he was a toddler, but he relapsed."
"You know him?" Natasha asked.
"Yes, he is my nephew. Well unofficially. He was born to Howard and Maria Stark and since I was friends with Howard, I adopted Tony after they both died," Nick said.
"That's Howard's son?" Steve said in disbelief.
Nick nodded.
"Is he going to be okay?" Clint asked, frowning.
Nick froze, turning to look at the boy through the window. "We don't know. The cancer is spreading much faster this time and the chemotherapy is hitting him harder."
"Is that why he hasn't been around these past two weeks?" Bruce asks, tingling green slightly in his conflicted emotions.
"He hasn't been able to keep his eyes open for more than a few minutes until three days ago. He's been nauseous and in pain but the medicines to help the chemo side effects aren't working. Each chemo treatment is making it harder for him to get out of bed," Nick said emotionlessly.
"We're sorry," Steve said.
"Don't be. Hanging out with you all has made him incredibly happy. He never gets to leave Shield headquarters so he rarely gets to talk to anyone besides myself and the nurses since everyone is always busy," Nick says.
"Well we love having him around," Natasha says.
"Once he recovers from this round he'll be back with you all. I suspect another three days til he's feeling better. He loves sneaking out so we probably won't be able to keep him on bedrest past that," Nick said fondly.
"Well we'll come visit him after training then," Steve said and the rest nodded.
"I think he will like that," Nick said.
Nick led the team back in the room where an upset Tony was fiddling with the blanket.
"Did you leave because you were mad I didn't come to training?" Tony asked softly. They could practically see his little pout behind the mask that dwarfed his face.
"No Antoshka," Natasha said, moving to his bedside. "We could never be mad at you."
Tony stared into her eyes for a few seconds before nodding. "Okay, well I missed you guys."
The team melted and moved to surround his bedside.
"We missed you too," Steve smiled.
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