Okay! I'm three days late, I'm aware. This chapter wound up being really long so it took forever to write. Would've been up sooner, but halfway through I had an idea that lengthened it more than I had expected. I hope the length helps make up for being late again. Enjoy and I'd love to here your thoughts in the reviews!

0=change focus to a different character

00=scene change (no matter how big or small)

000=timeskip

F000=this means that we move back to the next avengers time.

P000= No this is not poo. it's moving back to the past.

Chapter 10: And Searches Conducted

Rogue slammed his fist on the table. This was bad. He didn't like Hawk except for how the mere idea of Francis having it makes James squirm. But for him to go missing for this long? Ultron really would kill him.

"Damnit Hawk! Jocasta scan again. If he doesn't show up I'll go out and look for him again," he commanded the AI. She responded quickly, beginning the scan for Hawk once more by utilizing some of the satellites she'd hacked into. His gauntlet was still a little busted, but he'd managed to fix some of the damage cause by Pym. The hologram was up but it was somewhat unstable. He'd work on it more after he found Hawk.

As he was waiting for her scan to finish, he was going through some of the data he'd collected from the tower, before the chaos of the stone happened. The Avengers didn't have much on the infinity stones, but they had enough. He already knew that they'd found the time stone after what happened before. However, the other four stones were yet to be found by them. Mind, space, power and reality were still missing. Any one of them could be a great asset to them and could be just the edge they needed to complete their mission. That is if Hawk actually came back from disappearing on him and not answering his coms.

He shook his head in annoyance and checked on the scan when he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He paused to listen for a moment, his instinct telling him that he was in danger and that something was about to happen. He picked up his helmet from its place beside him and put it on, storing away the data glasses as he did so. He was just standing up when the sound of glass breaking alerted him to the intruders as smoke began to fill the room. They'd thrown smoke grenades in. Someone was trying to make it easier on themselves. Unluckily for them, Ultron has been very thorough in preparing him for different scenarios.

As they broke in, He ran down the hall of the old building he was in, having an exit strategy. The smoke had not yet reached the room that was once an office. It had a window out to a fire escape and he went to it, but quickly hid to the side of it when he heard voices. A small peek out the window confirmed that there were men in strange yellow suits outside. There was at least 7 of them and they were all armed with what looked like tasers.

'Shit' he thought. They likely had the building surrounded. No matter, he is more than capable of figuring his way out...

00

Hawkeye was surprised how long the kid had slept for. He knew that AIM had gotten him with a sedative but he hadn't expected him to sleep from so early in the afternoon to 10am the next day. He did have to leave the infirmary as it got later and later at night so he gave Jarvis the order to wake him up when the kid wakes. Not once was he woken up by the AI last night. It wasn't until he was making himself some breakfast that Jarvis even said anything about him. So he decided to make breakfast for 2. He knows he's gotta be hungry after all that sleep.

"That's a lot of food to be making for just you," Pym's voice nearly made him jump and drop the pan of eggs he was currently working on.

"Jesus, where did you come from?" He asked, making the teen shrink a bit from his reaction. Clint could tell that the pipsqueak was holding back some laughter though.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the teen said a little too innocently for Clint's liking.

"You're fine," he replied, turning back to the eggs before they burned. "I just didn't hear you come in."

"Sooo?"

"So what?" Clint glanced over at Pym.

"Soo, why are you making so much food?" Pym repeated his question. He had to be bored if he was this interested in this topic.

"You're bored aren't you?" He decided to take the blunt approach. Pym let out an exasperated sigh, laying his head on the bar counter.

"Yessss!" He groaned out, earning a chuckle from the archer. He climbed onto a bar stool and adjusted himself so his still bruised chin rested on his hands with him hunched over the counter in a comfortable manner. "No offense to you guys, but this place doesn't have a lot to do and there are still places Jarvis won't let me explore." Clint glanced up at the ceiling a second, wondering what these places were briefly. He shook his head and finished up with the eggs, separating them onto two plates that already had bacon and toast on them.

"Well, let me handle something first and if you're still bored by then, we can look for something fun to do. Sound good?" He asked. Pyms eyes lit up at the mere prospect of something entertaining him for a while and he rapidly nodded. Clint had to admit, the short stack was growing on him. "Alright then, I'll be back in a while. Why don't you watch some tv til I get back?" He suggested as he picked up the plates, heading out the door of the room. Pym shrugged at the suggestion, but was clearly looking forward to having something better than tv to do here. He moved to the couch in the room and turned it on, attempting to find anything that could even remotely interest him while Hawkeye was doing, whatever it is.

00

Francis was very confused when he woke up in the infirmary. He still felt really tired, but he didn't want to got back to sleep. How long had he been out? And where was he again?

"Hey, glad to see you're awake," a very familiar and long missed voice drew his attention to the door. The sight of his younger father brought the alleyway and his brief conversation with him here crashing back to his memory. He had to blink a few times to clear them before he answered.

"How long was I sleeping for?" He asked after a moment, looking away briefly. It was still hard to see his father in front of him, especially when he remembers the last time he saw him.

"About 20 hours. Whatever AIM got you with did the trick," Clint replied as he held out a plate of some really good smelling food. As soon as the smell hit him his stomach growled. This made Clint laugh. "Yeah I figured you'd be hungry." Francis carefully took the plate and fork from Clint, not wanting to drop anything. After one bite he quickly began eating, realizing just how hungry he was. He didn't stop until he had finished. It felt like it had been a very long time since he had anything like that food. As he was finishing up and slowing down, he noticed two things. His younger father was only half done with his plate and he was smiling. This made Francis pause for a moment, with some reluctancy to stop eating for that moment.

"What? Did I get some on my face?" He asked, genuinely confused as to why he was looking at him like that. He wiped his mouth off just to be sure. Clint chuckled and shook his head.

"No, it was just funny to see you eat so quickly. When was the last time you had a decent meal?" Clint asked. Francis couldn't remember the answer to that and didn't want to dwell on it so he shrugged.

"It's been a while I guess," he replied. He didn't miss the look in his fathers eyes when she said that either. He opened his mouth to say something, but quickly decided against it. This Hawkeye wouldn't be able to answer his questions. He was too young. He heard a clink noise and saw that Clint had set aside his plate. He raised an eyebrow slightly as him, wondering what he was gonna do next.

"What's your name?" Clint asked, making Francis blink in surprise. For some reason that had been the one question he wasn't expecting.

"H...Francis. My name is Francis," he answered, stopping himself from saying his other name. He didn't want to say his last name, it would raise too many questions that he didn't have the answers for.

"Clint Barton. Nice to meet you," said person replied. Francis gave him a nod to concur and glances down at the plate.

"So... did you make this or did you have someone else make it?" He asked, genuinely curious as to how good a cook His younger father actually might be.

"I did? Why?" Clint replied curiously. Francis couldn't help the short laugh that escaped his lips. He didn't have a ton of memories of before Ultron's attack since he was only about 5 years old when it happened. He definitely didn't remember his fathers cooking being good, though as scavengers, they didn't have good choices for ingredients either. He noticed Clints slightly insulted look.

"Sorry, it's just... you remind me of someone I knew who had the worst cooking imaginable," Francis clarified why he was laughing.

"Oh yeah? I know someone like that. What's this person like?" Francis shakes his head at the question having to take a moment to figure out his answer.

00

Rogue waited patiently in his hiding spot, listening to the intruders. He couldn't believe the idiots actually hadn't decided to check the closets yet. There were only two in the room he was in from what he could see from the crack in the closet door. Their outfits looked even more ridiculous than his did. He had Jocasta trying to decipher who they were, but it was going slowly.

"Are we sure the readings are correct? It doesn't look like anyone is here anymore," one of the men questioned. Readings? What readings?

"The readings are definitely spot on. The energy is concentrated in the building. He hasn't left yet," the other one said. Rogue cursed mentally. He didn't know how these men were tracking him, but it meant that if he did get away they'd just find him again. That severely limited his options. Fighting his way out may be all he can do here, but so many men made that a difficult challenge to say the least.

"You check the closet?" One asked, making him hold his breath as he listened.

"No, good idea," the other replied and he positioned himself quietly, ready to fight if necessary. The man got closer and reached to open the door to the closet. Before he could fully wrap his hand around the door handle, Rogue burst from the closet, taking them by surprise. The other man tried to get out his taser while the one he'd hit with the door was recovering. However, Rogue was quicker. He grabbed the arm of the taser stick and snapped it in half, stopping its electric current.

Rogue then punched the man and whirled around, kicking the other assailant who had recovered from being hit by the closet door. Now he had an opening out of the room and he took it, bolting out the door.

Unfortunately, the scuffle attracted the attention of the other men that were inside the building. Rogue saw two more coming down the hall towards him, tasers out. It was too late for surprise with them as he was in the middle of the hall. He rushed them, activating his shield. He used it to block one taser and push back hard, knocking the man off balance. Then blocked the other taser and swept the other ones feet out from under him. He punched them both while they're down for good measure and to buy him a few extra seconds. He grabbed one of the tasers and slowly crept down the hall. Glancing out into the main room carefully. He saw only one guy in this apartment, but could hear others in the hall outside it. He looked passed the guy and saw a window. An idea formed, but he'd have to act quickly.

00

A beeping sound interrupted Hawkeye and Francis' conversation. Clint pulled out the little card from his pocket with his picture on it. His Avengers ID.

"Avengers, there's A.I.M activity happening downtown," Tony's voice came through the card. "We need to investigate and put a stop to what they're doing."

"I'm on my way," Clint responded as he glanced at Francis. He couldn't help but notice the disappointment that came to the young man's face briefly.

"Negative, stay there Hawkeye. For all we know, this could be a diversion to get to get to our guests. You and Sam need to stay behind just in case," Caps voice ordered. Clint felt a tinge of disappointment himself for the order.

"Fine, but I get to go next time," he replied.

"I'll keep Pym company, you just stay in the infirmary," Sam told him on a separate coms channel. Francis has a look of shock cross his face. Before Clint could reply, he was interrupted.

"Did he just say Pym?" Francis asked rather quickly. It surprised Clint.

"Sounds like a plan." Clint put away the card and looked back at Francis. He had the look of wanting an explanation. "Yeah, he did, why?" He asked slowly. A somewhat desperate look entered the young man's eyes, he could read it. Francis held up his hand to a lower than average height.

"This tall, black hair, really high pitched voice Pym?" He described, a hesitant tone in his voice. Clint was taken aback that the description fit their other guest to a 't'.

"How did you know that?" He asked suspiciously. Francis sat up and got out of bed, pausing to let some dizziness pass.

"I need to see him," the young man said seriously. Clint put his hand out to stop him when he tried to go passed him. It wasn't hard to stop him when he was suffering from the sedative that was slowly draining from his system.

"First, you keep going you'll probably fall over, so sit down," Clint told him, pushing him lightly so that he'd be forced to sit on the bed. He could tell Francis didn't like that he'd done that, but it was necessary. "Second, how do you know this kid and why do you need to see him so badly?" Francis sat there a moment. Clint could see the debate in his eyes. There were things he didn't want to tell him.

"He's my friend," he finally spoke. His words brought more questions, but also allowed Clint to form an idea. Pym came to them from the time stone. It was obvious that if Francis did know him, then so was he. Francis then looked him dead in the eye. "And he's the last person I remember talking to before the blank in my memory happened."

00

Tony had already taken off in his suit when he he'd contacted the other avengers. He knew they wouldn't be far behind and considering what happened last time they ran into AIM, he wanted to do some recon first. They were working on something that would've involved the young man back at their base. He wanted to know what it was.

When he arrived at the poorer and more run down area of New York, he couldn't help but look at the buildings around him. Even with the initiatives he's pushed for, these areas weren't being helped as much as he would like.

'Sir, the AIM sighting is just up ahead.'

He turned his attention to the directions, flying higher in the air to avoid being spotted. He hovered when he saw the AIM men. There was quite a few of them surrounding a building that looked like it was truly abandoned. Clearly they didn't want to miss whatever or whoever they were looking for.

"Tony, I'm almost there," Cap said in their coms. Tony knew that the others wouldn't be far behind him.

"I'm already here. There's a surprising amount of the AIM goons here. Something big has to be going on-" Tony was cut off by the loud sound of a window breaking. He witnessed an AIM scientist falling from one of the windows, well passed the fire escape. He was clearly thrown and Tony saw by who. Rogue jumped through the broken window. He used the fire escape like a springboard. He was able to make it to the roof of the next building over. Tony wasn't the only one that had seen him do that.

"Subject is on the move!" Tony heard one of the scientists say. He got over his surprise and activated his coms in his suit, quickly diving into action.

"Avengers, you won't believe this! They're going after Rogue!"

"What?" Cap responded, sounding incredulous. Tony kept a healthy level above the action happening on the rooftops. AIM was following the kid from the ground and spotted Iron Man fairly quickly. A small group of them broke off to fire their weapons at Tony. He had to stop and radio the other avengers.

"They're heading down 1st Avenue!"

"That's where I'm coming in, I'll head them of," Widow replies through the coms. Tony gave his full attention to those shooting at him and fired back repulser beams.

0

Rogue was booking it across the rooftops. He could hear an a couple of the agents behind him and took note of those following him from the ground. These people really wanted him. Considering he's been keeping his existence on the down low to anyone but the Avengers, he can't help but wonder why. Unless they know who he is. If that's the case, this could be problematic for his mission.

"Shit!" he let out as he narrowly dogged what looked like laser fire. He hadn't taken note of any guns. The tasers must have kept him from taking note of anything else. He'll have to remember to do that if there's a next time. Still, his chances of survival just went down.

"Get down!" A woman's voice and command made him react. He immediately hit the floor. Something heavy soared over his head. He could tell by the noise the object made. Rogue looked up after hearing it connect with at least 2 AIM agents. To his surprise, he saw two members of the Avengers, Thor and... Black Widow. He couldn't help but stare at the latter a moment before blinking to get his head back in the game.

"The hell are you people here for?" He spat out, feeling his frustrations rising. Widow gave him a stern look.

"You're welcome," she said, watching Rogue carefully as he stood up and brushed himself off. His directives wanted him to act, but he knew that'd be a stupid decision right now.

"I don't need your help," Rogue said. Thor looked back at him with a look before throwing his hammer at him. Rogue jumped to the side to see it hit an AIM agent that was behind him. Looked to be the last one of the roofs too.

"Like it or not, you have our help. A true warrior would know when to chose his battles," The god of thunder said, clearly unhappy about the situation. Rogue just stared at him, unblinkingly for a moment. He was purposefully trying to unnerve the god and it looked like it was working a little.

"Widow, have you secured Rogue?" Tony asked over their coms. Drawing Widows attention away from the strange stare off between Thor and Rogue.

"Yes. He's not too happy about it though. We've taken care of the AIM Agents that were following him too," Widow responded. It wasn't a moment after that that Rogue heard something from behind him on a neighboring building. He quickly turned around in time to see a laser head towards him. It was already to close for him to dodge it. It hit him square in the chest. He was knocked backwards by it with a yell but, surprisingly, he didn't hit the concrete. Whatever he landed on gave him a jolt. He opened his eyes after a second and found himself encased in a sphere that seemed to be made of pure energy. It was small too. He'd have to hunch over to stand. He looked down and saw that he was floating above the alleyway and moving towards the building that had more AIM agents on it. He looked back at Widow and Thor. They were under fire at the moment. Then he realized that the couldn't hear any of it. The sphere was soundproof. He briefly locked eyes with Widow. He actually felt.. scared.

0(~a moment earlier~)

"Like it or not, even a kid like him can't handle the amount of AIM Agents they sent after him. He needs our help. Plus we'll be there to make sure he can't get away again. Win-win," Tony said over the coms. Widow didn't respond to that, but looked over at Rogue. There was something about him. She didn't need to be told to protect him. She felt like she had to. Then she saw what was passed him, at the same time the trigger was pulled and Rogue had turned around. She rushed forward, firing at AIM with her wrist stingers. It wasn't fast enough. She watched the sphere encase Rogue and lift him in the air and towards the agents.

"Thor! The roof over!" She yelled. The agents around the one controlling the sphere opened fire on the two. Thor flew upward while Widow had to take cover behind an air conditioner on the roof. She peeked out of her cover to fire back. She locked eyes with Rogue. To her surprise, he looked scared. This kid had infiltrated their base and fought them on a number of occasions, but not once had she seen him scared before. She was forced to duck behind her cover again and radioed in.

"We're pinned down! They have Rogue trapped in some kind of containment device," Widow informed the other Avengers.

"I see you! Sit tight! I'm coming at them from behind-"

A roar sounded as the Hulk came into Widows view, cutting Cap off in her coms. The AIM Agents scattered to avoid the Hulk. Rogue was jerked against the side of the containment sphere he was stuck in as the agent that held the device controlling it ran, taking him with it.

"Or that." Cap finishes his sentence. Widow started firing at the scattered Aim agents, running as she did so. She could see the containment sphere floating away, meaning the guy controlling it was there too.

"Thor! Help Hulk by keeping these guys busy!" She commanded as she left them to their own devices. She wasn't going to let them get away with Rogue.

0

Rogue was fighting the fear he felt as he was tossed around like a rag doll. The guy with the device controlling the sphere was running and didn't seem to care about keeping it level enough to keep him from getting sick.

He was starting to really feel light headed. The sound deprivation didn't help anything either.

He shouted when the man jumped to another rooftop and landed roughly, jarring the sphere even worse.

"Jesus this must be what being a fruit inside a blender feels like," he said out loud, finding the way the sphere absorbed any echo on his voice disturbing. Finally the man stopped running. Rogue was breathing somewhat heavily after that. He looked around outside the sphere. They were in a building. The stairwell of one to be exact. The agent must have found a rooftop entrance. This didn't bode well for him. He could feel the energy of this sphere doing something to him and, though he loathed to admit it, he'd need the Avengers help to get out of this with Hawk MIA. How would they find him now that his captor has him indoors?

Rogue glanced at his gauntlet, an idea coming to mind. The gauntlet was functioning but still needed a little work. It's also how he's been able to connect with Hawk over coms. Perhaps.. he curled up into a position that would hopefully keep the agent from seeing what he's doing. With the drained feeling he had, he wasn't sure how much longer he'd be able to do this, so he'd have to work fast.

0

Widow had, unfortunately, lost site of the Agent that had Rogue. He'd still had backup apparently that had gotten in her way long enough for them to disappear.

"Natasha, do you see him?" Steve's voice came through the coms.

"Negative. I lost visual. They must be hiding somewhere," she relayed back.

"Where are you? Hulk and Thor took care of the agents here. We can meet up and fan out-" static started covering the Captains voice, making it muffle the ending of that sentence.

"Steve? Avengers, can you hear me?" She asked, scanning the rooftops. If no one answered then she'd know their signal was being jammed nearby. She didn't see anybody yet.

"-dow? Widow, you there?" Steve's voice came through once more. That was somewhat of a relief.

"I'm here. What happened?" She asked. Tony answered her this time.

"Someone is trying to latch onto our com network, I have Jarvis working to correct it-"

"-llo?" This time a new, much more muffled voice came through. It was hard to hear them. Everyone on the com link seemed to stop talking and listen.

"Avengers, can you hear me?" It was Rogue. He sounded like he was whispering. She had to strain some to listen.

"We can hear you. How the hell did you tap into our coms?" Tony asked. Widow didn't care about that. She could tell by the way Rogue spoke that something was wrong - more than being stuck in a containment field and being taken away by AIM.

"Can we move passed the ego? In case you didn't notice, Stark, I'm kind of in the middle of being kidnapped by wack-jobs in ridiculous yellow suits!" Rogue seemed to snap at Tony for the question. Even though there was some humor in his words, she could hear that he was scared. It sounded like he was having trouble breathing right. "Look, as much as I would love to argue or fight and I hate to admit this. But I can't get out of this alone."

"What about your partner?" Steve asked, suspicion clear in his voice. She heard him say it twice, one in her ear and one not far away. She looked to her right and saw the captain not to far away, heading to her location.

"What partner?" Rogue asked, sounding frustrated just at the mention of a partner.

"The one that helped you escape during our last encounter," Steve pushed as he reached Natasha.

"That wasn't a partner, it was a trap. Made to help me get out should something go wrong," Rogue replied, sounding truthful. Natasha and Steve looked at each other, neither believing that. "Shit! He's starting to move again."

"Alright. Where are you?" Tony asked, hearing the stress in Rogues voice.

"I'm in a stairwell. The kind that you'd find in an office building or hotel. I think we just passed floor four." Rogue told them. Widow and Steve looked around. "We've passed one flight before that."

"Five floors total. Widow, you were following them. Is there anything near you like that?" Tony asked. Widow and Steve looked at the buildings around them. They were varying sizes, but only a few seemed to be five floors.

"There's three that we can see," Widow replied, coming up with the same idea Steve did.

"We'll have to split up to search them," Steve answered.

"Agreed. You two pick a building. I'm already on my way. Thor and hulk, come to our location but stay outside as lookouts," Tony said.

"If there's more agents for us to hit, then we shall gladly do so!" Thor responded. Widow and Cap looked at each other and then at the buildings.

"I'll take the one on our right," Widow said, already moving to the building south east of their position.

"I'll go left then. Tony-" Cap was cut off as the sound of repulsers drew near and Iron Man flew passed them.

"I see it. Be careful. We don't know what these buildings hold. If you find Rogue, radio in," Tony told them. A silent agreement to do so was settled as they reached and entered their buildings. Rogue had gone noticeably quiet. Only moments of his somewhat labored breathing could be heard, sowing more worry in Widows mind that she chose not to focus on.

00

Francis was making his way down the hall Clint was leading him. He still felt somewhat dizzy, but having something to focus on and walking seems to have helped him shake off some of the affects he'd felt before. He wasn't sure if Clint truly believed him, about his memory or Pym. The man held an aura of distrust about him, something he didn't blame him for considering some of the things his father had told him about growing up.

"About 85% sure. Just... trust me okay?" Clint said, clearly talking to his teammate. It seemed that he was being second guessed. Truth be told, it made sense that they were being cautious. They didn't know him, or Pym, if it's the same Pym he's known that is. He felt similarly when he'd first met the other avengers kids. Clint stopped at a door, waiting for Francis to catch up as he'd fallen a bit behind.

"Ready?" He asked, making sure Francis was actually up for this right now. The young man nodded. Clint used his Avengers ID to open the door. He saw the back of Pyms head first and then made eye contact with Sam. A small nod passed between them. Then he looked at Francis, who seemed to be standing there in shock.

"Pym...?" He asked slowly. Pym turned around in an instant. His eyes lit up with recognition, excitement and concern.

"HAWKEYE!" Pym yelled, rushing forward and tackling Francis in a hug.

"Ow! Jeez short-stack, you've gotten heavy!" Francis said, clearly in pain from landing roughly on the floor from his tackle, but amused. Clint chuckled some but Pym didn't seem to notice.

"Oh my god! You're here! You're actually here! Thank God! I wasn't sure after you saved Azari and I and then ran off from that rooftop and didn't return! I thought a robot had gotten you! Or a dinosaur! Or you'd gone back home like the others! Or... or-" Pym rambled on, actually beginning to cry some. Francis had no idea where this all was coming from, however he also had no idea just how big the gap in his memory is.

"Pym! Pym! Pym hey," Francis said, finally getting the boy to listen and look at him. "Calm down, we'll have a lot of time to catch up but rambling is just going to make everyone confused. Why are you crying anyway?" He didn't say it in a judgemental way, but a very confused way. He didn't quite understand why Pym was so frantic. The young boy looked up at Francis from where he'd been Hiding his face. The first thing the archer noticed was the bruise on Pym's jaw. It was a little faded but still visible. He felt some anger rise in him, feeling like he'd hate whoever did that to him.

"I'm just... really happy to see you," Pym replied with a smile. Francis pushed the anger aside and sighed.

"It's good to see you too. Now can you get off me and help me up. I'm not in the best condition right now," he told the pipsqueak, also becoming increasingly aware of the two pairs of eyes watching them. He also had a slight headache now from the fall. Pym scrambled off him and helped him up. Francis grunted as he was pulled to his feet, giving Pym one more smile before turning his attention to Falcon and Hawkeye. Francis found it almost as hard to look at Falcon as he did his father...

"So... how do you two know each other?" Sam broke the silence. Francis and Pym shared a look as Pym seemed to have realized that they now had to explain things.

"Through a friend. Pym was raised by him but I met them later on," Francis answered, leaning on the wall. His energy was draining. Everyone seemed to notice too.

"Hey, are you okay? What's wrong?" Pym asked. Clint gestured got the couch.

"You should sit down. That sedative is still in your system, you should've stayed in the infirmary," Hawkeye said, seemingly kicking himself a bit for letting Francis come here.

"Sedative? What sedative? What ha-" Pym would've kept rattling off questions had Falcon not interrupted.

"Let's let him sit down first, Pym." Sam gestures to the couch, realizing very quickly questions wouldn't help Francis' condition. Pym nodded a little sheepishly and looked at Francis agin. He looked a little paler than before, a hand on his head.

"I'm helping you then," Pym stated, not giving Francis a choice as he knew he'd protest. Francis gave him a look.

"Short-stack, I don't think you'll be-Hey!" Francis still attempted to protest, but midway Pym grabbed his arm and put it around his shoulders. Francis was still taller than him, but Pym had grown a good bit since he'd met the archer. Seemed to be enough to help as he and Francis made their way to the couch in the room. Francis practically fell on the couch, placing a hand on his head almost immediately. He had a headache. It was a small one but the energy drain he was feeling made it feel like it was throbbing slightly.

"You okay kid?" Clint asked, sitting on a chair by the couch. Francis groaned a second.

"Yeah, just a headache," He replied. Pym immediately looked guilty.

"We have some meds for that. You want some?" Falcon asked. Francis had to take a second to remember that pain medication was a lot more common here. He didn't need to ration it anymore.

"Sure, that would probably help," he agreed. Falcon nodded and went to grab some and some water. Pym glanced over at Clint, who was watching their interactions carefully, and then at Francis before looking at the floor.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have just rushed you like that," the boy said. Francis looked at him and then leaned back.

"Don't worry about it. You were excited. Normal reaction for someone like you," he said, a sly smile finding a way onto his face. He let Pym have a minute to think about those words.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Pym said after a second. He gave Francis a look. Francis kept his cool demeanor but found the reaction funny.

"What do you think it means, squirt?" Francis responded without looking at him.

"You know I'm still growing. I could one day be taller than even you!" Pym shot back. Francis couldn't help the smile that formed on his face.

"Fine, sure thing. Tell me that after you hit puberty," Francis replied. Pym pouted and hit Francis on the shoulder. Clint had a very amused look on his face as he watched this back and forth. "Ow!" Francis and Pym looked at each other a moment before both broke out into grins and laughter that didn't really help Francis' headache. It had taken Francis a long time to get used to having a team that'll have his back. He took even longer to realize that they weren't just a team, they were family. Made that stupid fight seem even stupider now.

Francis was jarred from his thoughts when Pym hugged him. He hadn't been paying attention and was surprised by it. He looked down at Pyms head, confused.

"Uh…What's with the hug?" The young archer asked. Pym looked up at him. Francis saw a lot of sadness in his eyes. Something happened to Pym, he could tell.

"I just… I really missed you," the boy said quietly. Francis blinked and opened his mouth to say something. He stopped when Falcon came back, reminding him that there were other people in the room. He looked at his younger father, still really confused. Clint shrugged, though seemed concerned for them.

"I've got the meds and- okay what did I miss?" Sam asked, noticing the different vibe of the room.

"Nothing much," Clint replied as Pym stopped hugging Francis and scooted back a bit. Francis wanted to ask him a million questions right now. However, he knew that some of them might give the Avengers present more information than he was comfortable with. He doesn't know what could screw up their future. Sam looked at everyone and seemed to decide not to question it. He handed Francis the pills and a glass of water. Francis studies the pills a moment. Satisfied that they were safe, he took them drank probably half the glass of water. Some habits can't be helped.

"Okay, now that that's all out of the way, you feel up to answering some questions?" Clint asked, using a tone that meant that unless Francis was going to pass out again, they didn't really have a choice. Pym and Francis shared a glance. Francis nodded cautiously. He knew how his father could be. After all, the man had been a shield agent and had been in interrogations before. He had be be careful with what he said.

"Sure, I can probably answer some," Francis said, sounding confident. Pym looked a little nervous though. He tried to avoid questions staying here so far.

"Good. Why did he call you Hawkeye?" Clint got right to the question that was currently bothering him the most. He pointed at Pym as he did. Pym tensed a little, but Francis stayed as relaxed as he could. He didn't want to give something away with his body language.

"It's a nickname. Let's just say I have good aim," Francis replied cooly, brushing it off as something small. Something in him told him that he didn't want the Avengers to know the real answer. He didn't know what it was, but he always trusted his instinct. "We can test it later if you want." Clint watched him carefully, but seemed to believe this.

"Sure, once that sedative is out of your system," He agreed.

"Did you come here at the same time Pym did?" Sam asked. They already knew Pym was from the future since he'd showed up with the time stone. If Pym knows Francis, then it was a reasonable assumption to make. Francis paused. He…actually couldn't remember when he had come here. He tried to remember, but it was like something was blocking him from doing so. It worsened his headache despite the pain meds.

"Um…I don't…I don't know.." Francis answered honestly. He was actually disturbed that he didn't know how he got here. Pym stared at him.

"You don't remember right?" the shrinking boy stated. Francis shook his head.

"Francis, what's the last thing you do remember?" Clint asked. They'd previously only focused on recovering memories, but now Pym might be able to help uncover them. Francis was silent as he closed his eyes, trying to concentrate enough to figure that out. He could feel everyone's eyes on him.

"I…." Francis started. He remembered defeating Ultron. He remembered taking back ultra city. He remembered working his way through the world to dismantle Ultrons robots. He remembered coming back home. He remembered butting heads with James over leadership decisions. He remembered that last stupid fight. He remembered James walking out to cool off and Azari following him. He remembered them not coming back…. He took a deep breath and kept combing, he couldn't focus on blaming himself right now. "I think it was talking to Pym… on a rooftop." He opened his eyes and looked at Pym. Pym sighed with relief almost.

"You actually remember that, good," he said.

"What's that mean?" Francis asked, confused by Pyms statement of 'actually'. Pym looked between Falcon and Hawkeye, debating whether it'd be good to answer in front of them. He decided it would be okay.

"When we were talking to you, you told us that you didn't remember where you'd been. The last thing you remembered was…" Pym paused, hesitating as he was afraid of giving away too much somehow.

"Pym, what was the last thing I said I remembered?" Francis asked firmly. He needed to know and didn't care that that Clint and Sam were right there.

"The ambush. The last thing you remembered was getting ambushed," Pym replied. He didn't want to go into further detail. He knew this raised enough questions already. Francis sat back, taking it in and remembering that night. Pym was right, the last thing he remembered before talking to Pym was the ambush on that rescue mission. Whatever happened to him there had to be the cause for this gap in his memory.

"What ambush?" Clint asked seriously. Francis rubbed his head again.

"We were looking for some friends. I went in first and got attacked. They knocked me out. I don't remember what happened after that. Until I'm suddenly in a building with a hurting arm and Pym staring at me like I was a ghost and… Jesus," Francis had to stop speaking. He knew he just raised a lot more questions but his headache was getting worse and making it hard to concentrate.

"Francis…" Pym said with cautious concern. The last time he saw Francis he was running to distract an angry monster, but before that he seemed in some pain. This time that pain is coming back it looked like, but why.

"Headache…worse.." He grunted out. He leaned forward and hid his eyes from the light that suddenly seemed too bright.

"You probably pushed yourself too hard. You should get back to the infirmary to rest," Clint said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Francis cracked his eyes open a bit to look at him. He nodded a bit, agreeing because he was too tired and the headache too bad to argue.

"I'm going with you," Pym piped up, greatly concerned for his friend as he got up off the couch.

"Can you stand?" Sam asked. Francis nodded again and forced himself up He was unsteady but he could stand. Clint wrapped an arm around him without a word and started leading him out. Pym was right beside him. He'd never seen Francis like this. Francis hadn't gotten a cold let along a headache bad enough that he'd need help walking before. Pym wondered what happened to him that did this during the nearly half a year he's been gone…

F000

Tony has been working nonstop for hours, attempting to locate anything that could help him find a way to the others. He had pieced enough of the puzzle of what happened to guess roughly that his missing kids were in the past. He didn't know how Francis got there, or James, but they were there. He had Jocasta working on more files. He made a promise to keep the kids safe and he'd broken that. He was going to do his damndest to make up for it….

"Tony?" Torunns voice caused him to look up. She was wearing her pjs looked tired and worried. Something that was, sadly, normal to see now. Tony sat back in his chair and yawned.

"Torunn. You can come in. Have you slept? You look tired." He asked, worried about her too. Torunn shrugged.
"You're one to talk," She said as she entered. He gave a slight chuckle at that. She was right, he probably looked like hell himself. She sighed as she dropped into a chair next to him. He looked at her, still waiting for her to answer his question. After a moment, she did. "I tried sleeping. I can't. Not while our family is still out there. So I visited Azari instead."

"How is he?" Tony asked. He'd visited him before he got to work, but he still asked.

"He's getting better, but he's not sleeping very well either. He was awake when I went in. Apparently he'd had a nightmare…" Torunn informed him, remembering what they saw in that lab. She didn't blame him for being unable to sleep. Tony frowned.

"I imagine those are going to be normal for him for a while," He murmured, rubbing his eyes. Torunn nodded in agreement. She looked over his current workspace that was cluttered with paper and and screens that looked like they were running multiple programs.

"Any luck?" She asked. Tony looked at his work and picked up a tablet.

"Some. The robots running the place released a code to erase a lot of data from their systems. From what I can tell though, they were researching something about cybernetics. Which is strange considering the robots we've faced previously wanted to kill humans, not use machines to help them. They were also testing human limits…" He stopped. Every time he read over that part he saw Azari going through it. He set the tablet back down and saw the look on Torunns face. He knew she was thinking the same. He changed the subject slightly to get her mind off it. "I also have been looking at trying to get to the others. We established that it was around 2014 when we saw that video and going off my memory. We know Pym got there the same way we did but for some reason was left behind-"

"We have confirmation that he's still in the past?" Torunn sat up, paying great attention. Tony hesitantly nodded.

"Not confirmation like the video of James, but I've been remembering things," He rubbed his temple. Though these memories had already resurfaced, they still somewhat pained him to think on. "I remember Pym in the past, so he's got to be there still. The big thing is that James was there before Pym and Francis. This is confirmed by another security tape. James got there some other way, which means there's a way to go to the past out there that they used and, if we find it, we may be able to go get them," Tony said. That 'if' is a big one though. There wasn't anything to do this in the lab they'd found Azari in, which means the machine is in an unknown location that will take time to find. That 'if' was a chance though.

"Tony! That's incredible!" Torunn said, sounding hopeful for the first time in a while. She actually smiled and hugged him.

"It's still an if and will still take time, but it's a chance," Tony replied. He was a little surprised. Torunn wasn't a big hugger. That told him just how much she needed this news.

"I don't care, a chance is all we need," She told him. Tony wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. He hadn't realized how much he needed to be reminded of that. They only stayed like that a moment. He was glad that she was smiling again.

"You should get some rest. We need it if we find this machine and have to fight our way through it," He told her. She nodded somewhat reluctantly and stood up from her chair.

"Aye, but you must get some rest as well," she told him.

"I will. I'm going to set a program up first but I will get some sleep Torunn," Tony assured. She looked at him disbelievingly, but nodded and walked out of the lab, calling a goodnight over her shoulder. He let out of a breath. He looked at his messy workspace. One of the programs he was running alerted him to finding something. He pulled it up. It was the program he had running on his armor. The video in his armor that didn't do well with his trip to the past. There was a snapshot on the screen from the video. It was grainy and blurry, but he could mostly make it out. An African American girl with wings and red streaks in her hair was mid flight through the air. He stared at it. He couldn't make out the girls face, but the wings looked very familiar…

P000(~With Tony~)

Iron Man was investigating his building. As he made his way through the stair well and the floors, he didn't see anything.

"Widow, Cap, you find anything?" He asked. He heard negatives in return. The one person he hadn't heard from is Rogue. He'd gone quiet and that wasn't a good thing. It's possible his tap was temporary… "Rogue, are you still connect to our comms?" He asked begrudgingly. He didn't get a response for longer than he'd like.

"Yeah… barely. I'm not sure for how long," Rogue answered, still talking. He didn't sound good.

"Are you alright?" Steve's voice came though.

"Not really. This sphere… there's something wrong with it…." Rogue sounded…scared? What was the containment field doing to him? Tony didn't like the kid and his habit of breaking into the tower. However, he didn't want him to be go through whatever is happening to him.

"Rogue I need you to focus and look around. What's around you?" Tony asked him. He needed more information. They clearly weren't in the stair wells anymore.

"He's hiding. I think we're in the bathroom," Rogue responded. That wasn't much help, but it was something. He had Jarvis pull up the building schematics and locate the restrooms. There's one on each floor. He started with the third floor since that was the one he was on. He checked the restrooms there, but didn't find anyone there. He moved through the floor again just to be safe before moving one floor down. As he approached this restroom, Jarvis alerted him to a heat signature coming from inside the restroom.

"Hang in there, I think I found you," Tony informed the kid, as well as the other Avengers. This time Rogue didn't respond. He approached with caution. As he opened it, he heard someone shuffle a little. As if to still themselves. The bathroom was filthy and missing some appliances, but there were stalls. He had Jarvis pull up the infrared. The one heat signature showed in the closet. He guessed that one of them was infrared protected but not another. Either that or there was a homeless person on the other end.

One repulser at the ready, Tony opened the door. Immediately he was hit by a compact laser blast that pushed him back from the door and nearly knocked him over. Definitely AIM. The agent tried to use this to run passed him, but Tony recovered quickly and aimed a repulser, firing in front of him.

The AIM agent froze and looked at Iron Man. His left hand gripping the staff like device that emitted an energy line connected directly to the sphere that contained Rogue. The other hand held the blaster that he had used moment earlier.

"I'll make this easy for you. Drop the blaster and give me the kid," Tony said. He could see the hesitation and nervousness the agent exhibited. He looked at Rogue briefly. From what he could tell by his posture and what he could see behind the lenses in his helmet, he was unconscious and not looking good. The agent tried to run. Tony hit him with a repulser blast that knocked him into the wall before he could reach the door. "I tried to make it easy."

He walked over to the staff that had now rolled away from the man. He picked it up and examined the technology. He had to admit, for AIM, it wasn't bad. He quickly located the 'off' button. A second later the energy flow from the staff retreated back into it. He looked at the containment field and watched it fade, dropping Rogue from inches off the ground once it dissipated. Strangely enough, the kid that's been an annoyance to him ever since randomly coming into their lives, actually looked peaceful. It was almost heart warming.

"I've got him. He's unconscious, but Jarvis' scans are showing he'll be alright," He updated his team.

"That's something at least. I'm on my way," Steve responded.

"So am I," Natasha added. This surprised Tony. He'd expected Cap to want to come, but didn't think Natasha would since the kid was safe now. As far as he knew, she didn't have any of the same strange encounters with Rogue like Cap did. Still, it'd probably be good to have the extra person here when Rogue wakes up.

"Roger that," Tony replied. He could practically hear the eye-roll Cap undoubtedly did. He turned his attention back to Rogue. More specifically, his helmet. There was a high probability that Rogue was the same kid Steve and Clint had met at the carnival. They hadn't seen him since that day, but Rogue popped up right after. The proof was right in front of him. He knelt down and grabbed Rogues helmet. He paused to be sure he was still unconscious. Jarvis confirmed he was. A second later he removed the helmet.

He hadn't met the kid at the carnival, so he'd have to wait for Steve to get there for a positive match, but he had Jarvis catalogue a picture of him. A face not obscured by a helmet to put to the name. A teenager, by the looks of him, has been personally responsible for breaking into the tower multiple times as well as helping Red Skull escape his prison and trying to beat Pym to death… What made him this way?

He shook his head. He should get Rogue out of here and back to his team. First he grabbed the containment staff so AIM couldn't use it again. Then he picked up Rogue and his helmet. He was actually a little lighter than he'd expected. He made his way back up through the stairwell and to the roof. He met Cap and Widow on the roof. It looked like they had arrived at the same time. Laying Rogue down on the roof, he looked at Cap.

"Look familiar?" He asked. Steve's face said it all. He nodded.

"That's him…" the captain confirmed. Tony recognized that look on his face.

"Wonder what AIM wanted with him," Widow spoke up herself. She used a tone of voice he hadn't heard her use before. It was almost… motherly. A groan kept them from speculating as Rogue was beginning to wake up. As he cracked his eyes open, the color shocked them. One was blue, but the other was a very unnatural red.

0

James' head hurt, that much he knew. He felt drained of energy and sluggish. He felt the concrete below him and some wind brush by his face. He started trying to open his eyes. He succeeded in cracking them open. His senses were overwhelmed by the light at first. He felt like he hadn't seen the sun in… wait…wait! The world around him came into focus more and the people around him. He froze at the sight of his father and mother looking down on him. As well as Iron Man, whose faceplate came up. He was really young. It was then that it came back to him. Everything took a minute to catch up and he realized. He was himself!

HEHE! Oh how I miss cliffhangers. I don't do them as often anymore, forgot how fun they are! It was a bit of a struggle to write, it's been a busy month, but it's here and I think I know how the next chapter will go. Hopefully the ending to the next chapter won't change 3 times like this one did.

Please leave a review if you're able! I love any feedback I get, even criticism! Speculation on what happens next is more than welcome as well. Hearing people theorize is a lot of fun. Ya'll have a good June!

~May 31st, 2020~