After the events of Westview, Natasha Carter decided she wanted to stay closer to home for a while to keep an eye on her adopted daughter Wanda. So she stepped into more of a director's role with the Avengers, much to her mother's approval and pride. Natasha found it all a bit strange. Things had changed a lot since Thanos, including and not limited to getting emails from a sentient raccoon named Rocket who was helping to raise a sentient tree named Groot along with the rest of his team. That team, who called themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy, were now part of an ever expanding and complex web of allies. Sitting at her desk, because Natasha did the kind of work these days that required a desk, she watched the gathered members of those teams in their holographic forms as they worked their way through their monthly debriefing. For a fraction of a moment she thought about the sci-fi shows and movies she watched with Peter, holographic jedi in the Council chamber, princesses being projected from little blue and white mechs, captains of star ships, and mirror empresses that she honestly had a huge crush on. The corner of her lips ticked as if she were going to smile and then she remembered she was meant to be leading a meeting and should be professional.

When the Avengers were first formed, Natasha had been the only woman on the team, but now, finally, she was no longer the only woman in this crazy ass superhero life. Gamora was a Guardian who was currently trying to get Rocket to stop picking a fight with Captain Marvel, a.k.a. Carol Danvers. The Guardians and Carol handled deep space. Carol's daughter and Natasha's friend Captain Monica Rambeau served as the Avengers' liaison with S.W.O.R.D. which handled space closer to home. Hope van Dyne looked after the Avengers' west coasters, and Okoye represented Wakanda.

"What about that earthquake off the Afircan coast?" Natasha asks after glancing at her intel. "Do we need to do anything about that?"

"No." Okoye replies. "It was an underwater earthquake, Nat, there's no need for us to deal with it."

Natasha nods, and after hitting a few more bullet points on her notes she ends the meeting, only not every hologram disappears. Valkyrie, the new queen of New Asgard, remains after sharing a look with Carol. "Hildie? Everything alright?"

Brunnhilde sighs softly with a look of concern and annoyance on her face. "Have you seen or heard from Thor lately?"

"No." Natasha replies with a gentle sake of her head. "Why?"

Thor had been helping to settle the remaining Asgardins into their new Midgard home in the outskirts of Norway following Throns' defeat. "Over the last month or so he'd been talking about these dreams he'd been having, dreams of his mother, Frigga. I didn't think much of it at first, he's had a lot of loss lately, his mother, his father, his brother, an evil sister he hadn't even known he'd had, and his home. That's a lot of grief to bear, even for a god."

"What's he done that has you so worried, Hildie?" Natasha questioned the other woman.

Brunnhilde half sighed, half grunted as she replied, "The big dumb idiot took my damn horse."

It took a moment for Natasha to work out why this seemed to matter, but she had had the very best education so the information was there, she just needed the penny to drop. "A valkyrie's steed helps them pass into Valhalla so that they can take worthy warriors to Odin's Hall." Then the implications hit her and her blue-green eyes went wide. "You think Thor went to Vahalla to see his mother? Is that even possible?"

"Valhalla isn't a realm like Asgard, or Midguad, but it does exist." The other woman replies. "But it's not a place for the living, valkyries are the exception."

Natasha promised to help in any way she could, all Valkyrie had to do was call. Thor was her friend, one of her closest and most dear, and she would help him however she could. Valkyrie promised to keep her updated, and Natasha promised in return to let her know if she heard from Thor first. With the meeting over, Natasha made her way down to the communal kitchen to have lunch with her kids before they spent the rest of the afternoon training. In one way or another they were all still dealing with what happened in Westview, especially Wanda, though discovering that a version of Pietro still existed and was alive and well had seemed to help with some measure of her grief. Natasha was incredibly proud of Wanda and all the hard work she's put into healing.

"Hey Momma," Wanda says as she strikes at Natasha with a bowstaff.

"Hmm?" Natasha replies while blocking Wanda's strick with one of her batons and using the other to sweep Peter's legs out from under him. "You're blindfolded for a reason, Peter. You need to fine tune your spider sense, use it."

"Yes Auntie Nat." Peter replies as he springs back up.

"When is Aunt Sharon coming home?" Wanda asks her question once her mother is finished critiquing Peter's performance.

Natasha easily disarms her daughter while replying, "I don't know poppy. Sharon's on a deep cover S.H.I.E.L.D mission that no one feels like sharing details about. Why?"

It's Peter who answers, "Mr. Wilson really misses her and he's driving Sergeant Barnes nuts because of it."

"Everything and everyone drives Bucky nuts." Natasha laughs. "He's a curmudgeon."

Steve and Natasha had both questioned Peggy's choice of teaming Sam Wilson up with Bucky Barnes, but of course they shouldn't have because the pair were turning out to be a pretty good match. Steve and Bucky were too close, they shared too much history and had too much between them that needed dealing with. Sam had experience with working with traumatized vets and a seemingly endless reserve of patience, though Bucky did test the man's limits on a daily basis. Natasha still found it difficult to be around Bucky, as did Tony, but for Peggy's sake, and Steve's, Natasha at least tried. Tony didn't throw Steve out when he brought Bucky to Tony's and Pepper's wedding, so Tony seemed to be trying too. Natasha had been very proud of her cousin as she stood beside him as his best person. Tony's wedding had been the last time Natasha, Tony, and Sharon had been together and Natasha could totally understand Sam, she was missing Sharon something fierce too. On her way home she would stop and light a candle and pray that Sharon was safe wherever she was.

Sitting at home several days later, Pavarotti sang Nessun Dorma from the sound system while a thunderstorm brewed outside her home, Natasha actually jumped at a particularly strong clash of lightning and thunder. Going to the front window she checked for any damage, and relaxed when she didn't see any. She was about to settle back into reading her book, but once again was startled into nearly jumping, only this time by a very hard, loud, pounding on her back door. Natasha very cautiously checked to see who it was, and then flung the door open upon seeing who was standing at the threshold of her home. Hands on her hips Natasha demanded, "Thor!" The big oaf filled the doorframe, dressed in causal human clothes, clutching his stupid umbrillia which was really Stormbreaker, and looking sheepish. "Where the bloody hell have you been? You've had us all worried sick!"

"Natasha, my friend." Thor replies, "I can explain." He pauses for a moment before adding, "I need your help."

An amused sounding snicker could be heard behind Thor, one that made Natasha raise her eyebrow. She continued to glare at her friend a moment longer before relaxing her stance and stepping back to allow the god of thunder into her home. It wasn't until Thor passed her that Natasha saw who had snickered at his plea for help. Standing on her back porch was a scrawny looking kid, a boy around her kids' age though perhaps a few years younger, with pale skin, long, raven hair, and bright mischievous green eyes.

"Come Loki." Thor calls out over his shoulder.

Natasha's eyes go wider.

"I am not a dog to be called to heel at your feet." The boy replies.

"Loki?" Natasha repeats what she heard Thor say. "What? How? Thor?!"

The big man sighs as he places Strombreaker on the kitchen table before looking up to meet Natasha's eyes. "Loki helped defeat Hela, he helped the surviving Asgardians escape Ragnarok, and in the end he sacrificed himself in a moment of selflessness to save me and give Valkyrie and Banner time to flee Thanos with those survivors. For this, Odin the All-Father, and Frigga, our mother, removed his name from the Book of the Dead, granting Loki reincarnation and a second chance."

Natasha stands there listening, arms crossed over her chest, and before she can bite back her remarks she says, "He does one selfless thing and he gets a do over as a teenage boy?"

"That was several selfless things, thank you very much." Loki huffs at her and then mutters under his breath, "Detestable wench."

"Loki!" Thor scolds.

Natasha huffs back. "Don't care if you're in a pint-sized package, I will still kick your ass."

"I am still a god, woman." Loki replies. "I will…"

"Our mother made sure he could not be the threat he once was." Thor tells her, cutting off Loki's posturing. "His youth has put limits on his powers."

"Thor!" Loki whines at his brother. "Big mouth!"

Natasha watched the pair, easily seeing the sibling bond between them. It was similar to the bond she shared with Tony and Sharon, so she knew it wasn't something that could be faked. Looking at her friend she said, "You mentioned needing my help, Thor. What do you need?"

"May we speak in private?" Thor asks.

She trusted Thor, so if he said that Loki's powers were limited, then she believed him. Calling for her own kids she asked Wanda and Peter to keep Loki company, knowing well that Wanda's powers were more than capable of keeping the boy god of michive in line for a few minutes. Once they were alone she once again turned to Thor, "Alright big guy, start talking."

"I want to do what is best for my little brother." Thor begins as they take seats at Natasha's table. "To help him make the most of this second chance, to help him become a better person this time." Thor pauses to sigh a deep concerned sigh. "I do not know how to do this." He looks up at her, "I've watched you with great admiration as you gave Wanda a second chance at childhood while also teaching her to be a hero. Please, Natasha, help me do the same for Loki?"

"Why are you two idiots staring at me?" Loki demands of the two teens standing with him in the basement rec room of the Black Widow's home.

"Why are you like, twelve, aren't you supposed to be like thousands of years old or something?" Wanda asks as she eyes the boy suspiciously.

"I am not twelve!" Loki replied with a snide tone. He nearly stomps his foot as he growls at her, "Despite my appearance as a fourteen, perhaps, fifteen year old human, I am over a thousand years old!"

Wanda smirks as she repeats, "You look twelve."

"I'm not twelve! I'm just small for my age! " Loki snaps back.

"Wanda," Peter says softly with a gentle shake of his head. "Stop teasing him." Reaching up to rub his neck Peter then asks, "So, um Loki, what would you like to do?"

"Just go back to doing whatever you were doing before your handler tasked you with being my guards." Loki says with a flippant wave of his hand. "I don't need to be watched."

"She isn't our handler." Wanda narrows her eyes at him, not liking the tone he used when speaking of her mother. "She's our mom."

Jerking his thumb over his shoulder Peter said, "Wanda was reading, and I was playing Fortnite, wanna play?"

Loki crinkles his nose. "Thor's rock friend plays that. I don't see the point." Turning his attention to the other magic user he asked, "What were you reading?"

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Wanda answers as she walks back to her little reading nook in the corner of the room. Natasha had bookshelves built into the two walls that joined at the corner, and Wanda had spent a full day going to antique shops with Peggy to find the perfect comfortable chair and ottoman. May had found a great red Turkish style lamp to set on the side table beside the chair, and Angie had Tony hang a crystal beaded curtain from the ceiling that would give Wanda solatiue without being separated from whoever was using the rest of the room.

"Who is Harry Potter?" Loki asks, intrigued by the title. "And what is a half blood prince?"

Wanda stops in her tracks and turns to look at him before exchanging a look with Peter, neither fully comprehending the thought of someone not knowing who Harry Potter was. Then she summoned a paperback copy of The Sorcerer's Stone from the compound's library and handed it to Loki. "Read this."

Loki accepted the book, shrugged, and then found a place to sit and read.

Natasha, well trained by her mothers in manners and proper etiquette, brought out a lemon tart she'd made from her Uncle Jarvis' recipe, and some of the honey mead she and Barton were experimenting with making these days. She talked about what it was like, becoming the parent of a traumtized teenaged war orphan with magic powers, while serving up the refreshments. "Wanda's life was nothing but pain and chaos for so long. What she needed was stability and someone she knew she could trust and rely on, but that wasn't easy for her to accept because she and Pietro had been on their own for so long. It didn't help that they were manipulated by Hydra, and then Ultron, so getting her to trust me wasn't easy. But when she finally did, there was no better feeling." She pauses a moment to think as she nibbles on her slice of tart. "I think, from what you've told me, what Loki needs most is positive support, he needs to know he can be good, and he needs to know without any doubt that you think he can be good."

"I do not think I can do that on my own." Thor replies honestly.

Some higher power was asking a lot of Natasha's ability to forgive. She still struggled with Bucky sometimes. She knew he was going to therapy and that he was no longer controlled by the Winter Soldier conditioning, but there were still times when she closed her eyes and saw him murder two of the people she loved most. She was trying though. Bucky was her mother's friend and whether he realised just how much and in what way, Steve loved him, so Natasha did her best. Now Thor was asking her to overlook what Loki had done to Clint, the Battle of New York, and everything that had happened there. On really bad nights when her body and mind were beyond exhaustion she still had nightmares about it.

Reaching out Natasha put her hand on Thor's. "You're not alone, Thor."

When they were finished talking Natasha took Thor down to the basement to retrieve his brother. She found it kind of strange to find him sitting quietly reading Harry Potter like a normal kid because this was Loki, he wasn't a normal kid. When Loki tried to give the book back to Wanda, the girl told him to keep it, that Thor could return it to the compound. Walking her guests back upstairs Natasha took the pair in for a moment then looked at Thor and said, "For now go back to New Asgard, work together to help your people. I'll talk to the others about you two staying at the compound when you are here."

"You are a true and noble friend, Natasha Carter." Thor replied as he hugged her.

"Thor," Natasha says when she realizes her friend and his brother had used her back door. "How did you get here?"

Thor smiles, "Bifrost."

Stepping out onto the back deck Natasha realized it hadn't been an early summer storm brewing, it had been Thor. "Thor!" She scolded as she took in the condition of her back yard. "How am I supposed to explain that," She pointed to the Nortic ruin burned into her lawn. "To my wife?!"

Thor promised to make amends to May next time he saw her, and Natasha just stood there shaking her head as she watched him and Loki leave by way of the bifrost. Hopefully her neighbors would think it had just been a fleeting summer storm as well. "We need to get him an Uber account." She muttered to herself as she headed back into the house and down to the basement. Years ago when she and Tony had discovered the old L&L Automat was going to be totally renovated into a more modern restaurant, Tony bought everything, from the actual automat machines, to the booths and tables and stools, to the light fixtures. When her mothers decided to move back to their beloved red faded brick brownstone in Brooklyn, Tony and Natasha remodeled the basement as a wedding anniversary and retirement gift. They used the counter, stools, and light fixtures from the L&L to recreate where Peggy and Angie had first met. Natasha had taken some of the extra bits and pieces for herself in hopes of having a home of her own someday where she could use them. The sofas in front of the big flat screen used to be the booth seats, her bar had been a lunch counter on the other side of the booths that ran along the half wall that separated the dinner from the automat. Over the shelves behind her bar was the sign that read Beverages, and the drink taps in the wall that now despenced soda, wine, and beer/mead, had one despenced milk, coffee, and orange/apple juice.

Wanting to get her kids' perception of Loki, Natasha snatched up the game controller Peter had abandoned and settled onto the green and white booth bench turned sofa while switching from his account, jedispiderlingbadger, to her own account, tinydancer223. As Natasha schooled NoobMaster69, Ragnarok_And_Roll, and RedWingStan (who Natasha kenw was Sam which made it all the sweeter) she asked Wanda and Peter to tell her what they thought. Peter mentioned that his spider sense didn't go off, so at least in the moment Loki hadn't been a threat. Wanda mentioned that Loki had felt lost and afraid, unsure of anything which is why he was defensive. Natasha listened carefully to what her kids had to say and was proud of them for having read Loki the way she'd been teaching them too. "Learning to read a person isn't just a good skill for a spy or superhero to have, it's a good skill for anyone to have so they can have a better understanding of the people they're interacting with, people that could end up being a part of your life somehow."

May had to work late so Natasha had ordered pizza and watched movies with the kids until Agatha picked up Wanda for a late night magic lesson and Peter went on patrol. His little spider tracking dot blinked across the screen of Natasha's tablet, which was propped up on the table beside her. She was sitting in one of the hand carved outdoor chairs Tony had gifted them while they were remodeling the house, watching the flames lick at the air from the stone firepit Steve built following her Mum's instructions using stones from the wall that circled around the Carter home in Hampstead. Lost in thought, Natasha rolls the bottom of her beer bottle back and forth against the armrest of the chair until a gentle hand wraps around her own to stop her. Looking away from the fire and up into her wife's face, Natasha smiles. "Hi."

May smiles back as she slips onto Natasha's lap. "Hi."

"How was work?" Natasha asks as she lets May take her beer from her hand to raise it to her own lips.

May takes a drink from the bottle and then sets it aside. "We finished the final details for the fundraiser. I just need to get in touch with my contact," She air quotes the word contact before ringing her arms around Natasha's neck. "To settle the arrangements for Spider-Man's appearance."

"The kids are going to love that." Natasha smiles proudly at all the hard work May puts into her work with the non-profit she started up. "But I don't think this will help much as far as Jameson and the Bugle are concerned. I still like my idea for handling that."

"Nat," May says softly with a gentle shake of her head and a laugh. "The Black Widow can not go into the Daily Bugle and terrify J. Jonah Jameson just because he's being mean to her kid."

"Why the hell not?" Natasha asked despite already knowing the answer.

May laughed before kissing Natasha. "Because no one is supposed to know Spider-Man is anyone's kid, and it will only bring bad press to the Avengers and that'll piss off your mother and Pepper."

Natasha huffed dramatically like she did as a kid. "Fine."

May kissed her again. She really did love how much Natasha loved Peter. Then she reached for the beer bottle again, taking another swing, and then asked, "What about you? How was your day? You seemed totally lost in thought when I walked up."

Taking the bottle back Natasha finished it off and then carefully reached for a new one while holding May in place on her lap. As she removes the bottle cap she starts telling May about Thor's visit, and about Loki. While she wants to help her friend, Natasha couldn't seem to shake the memories of the Battle of New York. "On top of everything else, that little bastard nearly cost me you."

"I'm right here, Natasha." May reassures gently while reaching out to cup her wife's cheek. She smiles lovingly and gives her wife another kiss. Then she tries to help Natasha work through her thoughts. "I know you, Nat. You're not going to be able to walk away from a kid who needs help, no matter what they did in the past. Besides, if I remember right, Ragnarok happens in cycles, right? So helping Loki be a better person this time around should, hopefully, break that cycle? Which would be a good thing because Asgard's on Earth now."

Natasha blinks. "I hadn't thought of that."

Preventing Ragnarok from happening on Earth was how Natasha presented the idea of helping Loki to the others. They, like herself, had concerns and even grudges when it came to the god of mischief. Once she was finished Bruce was the first to speak up, defending Loki and throwing his support behind helping him. "I was there, I saw him fight for and save his people. I watched him sacrifice himself to Thanos to save Thor, to give me and Valkyrie time to escape to Earth and warn the rest of you what was coming. I say we help him make the most of this second chance."

"Merging with the Big Guy has made you soft." Tony gumbles at Bruce before looking over to his cousin. "A pint sized Loki is still Loki."

"I can't believe I'm doing this, but I'm with Tony on this one." Clint adds. "He mind controlled shield agents, turning us against our own people, he led an alien invasion to conquer our planet, Natasha."

Natasha nods her acknowledgement of Clint's feelings. She'd known he would be a hard sell because of what Loki had done to him. Then she looks at Steve. "What about you, Steve?"

Steve sat at the conference table with his head propped up with his hand, his ring finger tucked into the space below his bottom lip and his chin, his middle and index fingers running up along his jawline. It was his serious contemplation face.

"This isn't the same as Bucky, Steve." Clint throws out while Steve is thinking. "Bucky was brainwashed, his actions aren't his own, but Loki, all of his choices were his own."

"If we can actually help Loki be a better person that would be great, but if not, then at least we can keep an eye on him." Steve finally says after a few more moments of thought.

"Fine," Clint replies. "But you three deal with him, I don't want anything to do with Loki."

Natasha watches as her best friend walks out of the room and sighs softly. This was asking a lot, but Thor was their friend, and Steve was right. If they helped Loki change, that was a good thing, but if not at least they could keep an eye on him. So the next time Thor returned, his younger brother at his side, Natasha and Steve teamed him up with Peter, Wanda, and Vision. The teens clashed a bit at first, Loki was still prideful and a smartass, but her kids quickly put him in his place. They didn't take shit from anyone, not even a godling prince. But after some trial and error, and some time to adjust to one another, the kids became a pretty decent team.

"Ha!" Loki cheered triumphantly as the teens collapsed onto the couches in the common room at the end of a training mission. "Get help is fun! As long as I'm not the one being thrown around."

Wanda laughed. "I think Petey liked getting flung at the guards."

"It wasn't all that different from what I normally do." Peter says with a shrug as he passes cans of soda to the others, orange for Wanda and cherry cola for Loki, he kept a root beer for himself. "I'm basically flinging myself from web line to web line."

"It was a good plan." Natasha tells Loki with an encouraging smile, and the look of shock she gets back from the boy is honestly a bit heartbreaking. The only person who had ever encouraged the boy in his last life was his mother, so having anyone who wasn't Frigga validate him still came as a surprise to the boy. "Good call, Loki."

At first Loki was going to reply with a, of course it was a good plan it was mine, but at the last minute he opted to nod respectfully at Natasha and say, "Thank you."

Natasha smiles. "I have paperwork to do because I let my mother turn me into an administrator against my will." There was a snort of laughter behind her in the kitchenette where Peggy was making tea. "Once I'm done we can head home. Loki, when is Thor picking you up?"

Loki shrugs. "Whenever he's finished with whatever he's doing with Jane Foster, I suppose."

"Well if he isn't here when we're ready to go you can come home with us." Natasha tells the boy before turning and heading off to her office. She smiles when she senses her mother stepping up beside her to walk with her. "Yes?"

"Nothing." Peggy replies with a smile. "I'm just really proud of how you've handled this Loki thing. Having him around hasn't been easy for anyone, but you haven't let past grievances get in your way."

"Him being a kid makes it easier." Natasha said honestly. "It tempers my desire to punch him in the face."

Peggy laughs again. "Perhaps someone should tell Colonel Rhodes that's how to get you to stop doing that."

"I haven't punched Rhodey in the face in ages." Natasha huffs playfully at her mother who continues to smile at her with such pride that Natasha blushes.

After spending far longer at her desk than she'd wanted to, Natasha finally makes her way back to the common area where she left their teen team. She knew the kids had started calling themselves the Young Avengers, but none of the adults had confirmed that status just yet. Both because the kids weren't ready to go out on their own without the main team, and because it made them all feel old. Stepping into the room Natasha's gaze went right to the kids, looking them over to reassure herself that they were alright. Then she took in the rest of the room and upon spotting her teammates made her way over to the bar where her boys had gathered. She smiles as she approaches, asking, "Why does Rogers have on his man-out-of-time help-me I'm confused face?"

Bruce smirks as he tilts his head in the direction of the kids. "Wanda is painting the boys' nails, and Loki's raiding her make up bag for eyeliner."

Natasha chuckles as she pats Steve's shoulder. "Boys wear make-up and nail polish these days, old man. There's nothing wrong with that, it's simply self expression. We don't push the blue boy things are for boys only and pink girl things are for girls only like they use too. Some boys like so called feminine things and some girls like so called masculine things, some people flow back and forth, and some are neither."

Thor nods. "Loki has always had an infinity for both, and it does not matter whether he is my brother or she is my sister."

Steve blinks, he looks painfully confused by that statement.

"What my brother means, Captain." Loki says, causing the adults to turn and look at the teens who were all now staring at them. "My physical sex and my gender are fluid. Sometimes I feel like being physically male." He sweeps his hands down his body as if presenting himself as evidence of that statement. He smiles, and with a glimmer of green magic changes into a female form. "Sometimes I feel like being physically female. In both physical forms I enjoy expressions of maleness and femaleness. I am, whether I am a boy or a girl, simply Loki." Loki looks down at herself, expecting this new form, and again she smiles. "I haven't been female in this new body yet." Turning her attention to Wanda and Peter she asks, "What do you think?"

Wanda's smiling a huge smile as she jumps to her feet and stands beside Loki, putting her arm around the other girl's shoulder. "I think Thor is going to need a bigger credit limit because you look great in both forms and we are going to have so much fun shopping." She turns her warm smile towards Natasha then. "Momma, can we go to the mall this weekend? Please?"

"Sure, but no using Petey as a pack mule." Natasha replies easily. "He didn't get superpowers from a radioactive spider just to carry your bags and packages when you drag him off to the mall."

"Hey, um, Thor," Bruce teases as he looks at Loki with his head slightly tilted. Loki with her long dark hair and bright piercing green eyes favors one of her siblings and it isn't Thor. "Are you sure you're not the one who is adopted?"

Steve looked confused but he was willing to learn. Natasha smiled as they continued to gently guide him through the queer alphabet with the continued hope that he would someday see he too had a place in the queer soup. Because honestly the only people who didn't know Steve and Bucky were in love with each other were Steve and Bucky.