Chapter title is from the same song title by Blondie

Unbeta-ed. Enjoy!

Fury

"Bring them to me. If the Avengers Tower can house even the Hulk, there's no problem with seven kids."

"That is a very brilliant idea indeed. Remind why I haven't done that yet? Oh, yeah, because I can't do that!" Typical Stark. He was too used to lugging around his huge ego that he thought nothing was heavier and bigger for him to handle. "You come in here late and demand that I hand you these children in a silver platter. Why, because you pity some aliens who look like kids? Too bad for them, we're not too sweet on their kind these days."

"Bold of you to assume that only aliens can come from wormholes."

"Enlighten me what else could come out of that."

"Marty McFly?" Stark suggested, shrugging. "Look, I'm just saying that I can supervise them. Maybe. That's better than dissecting them, no? And, hey, I'll take their chubby faces than the Chitauri any time. Well, except Thor. He's a god through and through. No homo."

Fury has no time for this bullshit. "Unlike you, we don't have the privilege to play house, Stark. You of all people should know that this is a different matter altogether."

"What will seven kids do, force us to kneel? That was Loki's kink," Stark reasoned. "You have an island with a school full of special kids and a guy in a wheelchair who can read minds. You're keeping an eye on them, but you never once interfered. Why can't you consider these children like those mutants?"

Motherfucker. Of course Stark had read those. The cyber protection division would be hearing again from him, and it wouldn't be pleasant.

"By that line of logic, shouldn't I just ship them to that school then?"

"I'm sure the Prof has enough on his plate."

"So do we!" Fury growled. "And you even have the audacity to suggest that I transfer them to your hands. What makes you think that you can do better? If I'm going to place them on someone, you sure as hell not my first choice."

Fury caught the brief flicker in Stark's face. It was gone as quickly as it came. Good. His point hit exactly where he intended it to be.

"Now if there's nothing else—"

"Where's Cap?" Stark suddenly asked.

What was Stark's angle now? "On a mission."

"On a mission to figure out the modern appliances, I bet. You could have called him here, and since Cap's never been away on your good graces, you won't care if he's an hour late—no, you purposely don't want him here. Let me guess, you know that once he saw the kids not even planning world domination one bit, he'll be immediately against what you'll subject those children to. You and I both know how obstinate he is, that there's no way he'll harm or have a hand in harming women or children."

Fury's jaw tightened. "Then what he doesn't know won't harm him."

"True, but, hey, you said before that I'm too talkative for my own good. Rest assured, though, that Cap and I are not really the best of buds. But if, and only if, he finds out in some other way, that's out of my control." Stark glanced at the direction the jet flew. "Defenseless kids in cuffs, now that doesn't look good."

Fury wasn't under the illusion that Stark would be quiet regarding this issue, not if he was desperate to do things his way. Fury was still clueless, however, where Stark's insistence was coming from.

"If it's just me, there's no need for you to worry how making some questionable decisions will make you look. Cap, on the other hand, has an aversion for superiors who don't share his upstanding morality. Since you're likely to see him sooner than me, tell him how things are different now. He might help you with the kids, but my guess is he'll give you a very hard time instead," Stark stated, offhanded. "But that's just a personal opinion, Nick. No hard feelings." He saluted. "Toodles."

As Stark departed, Fury was left torn between applauding and pissed. He was more inclined with the latter knowing Stark's existence was mostly to be Fury's pain in the ass.

But Fury knew how to weigh his options too. If the kids were exactly as they said they were, escaping to anywhere without a specific destination in mind, they were on the neutral side for now. If so, they were potential assets as well. At least two of them weren't untrained, and if they were developed to their utmost capabilities at a young age, they were bound to be useful. Stark wanted to take them under his wing, with reasons he didn't deign Fury. He knew Stark wasn't going to build an army of superpowered children anytime; Fury could trust that, at least.

If Fury wanted to use the children in the future, he needed to appeal to their good side, the same way Stark implied what he was doing with Captain America, and Stark wasn't wrong with that assumption.

The most ideal choice was beginning to shape in Fury's mind, the one which Stark would surely rub on his face.

"Plot a change of course to the Avengers Tower," Fury ordered on the line, promptly closing the connection without another word.

Stark might have won this round, but there was no fucking way Fury would make it easy for him.

Vanya

There was a soft lulling sound on her left ear.

Turning to her left, Vanya found a girl, with olive skin and curly hair, fast asleep beside her. When Vanya shifted slightly, the arms wrapped around her waist tightened.

She knew her from some distant memory…

Allison. She looked exactly like the young Allison Vanya remembered.

Was she dreaming this now? Last time she had seen Allison she was much older, taller, with a mature face but more beautiful.

Allison had a bandage on her neck.

"I'm sorry," Vanya murmured. She has no idea what was happening, why her hand was as small as the young Allison beside her. Gradually, they came back, the memories of her discovering her powers, of Leonard using her, of Allison telling her everything, of Luther locking her up for what she could do—she ended the world where her siblings lived. It made her feel sick.

The others were there, in separate beds and sleeping soundly like Allison. It made her think of the afterlife; the purgatory, perhaps. It was kind of different from what she expected, she must say, all tall windows showing the impressive view of a busy city at sunset. It appeared to be a five-star hotel suite.

Vanya gingerly extricated herself from Allison's arms, padding quietly towards the door that didn't have a knob. It opened on its own, and Vanya was led to an empty hallway. She appreciated the silence; she didn't think she was ready for the noise again.

She strolled down the long corridor, noting that some rooms could be seen from outside through their glass walls. She didn't stick around for long to look in. She was thirsty, and she hoped to find the kitchen.

The end of the hallway was an elevator. She hopped in, eager to explore to keep her mind occupied. She expected to feel claustrophobic at the closed space, but the elevator was rather spacious that she thought the seven of them could fit in with more room. When the door closed, though, she wasn't sure what to do next. There were no buttons present.

"May I assist you, young miss?"

Vanya jumped in surprise. The voice seemed to come from above. "Hello?"

"Hello, young miss. I am Jarvis, the AI assistant of this tower. Where do you like to go?"

Oh. This was a futuristic purgatory then. It was actually cool. "I just want water. Can you bring me to the kitchen?" she asked meekly.

"The kitchen is located on the next floor below." Vanya barely felt the elevator move. "The third door to your left is the kitchen. If you need any assistance, call me from any location within the tower."

"Thank you, Jarvis."

"It is a pleasure, young miss."

"My name is Vanya. Vanya Hargreeves." She gave a small smile to the ceiling.

"Have a good day, Miss Vanya. I hope the kitchen will be to your satisfaction."

Jarvis sounded nice. Like Pogo. If Dad was alive longer, he would probably have installed the same disembodied butler in the mansion.

She hurriedly shook away the thought of her father and Pogo.

The floor was just as quiet as the one she came from. Vanya fixed herself a glass of water. There were also foods on the fridge when she checked, but it didn't feel right to grab something without asking for permission. Besides, she didn't have the appetite to eat yet. Did she need sustenance in this place too? It wasn't so different from living if that was the case.

"Am I dead?" she wondered aloud.

Jarvis was there to answer, "No, Miss Vanya. Your vitals are normal, but your blood pressure is less than average. Nothing a good rest couldn't fix."

Vanya already had a lot of sleep. "Where am I then?"

"The Avengers Tower, formerly the Stark Tower. It is designed by my creator, Mister Anthony Stark. You and your companions are presently his guests. Mister Stark isn't around at the present, but he'll be arriving in a few hours. Miss Virginia Potts, meanwhile, is on her way up to this floor."

Vanya hadn't heard of this Avengers before, nor the names Anthony Stark and Virginia Potts rang any bell. And how were they here as if nothing happened, in their younger selves, no less? Did her siblings know what was going on?

The kitchen door clicked open. A woman with blonde hair came in, carrying paper bags of food and numerous shopping bags dangling on her arms. She almost didn't see Vanya standing there, but when she did, her eyes seemingly softened.

"Oh, hello," the woman said after she set down her baggage. "I expected you guys to be resting so I took the chance to shop for dinner. Honestly, it's been a while since I cooked, but any request?"

Vanya blinked at the woman busying herself and frowning in disapproval at some of the empty cupboards. "Um… Are you Miss Potts?"

The woman stopped in front of Vanya, leaning down to her level. "Call me Pepper or Pep." She extended a hand. "And you are?"

"Vanya," she said, shaking the hand tentatively. "Jarvis said that my siblings and I are Mister Stark's guests. We don't know any Stark. Why would he receive us in his tower?"

Pepper considered her for a moment before sighing. "Frankly, I don't know either. He just called me and said that there are seven kids on their way and that I shouldn't be surprised. That was it." She looked equally as helpless when she added, "Your host is so… spontaneous on his best days."

Vanya fiddled with her fingers. She didn't know a thing about their host. Should she ask Pepper?

"Are any of the others awake?" Pepper asked.

Vanya shook her head. She glanced at the door. Should she get back to the others? She didn't use to be wary of nice strangers, but since she met Leonard and found out the truth about him, some things were put into perspective.

"You want me to fix you a sandwich?"

"There's no need, but thank you," she said politely, opting to sit on a chair instead. The strength to face his siblings seemed to have left her now. "Can I stay here for a while?"

"Yeah, of course." Pepper shifted on her feet unsurely. "Do you want me to go?"

Being alone was actually preferable, but Vanya wouldn't trust herself now with her own thoughts. The last time she did, all of her bitterness for her father and siblings resurfaced into an ugly ball of hate. What she did to the house and Pogo and Grace were awful, and she couldn't find the will to forgive herself and her actions. She was so… so…

"Hey. It's okay." Pepper was instantly beside her, rubbing her back in a relaxing motion. "It's okay." Gentle fingers found themselves on Vanya's head, carding her now long hair.

Pepper was a stranger to Vanya, and Vanya to Pepper, and yet it was comforting to know that somebody would let her unburden without any judgment. For all she knew, Pepper would turn out to be another Leonard, another person with some hidden agenda behind the nice façade, but Vanya couldn't care less. She would take this moment of comfort even for a short while.

"It's okay," Pepper repeated, embracing her. "I'm here."

Pepper

"Okay, don't freak out, but I kinda adopted seven kids, and they're on their way to the tower."

Pepper checked the caller ID. It was Tony, alright. "Hello. Are you drunk?"

Not that being drunk as early as noon was news when it came to Tony.

"Hello to you too." There was a pause from the other line. "And, no, I'm not."

"Okay, so where did the kids come from?"

"If I tell you, you'll probably get angry."

"Oh my god—are they yours?"

"Not that bad!"

Pepper wanted to feel terrible for being relieved. "So you just happen to come across seven kids? You're losing me."

Tony sighed. "Fury was supposed to handle them, but I convinced him that I do it instead."

"That doesn't answer where they came from." Because if they were Nick Fury's he wouldn't be passing them to Tony, right? And, oh, boy, that question was weird.

"We're not really sure…" Tony trailed off. "I gotta go. Meet me there at seven. I'll ask Happy to shop for stuff. Love you."

Pepper sat throughout a board meeting with nothing but Tony's call on her mind. Seven children, and Tony spoke of them so nonchalantly like he was simply dropping a package. And how could you not be sure where kids came from?

Her secretary had found her distracted more than once in the whole span of five hours. Still uncertain, she dialed Happy to say that he had to pick her up first before he went shopping. Happy appreciated the help to pick up clothes according to the sizes Jarvis had given him. The list said there were two girls and five boys that were by estimation 13 or 14 years old. Pepper had nieces and nephews around the same age; therefore, the search for clothes wasn't that challenging. She favored those with neutral colors, shoes at the somewhat right sizes, and some clothes with more room to grow to. Kids grew up fast these days.

It was when she was at the back seat with all the paper bags that didn't make it to the trunk that it occurred to her that she could be doing the same thing years later or so. Kids sounded nice, though she wasn't planning to have a number of them; three at most, maybe. But as an only child, she remembered wishing for a lot of siblings to play with. Five or seven wouldn't be so bad.

Happy insisted on not letting her carry any of the bags, and Pepper wouldn't have any of it. Fine, the vegetables and meat were heavy, but she was absently thinking of recipes that she could recall even as she reached Tony's personal kitchen at the tower.

Only then did she notice the girl staring at her, and it was as if Pepper's doubts earlier about Tony's unceremonious adoption thing were erased. Vanya was a polite girl, quiet and guarded, but with sad eyes that had Pepper apprehensive as to how to approach her. She did her best to be as accommodating as she could, asking if Vanya was hungry and offered to make her food.

Vanya quietly and suddenly broke down into tears.

Pepper didn't know why, though in retrospect she saw the dam about to break. To think somebody so young could cry this hard; Pepper didn't want to think what caused it.

But if there was something Pepper understood without the need for words, it was that Vanya was in dire need of a shoulder.

Allison

It was evening when she opened her eyes.

Vanya was nowhere to be found.

Allison immediately sat awake, all grogginess was gone in a second. Her brothers were thankfully still in their own beds.

She refused to be parted with Vanya, insisting that she be placed next to her when they were told they would be put to sleep for security purposes. Not that they had a choice, with Five and Vanya unconscious and pretty much the most vulnerable of them. Allison took it all in a stride, thinking that complying with these people would prove beneficial in the long run. Klaus and Ben—Allison would dwell later on how seeing Ben very much alive made her feel—seemed to have the same logic. Luther and Diego, not so much.

The cuffs were fortunately removed. She couldn't be sure with their composition, but they appeared to have delimiting components that had made her lightheaded. In hindsight, she was anticipating a rougher treatment, not a soft bed and a spacious room with her siblings.

In her search for Vanya without coming across any soul, a voice from the ceiling talked to her and directed her to the kitchen. They were currently in one of those smart homes, and Jarvis was programmed to be an electronic butler with a pleasant personality. Allison was sadly reminded of Pogo.

Vanya was in the kitchen with an unknown woman. She looked kind and gentle, just like Grace was to them. But unlike Grace she comforted Vanya with soothing strokes on the back, brushing Vanya's hair and hugged her as she wept. Her movements and expression weren't set to be what their Dad's definition of a 'Mom'. The woman was comforting Vanya like a friend and a family, and the realization that it should have been Allison in the woman's place broke something in her.

"Who's she?" she asked, almost in a whisper.

Jarvis nonetheless heard her. "That is Miss Potts. Pepper, as she likes to be called."

"She seems nice."

Allison grew up not taking anything at face value, always with skepticism reserved for any person she met. But she was also painfully aware that her judgment wasn't what Vanya needed today, nor her presence.

Allison retreated without a word.

TBC