Chapter 2: Anvengers Tower
New York was far from a quiet city, even in the late hours of night. Most people who lived in the city could hear people outside, or cars driving by. There were those lucky enough though to have buildings high enough above the streets to avoid the chaos below. The ninety-three story building on Broadway, Stark Tower, was one of many. Like most nights, the tower was black, except for the ninety-second floor, the residential area.
The building that once held the Avengers before many of them retired, was now home to Tony Stark, his husband Steve Rogers and their son Tommy. In recent times another also occupied it, Kielar Storm, or Maximoff, as he preferred these days. Steve and Tony had not minded taking in the teenagers, he was their son's best friend. They had known him since he was a small child and knew of his existence even before then.
Kielar stayed with them after a disagreement with his own father, Johnny Storm, after learning that he had adopted him and his sister Karla. Johnny and Kielar had always argued, especially when the teenage years hit. The boy had developed powers similar to his biological fathers, Pietro Maximoff. With that, he had to learn a lot about control, and where Johnny tried to help, it always failed and a fight would end up happening. The latest disagreement had brought Kielar over for the weekend.
Tony had bonded with Kielar in the same way that he had with his own son, and the three were often in the lab together. What had surprised the former Iron-Man, though, was the bond that Kielar shared with Steve. It should not have surprised him though, Kielar was one of those kids that seemed to get along with most adults. While Tony could help keep Kielar's mind busy with lab work and mechanical building, the training Steve gave him had helped even more. Kielar was after all only half human. His other half was Inhuman, his mother being Crystalia Amaquelin, the Princess of the Inhumans of Attlian. They were still learning what the effect of this would have on him. They knew of the twins older sister Luna, and for so long they had believed that her genetic markers cancelled each other out, making her a normal human. That had been false
Kielar and Karla Storm(Or Maximoff) were a perfect example of this. Kielar showed signs of having more common Inhuman attributes than his twin. He could lift more, his skin was harder to pierce. His speed abilities already gave him a quicker reaction time, speed and endurance greater than other humans. His sister had shown similar signs, but not at the height of her brothers. One thing that had surprised all of them though, was the twins psychic link to each other. They had learned that they could not only speak to each other but also feel the other's emotions and physical pain.
The training Steve had done with Kielar over the years was good for the kid. He could focus on slowing down, often wearing a power inhibitor so he didn't accidentally use his speed abilities. When Steve retired, he offered the role as Captain America to Kielar, who took it and swore to hold the title with honor.
Kielar and Tommy going out into the city as Captain America and Iron-Man had become a staple in their lives. As much as they had tried to keep Tommy out of the life they had chosen, Steve and Tony didn't deny their son the chance to step into the role he wanted to be in, but made sure he was ready. Having Kielar out there, well trained and sure of himself, had added to the idea.
So they found themselves with two teenage boys most nights. Steve often commented on how they had gotten lucky with how easy it was with the two of them. Tommy had always been an independent kid and had altered little. It always astonished the super soldier how much his son was like Tony in most aspects and having not gained the super soldier aspect during the cloning process. While it disappointed many in the outcome, it satisfied Steve. He didn't want him to have to live up to any more expectations. The world already looked at Thomas James Stark-Rogers enough.
There were very few lights left on in the tower when it struck midnight. Steve had been in bed reading until he realized the time and went to get his husband from the lab. As he walked down the stairs, he heard the music playing as Tony worked. Steve walked in and cut the music off, immediately catching the other man's attention. "It's midnight, you aren't staying in here all night Tony." Steve said.
"I'm just finishing up." Tony replied and went back to his work. The soldier moved toward the scientist and put his hand on top of his.
"Remember what we spoke about your work habits and how they influence Tommy? He uses them against us all the time. It's getting harder to argue with him." Steve told him. "Now let's go to bed. All of this will still be here in the morning and you know that both TJ and Kielar will be more than happy to help you."
"They will also try to alter what I am doing. They do it every time, and they team up against me." Tony argued.
"You are the one who gave them access to the lab, Tony," Steve laughed. "It's not my fault they challenge your intelligence."
"They don't…" Tony started.
"You were just complaining the other night that Tommy completely changed the formula you wrote and that Kielar altered a machine you were working on, and both turned out better." Steve cut off. "Let's go, bed now."
As Tony cleaned his lab for the night, the teenagers were both sound asleep in their beds. For a while Kielar tossed and turned, this mind racing while he tried to sleep. Suddenly the boy shot straight up in his bed. "KARLA!" he called out for his sister in a panic. "No, no, no…" he repeated as his body picked up speed in his sudden terror. Moving quicker than he expected, he moved through the wall and into his friend's room. The sudden appearance and cross into the dresser made Tommy jump up.
"What's going on?" he asked sleepily. "Kie?"
"Karla." Kielar repeated. "Tommy, something's wrong. Something happened."
"Hey," Tommy said, sprinting toward the other boy. "Look, you are speaking a million miles a minute and I can't understand you. I need you to slow down." Kielar grabbed his head, still moving at a super speed as he dashed around the room. "Jarvis." Tommy spoke to the AI. "Call Dad and Pops in here please, something is going on with Kie.
"Yes, Sir." The AI responded. As Steve and Tony turned the lights off in the lab and started up the stairs, Jarvis spoke again. "Mr. Stark, Captain Rogers, Tommy has requested your help in his room, Kielar seems to be having an episode with his speed."
The two men immediately raced toward their son's room and opening it found Tommy physically restraining his friend. "He wouldn't slow down! I didn't know what else to do." The teenager called out to his dads as they came in. "He keeps screaming about Karla. I don't know what is going on."
Tommy slowly lessened his grip on Kielar as his friend became still. "Kielar." Tony said, trying to get his attention. The teen held a blank stare and remained unresponsive. "He wasn't hurt, was he?"
"No, I just grabbed him and lowered him, I pinned him down to keep him from moving anymore, he came in through the wall, something spooked him." Tommy told them. "He hasn't lost control like that in years."
"I'll move him into the bed "Steve told the other two before lifting Kielar up and laying him on Tommy's bed.
"TJ tell us exactly what happened before we came in here." Tony said, turning his attention to his son.
"I was sleeping and then Kielar just appeared in the room. He didn't come in through the door and I only heard him because he ran into my dresser. He just started yelling about Karla. He doesn't really do that you know? He and Karla have a rough relationship, but he sounded terrified."
"KARLA!" Kielar suddenly sat up, causing all three of them to jump. Steve put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Something happened, I can't feel her. I can't feel her. She's usually in my head, she's not. I can't.." he looked at Steve, his eyes wide. "I don't think my sister is alive."
"Kielar." Steve began but he was cut off quickly.
"No, no, listen. Karla has cut her link off before. When we argue. We do that to each other but this, this is different. When she cut the link before I could still feel her. I can't now though, she isn't here, I can't…" Kielar broke off as he became more upset. "I can't feel her. It hurts." Tommy moved to sit next to Kielar and put his arm around him. "I can't feel her TJ. It hurts."
"What hurts?" Tommy asked him quietly.
"Trying to use our connection. It just. I feel nothing but pain when I try." Kielar quickly wipes his face of the tears that had fallen. "When I was asleep, I heard her call out to me. Then, then there was nothing."
"Stay here okay, Steve and I will find out what is happening. Just in case, get your shoes on and grab a small bag. I want you ready to go." Tony instructed. "You know where to go when something happens." Kielar nodded to him. "If I tell you to run, then you are to run and not look back. You are not to go to the Baxter building, here or any other place someone might connect you to." He paused and stood up. "I'm going to make a few phone calls." As the older man stepped out of the room he took a deep breath running his hand through his hair. "Fuck." he cursed to himself.
"I would say something but I think this situation calls for the use of that language." Steve said behind him. "You have to make that phone call though, and you know you do."
"I really hate dealing with that bastard." Tony grumbled. "Jarvis."
"Sir, Reed Richards is on the line and says it is urgent."
"Put him through." Tony said. "That was convenient."
"Tony. It's Reed. Is Kielar okay?"
"Why would Kielar not be okay? He's with us, of course he's fine." Tony snapped and then stopped as Steve put a hand on his arm. "Sorry. Yes. Kielar is fine. Is Karla?"
"She was taken." Reed said.
"By who?"
"The president. At 11:59 tonight Martial law was declared in the state of New York. Get Kielar out of there as soon as possible. They are taking mutants from their homes."
"What the hell is going on with the goddamn country! Taking kids from their homes now, they haven't done anything wrong." the man snapped.
"I know. Look. Sue was hurt in the fight with them. I'm trying to keep Johnny at a good level and it isn't going well, his sister is hurt and they took his daughter. Just make sure they don't get Kielar."
"They won't touch him" Steve spoke up. "We'll make sure of it."
"Good. They might be heading over to you. I called from a secure line, and I know you have top security."
"Sir, there has been a security breach." Jarvis spoke.
"Listen Richards, I have to go. We'll be in touch." Tony said hanging up before the other could answer him. "Get Tommy and Kielar to the lab Steve, I'll meet you there." He told his husband before punching in several codes on his security system. "Jarvis, activate Safe Haven Protocol."
"Yes sir."
Steve hurried to Tommy's room and opened the door, both boys dressed and with a bag each. "Let's go." he ordered and led them toward the lab. "Stay behind me."
"Freeze!" a voice commanded from across the quickly moved to block the boys behind him as they remained still. "We have orders to take in the mutant Kielar Storm." Tommy looked at Kielar, who was shaking next to him. He took his friends hand and gave him a slight nod as he slipped a device into his hand.
"You invaded our home, in the middle of the night. We aren't giving you anything." Steve snapped.
"Cap! Catch." Tony called out, tossing him his shield, now wearing his suit of armor. As soon as the shield left his hand he tossed another device that lit the room up. Then there was shooting, aimless shooting all around the living quarters. Shielding the boys from bullets, Steve moved them to a safer area toward the lab. "Tommy, put on a suit of armor and go. Kielar. Run."
"But…"
"No. Listen to me. You have not done anything wrong. They are not in the right here and we are not handing you over to these people. We've talked about this, and you know exactly what to do. You were trained and you are good. Steve would not have handed you his shield if he didn't believe in you. So, no matter what happens, you run, you go to the location I had you memorize and you stay there. They can't touch you there and they won't. "
"I don't want them to hurt you Tony. If you don't let them take me they could hurt you." Kielar said, emotion pouring out as he spoke. Tony pulled him into a hug.
"It's my job to take care of you kid, not the other way around. Tommy is leaving too. We will meet up. I'm not letting these bastards take anyone." Tony said. "So fucking run Kielar. Now."
Kielar took a step back, keeping his eyes on Tony, and then glancing at Steve, who gave him a nod. Next, he looked at his friend, who seemed as terrified as he was. Kielar then nodded. "Okay. OKay." he said before running past Steve and into the bedrooms, not stopping as he phased right through the walls of the building before running down the side. "Don't stop. Just run. Just run. Tony said to run" he whispered to himself.
So he ran. He ran as fast as he could, his shoes not lasting very long at the velocity he was going. The route they told him to take was one that would throw anybody off, but in a matter of minutes he was at a compound in Canada. As he slid to a stop, he fell back, and made no movement to stand up again. He remained in the same spot until he felt someone stand over him. "You okay kid?" the voice asked. Kielar knew that voice, it was so recognizable, but he just didn't have the energy to move, or speak now. "You're safe. We knew this would happen sooner or later. Let's get you inside Kielar." the man said as he lifted the teen up with ease.
"Thanks Bucky." Kielar mumbled before losing didn't know how long he was out for, but there was no sunshine. There was no soft bed, and he wasn't in Stark Tower with his friends' family. Kielar immediately jumped up and looked around wildly as he tried to take in the surroundings. He knew he wasn't home, and he knew he wasn't with the Starks. The memories of what had happened over the course of the night came back to him. He leaned forward, bringing his knees up and resting his head on them as he started to cry. All the emotion he had been feeling since he had woken up was coming out, and he couldn't stop.
"Kielar?" Bucky questioned from the doorway. "I'm glad you're awake. Brought you some food, it's just a sandwich and some chips, but it will help you feel better. You ran a lot tonight and wore yourself down."
"Steve and Tony, Tommy…" Kielar said immediately as he looked at him.
"They're fine. Tommy got out, Steve and Tony have been arrested though. Pepper is working on getting everything taken care of." Bucky said, quickly trying to reassure him in the end. The older man had dreaded the night that this would happen. The Avengers had known it was coming, the X-men had as well. Each night at least one hero would stay at the facility just in case. Nobody had wanted Kielar to arrive there to an empty building, knowing that it would not have been a good night for anyone. "Nobody is hurt, except a few of the soldiers who invaded the tower."
"And the Baxter building?" Kielar asked. "I still have no connection to my sister. I can't…"
"They took her. Reed, Johnny and Ben are all fine, Sue got caught up in the crossfire." Bucky told him. "But she seems to be doing fine according to reports. Xavier's seems to be the one with the most casualties."
"What do you mean?" Kielar asked, now eating the food he had been brought. Bucky raised an eyebrow watching the kid eat.
"They began their raid about an hour ago, we don't know the exact number but there are casualties."
"But the X-men won't go down without a fight right? They know how to take care of this kind of thing...they.." Kielar started, worry dripping as he spoke.
"But they can only do so much." Bucky said.
"Then they need help. I can get them out if they need it. I can bring them here right? I can bring whoever is left here and they can be safe." Kielar said appearing in front of Bucky before he could blink.
"You need to rest." Bucky tried.
"No, I need another sandwich and some more running shoes. I can't just stay back and hide while people are getting hurt. I've watched the news, and Johnny tried to hide it from us, but Steve and Tony said that it was important that I know what is going on in the world. And I know, I've known since that asshole entered the most powerful position in the nation, and I know that people want me to stay here. I can't though, not when people need my help, and they do. I can't just sit around and wait, I need to do something. So I'm going to make like five more sandwiches and then go for a run okay?" Kielar insisted, not back down.
Bucky stood, unmoving for several moments before shaking his head. "I can see why he picked you." he said simply. "Let's make the food and I'll find the shoes that were made for speedsters, I know they're somewhere around here."
"For Pietro right?" Kielar asked.
"Originally, but Tony made you a couple of pairs too. They knew you would end up here. This place was built with you in mind. Tony doesn't have many mutant kids he needs to hide you know."
"But I'm not Tony's kid." Kielar said. "Or Steve's"
"With the way they talk about you, you might as well be." Bucky laughed, shaking his head as he grabbed several items from the refrigerator. Kielar remained quiet while they made the sandwiches. "I know this is probably not the right thing to ask, but are you okay?"
"At the moment. I just have to focus. I had my cry." Kielar said. "There are people that need me though, and I have to make sure that they are okay. I'll find Karla, and we'll get Steve and Tony out. We'll bring people here to safety." Kielar said. "We can do this."
"We can. I'll call the others in. If you are bringing more people here, we're going to need some help." Bucky said with a small smile. "You know, Steve chose the right person. He knew exactly what he was doing when he picked you." he paused. "Did you really eat all of those already though?"
"I did, now where are those shoes?" Kielar asked. It didn't take long to find where Tony had stored the items Kielar needed. Dressed in a new pair of shoes, sweats and a hoodie, he turned to the only other person he had at the moment and gave him a nod. "I'll see you soon."
"Careful kid." Bucky called out shaking his head, only speaking to air as Kielar disappeared back into the night. "They're going to kill me if they find out." he said to himself before going inside. He sat at a desk with a communicator in his hand and leaned back. "Daken, keep an eye out for the speedster okay? He's heading back into the city and will be approaching Xavier's."
"Didn't they say to keep him there." the voice answered from the other side. "You had one damn job."
"You try saying no to a kid with that much determination. I don't see you telling your brother to back the fuck up." Bucky countered. "And you have more kids with you. Can't say no to them?" he paused. "I know you just rolled your fucking eyes at me Daken."
"Is Pup okay?" Daken asked, changing the subject.
"Fast asleep. Didn't even know anyone else was here. Still wanted to see you before bed. I don't know why you left him here with me. You should be with him."
"I know that it's the safest place for him, and I know you won't let anything happen to him." Daken said. "I have to clear up the line, you make sure everything stays calm on your end and I'll take care of things out here. Your speedster will be fine. I don't think there is much left at Xavier's, I have a team coming in dropping off a plane full of mutants we got from the vans. Remember, only this line to contact. It's secure. Everyone is to be checked before they enter the building for tracking devices."
"I know what to do. Be safe."
"I didn't know you were so worried about me."
"I'm not." Bucky responded quickly. "Just don't die, again."
"Fuck you." Daken snapped before cutting off contact.
AN: Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed. Please review!