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Natasha chose not to join the rest of them for dinner that evening and, instead, locked herself in her room. She opened the door briefly in order for Steve to pass her some food but that was all anyone saw of her for the remainder of the night.
Tony was still reeling from the emotions the little redhead had displayed earlier and, judging by the subdued atmosphere at the dinner table, the others seemed to be similarly preoccupied.
In order to cheer everyone up Pepper had suggested an after-dinner film, however Tony felt they had spent enough time on leisurely activities and politely retired back to the lab. He was followed by Bruce who set to work helping him, inputting measurements and codes as instructed.
Tony, meanwhile, was re-programming robots into smaller units and assigning them an Alpha to whose commands they would unfailingly respond. The work was arduous but kept his mind focussed away from Natasha and the impending threat of alien invasion.
The pair worked long into the night, which was nothing unusual, however Tony noticed that Bruce was making more mistakes than usual and seemed to spend moments at a time staring into space. Tony finally shooed him off to bed realising, worryingly, that the mini Avengers had not only taken on childish traits in the transformation, but also their more pressing need for rest.
Tony didn't want to ponder too much on how that might affect them in battle. He was already stressing about them being hurt, more than he usually would; he didn't need another worry to add to his never-ending list of fears.
With Bruce's quiet companionship gone, Tony found it more difficult to stop his mind from wandering from the task at hand. His thoughts, inevitably, drifted back to Natasha.
Tony had first met Natasha when she was posing, under Shield's orders, as a secretary called Natalie Rushman. Beautiful and mysterious, she had awed him from the start. Upon learning of her true role in his life, spying on him for Nick Fury, he had felt betrayed and angry.
In the time they had come to know one another since New York, however, his trust in her had started to grow. There was always something though, that kept them at arm's length from one another.
There was a slight niggling doubt, on Tony's part, that Natasha's interactions with him may not always be completely sincere. As a result, he knew he mostly kept their relations superficial and professional. Still, he had seen her with Barton and Rogers, joking and even goofing around, and he found himself somewhat envious of the relationships they had been able to forge with her.
Tonight, she had poured her soul out on to that runway – displaying the emotions and honesty that Tony had, on occasion, accused her of being void of. Clearly there was still a lot he needed to learn about the infamous Black Widow. Like where did she learn to dance like that? When did she start fighting? Or killing? How did she end up needing to build so many walls around herself?
Realising he was unlikely to get anymore work done, Tony finally shut down all the computer systems as the sun was starting to peek over the horizon (not that he could tell from the lab, he had a strict 'no windows' policy around his work) and headed up to bed. On top of his concern about Natasha, and his worry over how these super-children were going to fare in a battle against aliens, Tony was also in a constant state of panic about Loki's masterplan.
It was a thought that had come to him many times throughout the day; why hasn't he attacked yet? Loki surely knew that his spell had worked and that the Avengers and, therefore, Earth were at their most vulnerable. Tony couldn't understand why the god had seemingly retired from the field. Indeed, when one of Thor's generals, Lady Sif, had checked in with them earlier in the day it was to report that they could currently find no trace of Loki on Earth.
Tony stood waiting for the elevator, his mind being barraged by all the things he needed to fix or defeat, when an ear-splitting wail suddenly pierced the air around him. Tony could just about make out Jarvis' voice trying to tell him something, but he couldn't discern a single word over the alarm system.
Panic ripped through him at the thought of Loki finally attacking them. Please, no: We're not ready yet.
Knowing that the elevator went into lockdown in the event of a security breach, Tony started heading quickly for the stairs. He had barely made it halfway down the corridor when the door to the stairwell burst open. Tony glimpsed a streak of blue heading directly towards him however, before he could call up his suit to protect him against this strange phenomenon, a red haze seemed to descend over his eyes, and he found himself unable to move.
Tony found himself stood amongst destruction and chaos. The terrifying, armoured reptiles that had terrorised New York meandered lazily in the dark sky above his head. Panic gripped at his chest as he took in the sight before him.
Amongst the rubble on the floor Tony saw his teammates lying, bloodied and battered: dead. Cap's shield was broken in half, Mjolnir hung limply from Thor's wrist, Clint's arrows lay prone all around him; clearly no match for whatever had attacked him, and even the big green guy could not have saved Bruce from the way his body had been broken. Natasha lay apart from the others, not a scratch on her porcelain skin. Tony started towards her, thinking maybe she had been spared, until he saw her eyes; usually, so calculating and observant, instead they were glassy and void of life.
Tony sank to his knees before his colleagues, his friends, despair coursing through his veins. Cap's face was swollen with the beating it had taken but Tony could sense a judgement in his still, dead features.
This is what he had feared when he had received Loki's note. This is what he had always feared; that no matter how brilliant his designs, or how advanced his technology was, it would not be good enough. That he would have to watch his friends die all around him and not be able to do a damn thing to save them. And, of course, the world was too cruel to allow him to perish with them. No; Tony Stark would be spared that sweet relief. He would be left just as broken and battered as them, but unmercifully alive; alone.
Tony stared, horrified, as the bodies of his teammates transformed before his eyes. They remained just as shattered and bloody as before, their eyes still glassy with death, but they were no longer the adults Tony had fought beside. In their places were the broken bodies of the children Loki had turned them in to.
Tony came to, still standing in the corridor outside of the lab. His heart was racing, and his mind felt foggy, the image of his teammates, both young and old, lying dead still swam before his eyes. What the hell was that?!
It took him a moment to realise that the wailing siren of his alarm had ceased, and that Jarvis was still trying to tell him something. He shook his head, trying to clear the fog, finally starting to become more aware of his surroundings.
"- and Miss Potts is down in the lobby now, with Happy and your construction bots. They are repairing the door as we speak".
"They're okay?" Tony asked, eventually managing to make his legs continue moving towards the stairs.
"Yes, sir", Jarvis replied. "Neither were affected by the intruders."
"Well, that's a relief. So, it was just me that got hit with the funky voodoo?"
"No, sir", Jarvis replied, hesitantly. "As I was saying, those beings visited each of the other Avengers' suites after they approached you. As you have no surveillance in the suites themselves, I am unable to determine how the others have fared. There is a lot of noise coming from Dr Banner's apartment but the only person who has directly responded to my inquiries is Captain Rogers. I have had no answer from the others".
"Great," Tony replied, on his way up to Bruce's floor. "Do we know what it was?"
"They, sir," said Jarvis, "appeared to be two humans; a male and a female. They have enhanced abilities but, due to the speed at which they were travelling, I have been unable to get a clear read on them just yet."
"Thanks, Jarvis," Tony was stood outside Bruce's door, listening to the roars and bangs coming from inside, as his suit knitted itself around his body. "Keep trying to figure out who the gruesome twosome are and keep trying to get through to the others."
"Of course, Mr Stark."
All of the Avenger's living suites were designed to be accessed by the owner only, but Tony had also installed a programme that allowed him to have access to each suite, Landlord privileges, if you will. Somehow, however, Natasha had managed to override this and had barred him completely from gaining admission to her suite– Tony had feigned indignance at this when he had found out, but he was secretly impressed. It was unsettling to realise, therefore, that two strangers had not only managed to infiltrate the tower but had gained entry into every one of the Avengers' private apartments.
Tony took a deep breath before entering Bruce's apartment. What was usually a den of serenity was now utter chaos. A mini green rage-monster was hurling anything he could get his hands on against every available wall and surface. Shards of glass and porcelain littered the floor, even the little crystal figurines that Bruce collected from each new place he visited had not been spared.
Tony shot a few warning blasts out of his palms, trying to get mini-Hulk's attention. When he finally got his wish, Tony was set upon by wailing green fists of fury. The suit Tony had donned for the occasion was strong enough to stand up against a rampaging elephant, yet mini-Hulk still managed to knock him flat on his back.
"Easy there, big guy, give an old man a chance!"
Despite knowing that there was nothing he could do that would actually hurt or damage Bruce when he was in this form, Tony was still hesitant to use his blasters against his young friend. But as the Hulk's small, powerful fists started pummelling Tony's helmet, almost crushing it against his skull, Tony felt he had little choice left.
The blast hit mini-Hulk square in the chest, sending him flying backwards away from Tony's prone form. He hit the far wall with a dull thud, before dropping out of sight behind the solid oak coffee table.
Tony heaved himself off the floor and, on confirming that the danger had passed, disengaged from his suit. He found young Bruce curled on his side, stark naked, shivering. Tony quickly whipped a scruffy tartan throw – seriously, is he trying to infiltrate a Scottish clan? – off the back of the sofa and placed it gently over Bruce's small frame.
Bruce stopped shivering after a few moments and allowed Tony to help him into a sitting position.
"D-d-did I hurt anyone? Did I hurt you?" he asked in a small voice.
Tony reassured him that the only damage was to Bruce's own figurine collection and Tony's ego. Tony wondered if Banner had any idea why he had changed into the Hulk, but Bruce could remember nothing except a red mist descending over him.
Tony left Bruce with a kiss on the head and instructions to come down for hot chocolate once he had found some clothes to wear.
Next Tony jogged up to Steve's floor. He found the young Captain sitting quietly on his sofa, looking at an old compass. On closer inspection, Tony could see that the compass held a photograph of a very familiar face.
"Aunt Peg?"
Steve jumped as though he had been electrocuted, and Tony quickly apologised for the intrusion.
"Wanna talk about it?" he asked, echoing Steve's own question from a few days ago.
Steve offered him a wry smile, taking a moment before he answered the question.
"She was something else," he said, smiling fondly at the picture of Peggy Carter. "She was brilliant, and brave, and one of the fiercest people I ever met."
"Sounds like Peg alright".
The two shared a smile before Steve continued.
"Hers was the last voice I heard before I went under. I never expected to make it out alive; never expected to live in a world where we couldn't have the dance that I promised her".
Tony had heard all about Captain America from his father growing up, it had helped contribute to his less-than-friendly attitude towards the super soldier when they had first met. But Tony had also heard about Steve Rogers from his Aunt Peggy, and those stories had always made him laugh and want to meet the man who could light up her face, just from memory.
"You meant a lot to her," was all he could think of to say. It was still a little odd to him to be having adult conversations with people who looked like they should still be learning their times tables.
"I think sometimes –" Steve paused, clearly conflicted about what he wanted to say. Tony waited it out, sure that pushing him would only cause him to clam up entirely. "I think that sometimes I cling on to what we had, and what we could have had, as a way to stop myself from getting hurt now. I don't want to feel that pain again, so I cling on to the pain of losing her and push everyone else away. It feels…safer, somehow".
"Are we talking about someone in particular?" Tony finally pressed, unable to resist when Steve was being so open for once. But, clearly, Steve felt that he had already shared too much. He snapped the compass shut and stood to put it away in his bedroom.
Not a moment later, Tony heard a loud shout echoing down the corridor outside. Thinking the Hulk had made yet another appearance, Tony dashed to the open door and peered cautiously out.
Thor was barrelling down the corridor, face filled with grief. He charged straight at Tony, who could only stare in surprise as the small god threw himself against Tony's chest, body heaving with barely suppressed sobs. Tony automatically wrapped his arms around him, forgetting, in his shock, to be annoyed that his t-shirt was being covering in tears and snot.
"Hey, hey now!" he said, alarmed at Thor's violent display of emotion. "What is it? Talk to me!" He held Thor at arm's length, trying to make eye contact and get him to calm down enough to talk.
"My people", Thor choked out, "I have failed them. I – I – I must go to them; I must right this".
"Buddy…what in the hell are you talking about?"
Thor finally got his breathing under control, as Tony led him into Steve's apartment and guided him to the tan couch.
"I had a…vision, of sorts. I have left my people abandoned, and my actions will bring about their destruction. Heimdall…Heimdall called me 'destroyer'. I must go back".
Tony tried his best to assuage Thor's fears, but knowing little of the god's responsibilities and problems back on Asgard he felt woefully unprepared to be dealing with this at 7am when running on no sleep.
"Thor, buddy, I know this is ridiculously frustrating, but you are not going to be any help to your people like this. Besides, we need you here to help us fix this mess; your brother's not going to leave us alone just because you're not here".
"Adopted brother", mumbled Thor, eyes still glossy with the tears threatening to spill once more.
Tony noticed Steve, out of the corner of his eye, hovering in the doorway unsure of whether he could intrude in his own sitting room. Tony gestured for him to come in, but Steve had only taken two steps before a small voice was heard calling from the corridor.
Steve reached the corridor first, with Tony and Thor not far behind. Clint was walking slowly down the corridor, guiding Natasha with one arm around her back and the other gently tugging on her hand. The worry was evident on his face, and it quickly spread to the other members of the team.
Tony's heart almost stopped when he got a good look at the small girl. Natasha's eyes were glassy and void of emotion, almost exactly like in his vision. This Natasha, however, was definitely moving (even if the majority of that movement was being conducted by Clint).
Steve crouched before Natasha and bracketed her face gently with his hands, trying to get her eyes to focus on him. He and Clint were whispering frantically to one another whilst Natasha stood passively between them.
Bruce appeared suddenly from behind Clint, and Steve immediately moved to Natasha's other side, allowing Bruce to step in front of the comatose little girl and assess her.
"I think she's in shock", he finally diagnosed.
By group consensus the Avengers decided that some hot chocolate might help to bring her back to herself (Thor's suggestion of Asgardian mead was quickly shot down).
On the way down to the common area Clint filled everyone in on how he had escaped unscathed from the visions that had plagued the rest. Clint had been playing video games when the alarms had sounded and had quickly made his way into the vents, as was his preferred method of manoeuvring around the tower. He had reached Natasha's suite ("Oh, so she lets you have unrestricted access") and found her sitting on her sofa, completely unresponsive.
As Tony set about making the hot chocolate – with marshmallows; I'm not an animal, Clint and Steve guided Natasha to the sofa, neither one willing to relinquish their closeness to her. Whilst Steve contented himself with merely holding Natasha's small hand in his own, Clint whipped out his phone and some earphones. He popped one bud into her ear and seemed to be showing her videos on his phone, hoping to elicit any sort of reaction, all the while keeping his phone shielded from the other members of the team.
As Tony got closer to the pair, he heard what sounded like a young girl's voice emanating from Clint's phone. As Tony drew up in front of the sofa, he was relieved to see a small smile tugging at the corner of Natasha's mouth, her eyes flickering between the phone screen and the steaming mug of chocolate Tony was holding out to her.
Taking the mug in her tiny hands Nat offered Tony a smile of gratitude, snuggling herself right between Clint and Steve, and then promptly avoiding everyone else's eyes. Tony felt it would be inappropriate to pry into what Natasha may have seen in her vision. Although he had never read her file, Tony was not oblivious to the fact that Natasha's past was littered with horrors, committed both by and against her, and he was sure she would be even more unwilling to share with an audience than usual.
The group sat in near silence, sipping on their hot chocolate and throwing uneasy glances at one another. The silence was only interrupted when Pepper and Happy made their way up to the living area with the news that the doors in the main lobby had been restored.
"Woah!" Happy had not yet witnessed the changes that had overcome the Avengers, and his shock at their altered state kept him unusually quiet whilst Tony, with a little help from the others, filled Pepper in on what had happened during the security breach.
"Excuse me, Mr Stark," Jarvis' voice got everyone's attention. "I have been able to get a clear image of the intruders and have ran it through all of our databases."
"And?" this from Clint who, in his eagerness to speak to the disembodied voice, had accidentally knocked his phone and earphones to the floor. Tony saw a brief flash of a dark-haired woman waving from the screen before Natasha whipped the phone up off the floor and into her pocket, her cat-like reflexes clearly returning to normal.
"They match with two case-files that have cropped up relating to a research facility in Sokovia. Their names are Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, however there is little else I can find relating to them. They appear to have enhanced abilities; the male possesses extreme speed; the female's ability is more difficult to discern".
"She is clearly a sorceress", declared Thor, confidently. His earlier anguish had abated, and he was now eagerly focussed on the problem at hand.
"Maybe", suggested Steve, tentatively, "or maybe there is a more mundane explanation".
"Like what?" asked Bruce, his natural curiosity evident on his face.
"Like maybe they are an experiment? A result of a new version of the serum? Plenty have tried over the years, each with varying results".
The group took a moment to process this idea; it was a worrying thought that a version of the serum that had given Steve his super strength and honed physique, could have imbued others with such terrifying abilities.
"So, they're definitely not in league with Loki?" asked Pepper; Tony could already see her mind whirring, worrying that their already crippling disadvantage had just increased tenfold.
"No," said Tony, "I think we can definitely assume that this a whole new problem. I also think it's safe to assume that whoever sent Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum now knows that we've fallen way too far down the rabbit hole, and I'm guessing they may be paying us another visit soon. We have to make sure that can't happen."
"How are we supposed to do that? I can't see us faring any better against enhanced humans than we would against aliens and gods."
"Thank you, Captain Doom-and-Gloom".
Steve rolled his eyes at Tony.
"Surprisingly, Steven, I wasn't planning on setting up a re-match. I was thinking more along the lines of relocating – making it more difficult for them to find us should they come looking."
The rest of the group exchanged surprised glances.
"Where would we go?" asked Steve, "And how would you keep working on the suits if we're elsewhere?"
"Steve, please", Tony had to fight really hard not to roll his eyes at the young boy, "I built my first suit in a cave, you really think not being in this lab will limit my genius? Frankly, I'm offended."
"So, you have somewhere in mind?" asked Clint, once again looking eager at the prospect of an unexpected adventure.
"Actually, yes. Pepper and I have a little holiday home out on Anna Maria Island , it's never been on Shield's files and it's not even listed under my name. So, if Ms Potts doesn't object," Pepper smiled at Tony from her place on the end of the couch, one arm wrapped protectively around Bruce, "who's up for a little sun, sea and sand?"
The young Avengers, and Happy, all cheered at the prospect of a pleasurable escape.
"Road trip!"
"Yes, thank you, Clint", said Pepper, "although if we need to move the suits, maybe an air trip would be more appropriate".
"And I thought I was the genius in this relationship," quipped Tony. "Pepper's right, we're going to fire up the quinjet and get the hell out of here. Red, do you think you can still pilot that thing if I get you a booster seat".
"Easy, Shellhead," smirked Natasha, "the quinjet seats are adjustable".
"Right then, twenty minutes to get packed and meet in the landing bay. Jarvis…"
"Yes, Mr Stark?"
"Get the suits and computer stations moved onto the quinjet please".
"Right away, Mr Stark".
As the others separated to go get their things together, Tony paused a moment with Pepper and Happy.
"I hope this works."
"It will, Tony, but I think it's time we brought in backup".
"No".
"Tony," Pepper warned.
"Nooo".
"Stop whining, you're acting more childish than the kids".
"You do know they're not actually kids, right?"
Pepper merely glared at her petulant partner.
"I think Pepper's right".
"Woah, woah, woah! Time out!" Exclaimed Tony, "You two cannot start ganging up on me, I'm outnumbered here as it is!"
"No one is ganging up on you, Tony. We just need all the help we can get."
"Ugh, fine", he finally conceded. "But you can call him. I don't want to speak to him".
Pepper exchanged an exasperated look with Happy, both far too familiar with Tony's dramatics to try and argue the point with him.
"Fine," she agreed, "I will call Nick. You can go pack. For both of us". With that, Pepper left the common area, leaving Tony gaping after her retreating form.
"Me? Packing? Has she finally lost her mind?"
Happy ignored his boss and followed Pepper out of the room, going to fetch his own belongings from the guest quarter that he made use of when he sometimes stayed at the Tower.
Tony sat for a few moments, trying to give one of them some time to reconsider and come and save him from this hellish prospect. When he finally realised that neither of them was coming to rescue him, he hoisted himself off the sofa and made his way up to the top floor.
Although he fully believed that going off the grid was the best plan of action to avoid this new threat, Tony also felt sure that a change of scene would let the Avengers regroup and spend some time recovering from the visions visited upon them by the Maximoff siblings. I just hope that taking them so far from familiar territory is not going to come back to bite me in the ass.