HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone's holidays were pleasant and your 2017s are off to a great start. I finally got my act together and decided to give you guys an extra long chapter for the wait. My new years resolution is to try to update somewhat regularly but we'll see how this semester goes XD

QUICK NOTE: I've gotten a couple reviews asking if/why/when Tony and Pepper are or aren't together getting together at this point. In case it wasn't clear, they will not be romantically involved and are just best friends/sibling relationship kind of thing. Pepper is dating Coulson and has been for a good portion of this fic. Also, I previously noted that I'm leaning towards a Tony/Bucky pairing and I am still planning on that. I think it will be fun to write and will be cute to have Bucky and Elli be prosthetic buddies. And, as I said before, it won't be a huge feature of the story, as Elli is the star of this fic, but it will be present and affect some (most) of the movie plot lines as I work my way through them in both this story and possible future ones.

Anyways, I don't own Avengers, Disney, or any Marvel characters/products.


A soft groan came from the couch as Tony heated some soup on the stove. Jarvis responded to the distressed sound by making the television blink to life, Big Hero 6's opening scene automatically playing. A mumbled, incoherent thank you makes Tony smile as he ladles the chicken noodle soup into two bowls. He grabs their matching tray tables as he makes his way to the couch.

"Alright baby girl, let's sit up so you can eat your soup," Tony leans the tables against the couch and puts the soup on the coffee table. Elli glares at him, her face flushed with a fever as she pulls her blanket up to her nose before curling her arm back around the golden retriever laying with her. Deedee doesn't seem to mind as she twists back to give the child another lick before going back to her nap.

Tony sighs at his daughter before plopping down next to her on the couch. A wave of guilt runs through him as he runs his fingers through her hair, neither of them liked these type of days. Her golden eyes close at his touch as she leans into the soothing touch.

"I know it hurts baby, but you have to eat something and then I'll leave you alone."

A loud groan is followed by the silver haired child blowing a halfhearted raspberry in defiance, but she finally complies after some prodding and lifts her flesh arm for help. Tony stands up, gesturing at Deedee to get off the couch before tossing the fluffy blanket off his daughter. She hisses in annoyance at both her sources of warmth leaving her but doesn't protest further.

As gently as possible, her daddy lifts her by her armpits before resettling her on the couch, careful to limit contact with the three limbs that were missing their prosthetic attachments at the moment. Elli rubs her nose and tries to smile at her daddy, but it comes out as a painful grimace. Tony gives a warm smile in return, rewrapping the previously discarded blanket around her. After setting up the tray tables and soup, the father-daughter pair settle in next to each other.

"Do you need any help?" Tony eyes his daughter carefully while he slurps loudly, causing the first authentic smile of the day.

"No, I got it," it is slow going, but Elli manages to finish most of the soup before it starts to get cold. Tony can't help but be grateful at her appetite—it was usually absent during this whole process.

"Finished?" Elli nods as she rubs her eyes, tired from her full stomach and the stress of having her limbs removed for height adjustments. She lifts both her stump and whole arm as her daddy picks her up to resettle her in a laying position with pillows supporting her head and the ports at the end of her legs. Sure, she could just fall over, but any pressure on her limbs made her hiss in pain. Her daddy was good at steering clear of her aches and pains.

"Can Deedee come back up on the couch?"

"Sure baby," Tony taps the spot in front Elli, indicating to the retriever that she was allowed up. After the two were comfortably cuddling, Tony covers them with a blanket once again, finally leaving his daughter in peace.

The elevator dings just as Tony has finished washing the dishes. He tosses a dish towel at Fury as he sets about drying and putting the bowls away.

"I'll be in the lab, if you need anything, don't look at me like that, seriously like anything you might need, just tell Jarvis and he'll let me know. Her medicine is due at 4, I'll come back up and make dinner at 5:30."

"Alright, Tony." Fury pulls off his signature trench coat and hangs it off of the back of one of the bar stools before following Tony to the back of the couch.

"Jarvis is monitoring her vitals, so he should let me know if her fever gets too high or if there is anything wrong with her ports…"

Tony looks up from watching his daughter to check to see if the Director was listening. Fury just raised his eyebrows at the billionaire—wondering if seeing former playboy be taken over taken by fatherhood would ever cease to amaze him.

"…but if you could check yourself every once in awhile—no offence Jarvis…"

"None taken, sir."

"…it's just that an extra pair of eyes wouldn't hurt."

"No problem, Tony." The genius gave his sort of father figure a half smile before leading the man back to the kitchen.

"I made her a snack—its in the fridge—if she wants it. She probably won't, but, ya know, just in case. There are juice boxes if she gets thirsty but if she is really feeling unwell, I have marshmallows and hot chocolate mix in the cupboard above the sink, but don't make her more than 16oz—you know how she is, less self control than me when it comes to sugar…"

"If I can keep you from hacking into Hammer Industries and blasting ACDC 24/7, I'm sure I can keep Elli from consuming too much sugar," the spy snorts as he inspects the hot chocolate packaging. The billionaire grimaces at Fury's reference—he hadn't kept Tony from doing shit.

"…yeah, ha…anyways," Tony picks up a pink duffle and hands it to Fury, "here are her favorite toys, she already has the Iron Man and Captain plush with her on the couch. There's a change of clothes in there if she sweats too much or if something spills…and uh, in case you forget anything, here is a list of what I just said."

"You do realize that she is staying here and you're only going a couple floors down, right? A bag is completely unnecessary." Fury lifts the bag up with a snort before dropping it on the kitchen table. Tony pouts before gathering his things to head down to the lab.

"Well I just want you to have everything…" Tony mumbles causing Fury to throw his hands up in surrender.

"I promise, we'll be fine."


Ms. Buck's substitute sat at her desk grading spelling quizzes as the class had a silent reading period. It was her third week teaching in place of Ms. Buck. Everyday when the woman failed to show to work, the school asked for a sub for just one more day. Honestly, the school should just hire her full-time already—its not like Ms. Buck was ever going to come back.

She both loved and hated this fake life she had created for herself. It was wonderful seeing Elli everyday and she actually didn't mind being a teacher. Sure, none of the kids were nearly as brilliant as Elli (though Peter came close on occasion), but they fascinated her to no end. She was always curious about Midguardians; they were similar to the Asgardians—greedy and violent—but much weaker in the physical sense. It was this weakness that made her prefer the Midguardians—they were more…innovative. They're lives were so short, yet they managed to change the world they lived in every other decade. The goblets and swords of the Asgardians did tend to bore after a millennium or two.

The Midguardians also never fail to amuse her. Prior to her…imprisonment…she had enjoyed integrating into their societies, taking a different appearance each time. The last time had been her favorite, it was the first time a Midguardian had managed to get close to her. He had been so strange she couldn't keep her interest under control. They had talked often—he had taught her many things…

"Why did you fight them? They're so much bigger than you, it's no surprise you lost." She leaned against the brick wall, arms crossed, observing the boy curled into himself on the ground. He was bleeding and bruises were already blossoming on the skin she could see. She almost felt pity for him when the area around his left eye began to darken to a blackish-purple. She scrunched her nose—a human habit she had picked up—when the broken boy started to chuckle.

"Well, what kind of guy would I be," he got on his hands and knees before coughing roughly, blood splatting on the already soaked pavement beneath him, "if I let them attack a pretty lady like you?"

"One that isn't half dead," she uncrossed her arms as she walked to stand in front of him. "You should have left it be, anyone else would have."

"You don't seem to have a lot of faith in humanity," he managed to prop himself up, his back resting against the red brick. His head hung as he tried to get his breathing under control.

"It's nothing personal, it's just the way those of your kind are. Humans are selfish and weak, self-preservation should have kept you from interfering," she crossed her arms once again, fighting the urge to inspect the man before her. She was itching to know what made him different, "though you do seem to fall out of the norm."

The young man looked up with raised eyebrows, his sparkling blue eyes crinkling into a laugh.

"You say that like you aren't human," he tilts his head as he continued to look up at her, she remained stoic but paused in her thoughts when he smiles at her. Crouching to his level, she studies him for a moment before responding.

"And if I'm not?"

"Then I'll just have to teach you just what it means to be human," the man lifted the hand that is less bloody out towards her but she only stared until he laughed aloud again, startling her "First Lesson: The Handshake. This is what we humans do when greet each other. And usually, if it the first time, we introduce ourselves. For example," he grabbed one of her hands from where it was resting on her knee, before making both go up and down in an exaggerated fashion, "Steve Rogers, nice to meet you."

"I know what a handshake is," she scowled and rolled her eyes but didn't pull away, "Avalyn, but I go by Ava."

"Got a last name, Ava?"

"Not today, Mr. Rogers," she stood and pulled Steve to his feet, "So, do you save all damsels in distress?"

"Call me Steve, please. And it is my policy to try and save anyone in distress, ma'am." They walked out of the alleyway together, Steve wiping his bloody nose with an old handkerchief. Steve couldn't help but be pleased that he had a couple inches on her—it didn't happen often, him being taller than anyone over the age of fourteen.

"Only if you don't call me ma'am," she muttered as her nose wrinkled again when a passerby blew spoke into their faces, she would never understand why Midguardians would destroy their lungs like that. She glanced at Steve as he wheezed and coughed pitifully. "That is a strange policy to have considering how frail you are, isn't it more trouble than it's worth?"

Steve turns to look at her, wide eyed at her bluntness. Sure, people always tell him he is too weak to do much, but this is different. She seemed genuinely curious as to why he tries so hard.

"I just don't like bullies, ma'am. Someone's gotta stand up for the little guy," he puffs up his chest, ignoring the ache in his ribs, "and if that person is me, so be it."

"You're a strange human, Steve Rogers." She hums in amusement before dragging him into the local clinic, promising to pay his medical bills.

They had become very close friends, him being her first human one. They had met weekly, exchanging stories and dreams over coffee. Their conversations had been what she most looked forward to, but not anymore. The last time she had saw him was right before he enlisted, and right after that she had been put in a lab… but it no longer mattered, she had Elli now and the man was probably long dead.

"Ms. Lane?" Ava's head snapped up from the paper she had been grading for the last ten minutes.

"Yes, Peter?"

"It's 2:30." Her disguised pale blue eyes glanced up at the clock.

"So it is," she stood up, getting the attention of the rest of her students, "Alright, class time to go home, let's line up."

She smiled brightly at the third graders, ignoring the pain from remembering Steve Rogers.


"Hey," Bruce walks into the lab with a steaming mug of chamomile, greeting Tony before heading to his own work station. The billionaire only grunts in response before giving all his attention to the piece of metal in front of him.

It is silent between them, much different than what Bruce thought sharing a lab with the man would be like. The usual chatter box that was Tony Stark was a quiet worker, only speaking to Jarvis or Bruce when he needed to bounce ideas. And, normally, Bruce was fine with this arrangement. Today, however, was a slow day for the scientist. He had just wrapped up a large project the day before and wasn't quite in the mood to tackle a new one.

"Are those prosthetics?"

Tony nearly fell of his chair in surprise. Despite his alter ego's lack of subtlety, the nuclear physicist could be silent as Natasha at time. The doctor gave an apologetic shrug at Tony's half-hearted glare. The eldest Stark lets out a sigh before putting his screw driver down. He was almost finished, he just had to rewire Elli's left leg. The other two limbs had been finished before Bruce had come down.

"Yeah, they needed an upgrade," swiveling in his seat, Tony turns to face his fellow scientist while wiping the oil from his hands.

"I didn't realize you worked on them yourself," Bruce picks up the lone arm, not noticing its creator flinch and then relax. Looking at the hand, the scientist can't help smiling at the pink polish on the faux nails. He was always impressed by how life-like Tony had made the mechanical limbs and was even more impressed now that he had finally seen some in person.

"They're so small, are they a child's?"

"Yeah," Tony and Bruce share a sad smile as the arm is placed back on the bench. Looking at the limbs, Bruce can't help the surprise at seeing the matching polish on the toes.

"Are they all for the same kid?" A nod makes Bruce's heart clench, "How old?"

"Turned six a month ago," Tony almost laughs at Bruce's face as he starts to put it together.

The overprotective father had been debating about letting the team know about Elli's limbs; he was still wary of most of them. The only ones in the tower right now were Steve, Natasha, and Bruce. Clint was part time now that the team knew about his family—after nearly killing Tony's daughter, he realized he needed to spend more time with his own children. Despite Tony's forgiveness, the two fathers were skittish around each other. It was agreed that some distance would be best at the moment. The archer still came by the tower every once in awhile, but was mostly assigned to undercover missions whenever he wasn't at the farm.

It was peaceful the last couple of weeks. There were few emergency calls, allowing the team to relax and focus on other missions. He and Steve were working together to find Bucky, but their relationship was still strained despite the Captain's best efforts. It obviously had never been great to begin with and neither man was sure they would ever be the best of friends, but Tony had to admit that Steve was definitely trying. It also helped that the Captain was being supportive of the Thor problem as well.

Their resident demigod had left shortly after delivering the All-Father's "orders". The God hadn't contacted them since, making Tony worry that some Asgardian-Asshat would try to kidnap his baby girl. Multiple security measures had been added to the Stark's floor as well as another Avenger being in the tower at all times. Most often times it was Bruce, the Hulk being the most likely to be able take down an Asgardian threat. The others pitched in on the security detail as well, everyone being happy to spend extra time with Elli. When she was free, Natasha kept eyes on the outside and surrounding areas of Elli's school while Coulson had replaced the principle—who had just come into a very luxurious and early retirement. The round the clock security and support had put the father somewhat at ease as well as helped the team bond. Tony was obviously still furious with Thor—the big blonde idiot had tried to threaten baby—but he had to admit that the threat had helped the team become much closer in the past few weeks. Something that normally would have taken months, maybe even years in other circumstances. It was probably why he was comfortable letting Bruce know more about his and Elli's lives. Hopefully the other scientist could act as an extra pair of eyes when they reattached the prosthetics tomorrow.

"They're Elli's…?" Bruce's hand hovered over the faux skin-he couldn't believe he was just holding the youngest Stark's arm with such indifference a moment before. Sure, he had realized that they were someone's replacement limbs, but knowing who they belonged too made it much more personal.

"They're Elli's," Tony confirms, "Her legs and arm were…removed before I got custody of her, and she's had the prosthetics since was two."

The team was somewhat filled in on Elli's origins, but much of it was left out. As time went on, bits and pieces of the Starks' lives were shared with the different members of the team.

"Damn."

Tony nearly chokes as he hears Bruce swear for the first time in probably forever before laughing at the poor man. He really seemed at a loss for words.

"It isn't so bad. Of course every parent wants their kid to be healthy and whole," Tony turns back to the unfinished leg, "and I was definitely angry about it for a long time, but it hasn't changed anything really. And yeah, we've had a few extra challenges," it is Bruce's turn to snort this time, a few extra challenges…right, "but these prosthetics are Elli. She inspired me to create something that was bigger than just the two of us. Project Eleanor has changed so many people's lives."

Bruce can only smile at the pride in Tony's voice. Despite him being the one to create the limbs, the genius seemed to want to give his daughter all of the credit. The scientist listened intently to the billionaire's explanation of inner workings of the prosthetics before leaving the oldest Stark to work. Having agreed to help out the next day, Bruce headed to the elevator. He could give the littlest Stark some company while her daddy finished repairing her leg.


This chapter was little more fluffy then I intended but I am quite happy with it. I think I introduced a lot but also progressed the plot quite a bit. Bucky and Deadpool should come up again next chapter as I have plans for both of them. Obviously, Bucky will be here for the long run, but Deadpool will most likely just be a guest for the next few sections.

Anyways, I will try my best to update in the next week or so. Please follow, favorite, and review. I would love to hear any opinions on Ava's character. Like Eleanor, I played with the meaning a little bit as Ava is another form of Eve and Avalyn means beautiful breath of life (according to google haha). Both meanings will make more sense in upcoming chapters.

SECOND QUICK NOTE: Elli's prosthetics will be a big feature this and next chapter. I tried to mix and match details from other characters who have similar features. If you were wondering from who, I based my ideas off of Bucky (of course), Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist (god I loved that anime when I was younger), Cyborg from Teen Titans and DC comics, and Will Smith's arm in iRobot (quality movie btw, I recommend it). I obviously don't own any of these characters or their designs.