Chapter title is from the same song title by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Unbeta-ed. Enjoy!

Rhodey

"Can we address the elephant in the room?"

"Now that's rude. They're not elephants."

James sighed exasperatedly. "You know what I mean."

"Cap watching M. Night Shyamalan?"

To be honest, that too. Why was Cap taking notes? "The two boys I'm seeing, Tony."

"Oh, them." Tony turned and called. "Hey, Klaus, Ben, say hi to the Colonel."

The two boys gave a wave before resuming their film showing. Cap sent him a nod that Rhodes returned.

"Are they yours?" he asked. "Tony, I swear, if they're yours and they're here with you without Pepper's knowledge, that's a very dick move."

"Pepper knows, and she took the two other girls out with her." Tony rolled his eyes. "And they're not mine, thank you very much."

"There's more of them? Then whose are they?"

"Long story short, they're staying with me because the other choice is with S.H.I.E.L.D. and we all know what a kind of grandpa Nick will make."

"Wait, wait, wait. Back up." James raised a hand. "What does S.H.I.E.L.D. have anything to do with this?"

"They have powers, or did you miss that?"

"You didn't say that," he accused. "Powers? Oh great."

"They came from a wormhole too, if you want to know."

James doubted that Tony would be hospitable to beings who, like the Chitauri, came from a huge wormhole. "You mean like Thor? Did they come from Asgard?"

"Not like Thor. Abilities aside, they're humans. They said they came from another Earth."

"Since when is there another Earth? Last time I heard there are nine planets, then apparently there are more beyond those. Now you're telling me there's another Earth. What the hell." He wasn't even here for ten minutes when his head began to hurt. "Tony, be serious. What's going on?"

"That's exactly what's going on, swear to god." Hard to take it seriously when Tony said that in a deadpan voice. "Also, Pluto is no longer a planet."

"Not asking for an astronomy lecture," James grumbled, crossing his arms as he warily eyed the kids. "If you're right, is this not something we should worry about?"

"You think Fury didn't think that?" Tony scoffed. "Pretty sure he's still butthurt, but he can't deny that I'm right. What is he going to do, lock them up?"

That sounded inhumane, not from this world or not. "And you? What are you planning with them, enroll them in a school, mix them with the other kids their age?"

"Lucky they didn't hear that, especially the old man," Tony muttered. There was an old man too? "No, Rhodey, he's not a literal old man, Jesus. He just acts like one. Makes you think of Cap."

James digested that first. "How many are they?"

"Seven siblings. Two girls and five boys. Getting real sausage-y around here."

James almost forgot the reason he was here, but he could say for sure it wasn't to be assaulted with Tony's quips. He would dwell on this sudden adoption thing later. "How are you?"

It had suspiciously taken Tony a while to answer. "Fine. All good."

James swiftly pulled Tony's sunglasses away and was met with a grimace and ugly dark bags under Tony's eyes. "When's the last time you slept?"

Tony stole his glasses back in irritation. "I'll have you know that I slept soundly last night for three hours."

"I don't believe you."

"Then don't," Tony replied casually.

James sighed. "Look, man. I'm worried, and Pepper will be, too, if you at least tell her what's wrong with you. She deserves to know that. You need all the support you can get."

"Yeah. I know. I'll tell her later."

James had known Tony for too long to know that he was too stubborn for his own good when it came to asking for help, especially concerning himself.

But as a friend, James trusted that Tony would address his bad reaction to the aftermath of the invasion before it could turn even worse.

What Tony had seen, James could only imagine.

Allison

To her surprise, it was Pepper who approached her.

Allison avoided her as she could. She didn't like how Vanya was seemingly more comfortable with a stranger than her siblings. But who was Allison kidding? They weren't exactly doing a great job as Vanya's family.

When Pepper found her alone, she quietly poured her a glass of juice and a slice of apple pie. It was average, in Allison's opinion, but she wasn't expecting much from a career woman. Like what Allison was. She was never a good cook herself, was she? Claire and Patrick were simply persuaded to find anything she did more than satisfactory. The food suddenly tasted like sand in her mouth.

"Thanks," Allison said.

"How was it?" Pepper asked. "Last time I baked was for a bake sale in high school. Sorry if it tastes bad."

Allison could lie. The insincere praise was ready in her tongue. "I won't say it's bad. The crust is too soft, and the sourness overwhelms the sweetness. Other than that, it's passable."

Pepper nodded, seemingly glowing despite the mediocre grade. "Well, more room for improvement. Thank you for your honesty."

Pepper was genuinely a nice woman, and Allison felt bad for being envious of the attention she was getting from Vanya.

"I think we need to get more clothes and stuff you guys need. Will you and Vanya care to join me? It's a nice day out."

"Sure," Allison said with a perfect smile. "Have you asked Vanya?"

Pepper was delighted at Allison's immediate agreement. "Not yet. Do invite her if you saw her first. We could get lunch together."

Allison did see Vanya first. She was with Bruce who was talking animatedly. Huh. Not so quiet a man, after all. Vanya was listening to him attentively, unable to notice Allison as she politely waited for them to finish.

"Hey," Allison called as Vanya put away her plant. "Pepper and I will be going out. She said you should join us."

She tried not to wince as Vanya visibly stiffened when she saw Allison. "Tell her thanks for inviting me, but, uh, the noise of the city is probably a bad idea. You know." When her gaze landed on Allison's neck, she looked away quickly, swallowing.

Allison could see her point, but she thought of Vanya being by herself again. She hated the way Vanya was distancing herself from her siblings. But then again there was the matter of Luther imprisoning her and on top of that the apocalypse.

If Allison wanted to do this right, she could at least shoulder the biggest bulk in reconnecting with their sister. It was a start compared to how her brothers skirted around Vanya, unsure how to approach her.

"I think we can remedy that." She pulled out the phone and the noise-canceling headphones she was given when she requested them from Tony. "A few songs so far. I thought they'll be different from where we came from. Not so much."

Allison counted it as a win when Vanya didn't step back from her when she came closer. She hooked the headphones on Vanya's ears. "There. Just keep close to us so you won't get separated. You can hold my hand if you want."

"I'm not a child," Vanya said but didn't remove the headphones.

"Pepper doesn't know that, does she?"

"No, she doesn't." A small smile gradually appeared on Vanya's face.

"Come. Let's meet her downstairs."

For a moment, Allison thought Vanya would refuse the hand extended to her. After a brief hesitation, Vanya was on her side, their hands linked.

They would be fine.

Klaus

"I've been in Nam and none of them looks like that," he muttered.

"What?" Ben asked distractedly, eyes glued to the screen with the frown he usually has when he was trying to figure out the mystery of the movie.

"Why is that girl not blinking?" Klaus pointed out to the wife of the main character. "As I was saying, no soldier looks like that. Well, Dave was not the Adonis type of guy, but he was pretty so there's that," he added, his voice getting lower.

The last statement got Ben's attention. "I thought you're talking about The Happening."

"Nah. I'm talking about the captain. But still curious why Alma's not blinking."

"Of course she does," Ben defended. "And why are you talking about Captain America? He's literally a few feet away from us."

"Why do you think I'm whispering?" Klaus hissed. "All I'm saying is I don't buy him being a soldier before the Avengers business. A costume model, sure. Look at how the tight fit suits him." He jerked his thumb subtly at Captain America's direction. The man didn't even notice them talking about him, just as invested with the shit movie. Why did they even like it?"

"Are you seriously checking him out?" Ben hissed back incredulously.

"I'm not allowed to window shop?"

Ben sighed, edging closer before answering, "People will think it's weird that a thirteen-year-old is checking out a grown adult. I think it's weird."

"But I'm thirty this year."

"Not the point, Klaus. We're supposed to be kids through and through," he reminded him. "Just enjoy the movie."

"I can't. It sucks," Klaus grumpily tucked his legs underneath his chin. "I bet this M. Night guy has shit movies. We just lucked out with the first one." Klaus didn't like The Sixth Sense, though. It couldn't have been that easy coping with your ability to see the dead.

"Can't judge them all after seeing only two," Ben insisted, reaching for the popcorn bowl that was becoming their lunch. Not that Klaus minded.

Goody. This guy was going to be Ben's favorite, wasn't he? And Klaus would get stuck as well watching terrible movies with him. He wanted to push the popcorn from the couch as spite, but he wasn't looking forward to cleaning up the mess. In utter petulance, Klaus fervently hoped that Ben would accidentally tip the bowl over for blindly reaching for it.

When Ben did and the popcorn and salt spilled everywhere on the carpet, Klaus laughed.

It wasn't funny anymore when Ben roped him into cleaning it, ordering him to go to the broom closet. Klaus thought there were robots for that, given how futuristic Tony's tower was. Jarvis informed him that the broom closet was located three floors down, the last door to the right. Klaus couldn't believe that he would have to take the elevator to go up and down to get an old-fashioned broom. There better be a vacuum cleaner in there.

He hadn't been around this floor yet. Klaus wasn't keen on exploring unknown places, old or not. With a companion, no problem, but by himself, nope. There was bound to be a stubborn soul that would latch itself to him.

Then Klaus learned that the tower didn't have any ghosts.

He would have thought that his powers weren't working, but then he remembered their landing in this world. In his eyes, they were confronted not only by those agents but also by ghosts attached to them, distinguishable with those bullet holes, slashed throats, grotesque wounds, hidden injuries—weren't so different from Hazel and Cha-Cha's victims, really, and quite a lot that Klaus thought there were forty to fifty people that found them. Talk about overkill.

He wasn't even aware it was possible to live in a place that wasn't haunted by any ghosts and live under the care of a man who didn't have any ghosts attached to him. Well, the mansion (aside from the mausoleum within the grounds) and Reggie didn't have one too, actually, but the latter was a special case. Hell, he probably wasn't human enough to have at least one ghost following him around, come to that.

In short, Klaus wasn't expecting to encounter another place and a person that was basically free of any spirits. He did take into consideration that they were presently in a different world and wondered if their heaven and hell worked the same way. Maybe the God here was a cowboy and the devil was a giant mechanical spider or something.

Alright, so Tony didn't have any with him. Pepper's relatives must have been still around because those were the only kind of ghosts Klaus could imagine getting attached to a lady like her. Bruce might have one—you never knew with the quiet ones—but he never lingered around for Klaus to find out.

Since they were put under Tony's care and lived with him, it was Klaus's most peaceful three days. Add to that was Ben no longer tailing him around as his conscience anymore. Ben had been ironically Klaus's sole real companion for years compared to their living siblings.

It wasn't comparable, however, to Ben's alive presence because that was a thousand times better.

"Oh, it's one of them."

"Is that you, Jarvis?" Klaus asked, peering upwards.

"I'm afraid I don't follow, Mister Klaus."

"Hmm, I thought Tony overdid my accent, but listening closely, it did sound like me. Not exactly the same but similar," the same voice that Klaus heard mused aloud.

Klaus's head whipped to the source of the voice and found a man standing a few feet away from him, looking thoughtful. He was dressed neatly, not a crease on his black vest and trousers, and wearing white gloves and a tie perfectly done. He reminded Klaus of a butler with that getup.

He found Klaus's attention fixed on him. "Why is he looking eerily in my direction?" he said, like he was wondering aloud. "Is he lost?"

"I'm not. I'm here to get a broom," Klaus answered. Didn't this man know how to keep his thoughts to himself? "Actually, is there a vacuum cleaner? Using a broom kinda seems weird, isn't it?"

The man's eyes widened. "Are you talking to me?" he asked. Funny, he did sound like Jarvis.

"Is there someone else here that I should be talking to?"

"Mister Klaus, who are you talking to?"

When realization dawned on the stranger's face, Klaus almost smacked his face for speaking so early.

"Not haunted, my ass," he muttered in exasperation.

Pepper

"Glad to have you again, Miss Potts," greeted Randy, a waiter she had befriended long ago, with a smile. "And you've brought two lovely young ladies with you. Your nieces?"

"In a manner of speaking," it was Allison who replied pleasantly. "My sister and I are distantly related to Pepper on our mother's side."

Allison sent her a knowing glance, and Pepper would like to think that an understanding passed between them. Allison wasn't like Vanya in a lot of aspects; she was more confident, didn't seem the type to second-guess herself, and knew what she and her siblings liked. An example of the latter was when Pepper asked them what their brothers would have liked to have, and Allison readily gave her a list.

Pepper got Diego a leather jacket after Allison told her it wouldn't go amiss with him. There were also DIY wooden plane kits for Luther because according to Allison that was his former hobby. They ended up buying plenty of books of different kinds for Five and Ben, both textbooks and literary fiction books chosen by Vanya. While Vanya was selecting a journal for herself, Allison mentioned that a set of make-ups and skirts would be appreciated by Klaus. Allison had been regarding her closely when she said it, seemingly testing Pepper for her reaction. Pepper recognized Allison's "big sister mode" in action, and she respected that, just as she respected what Klaus's preferences were. The three of them ended up brainstorming what colors would have suited their brother, and Pepper made a mental note to bring him next time when shopping for their wardrobes.

Allison never let go of Vanya since the car ride, keeping her close to her side with their fingers entwined. Pepper got the impression that Vanya was a bit distant to her siblings, and it was nice to see she got a strong relationship with her only sister, at least. Pepper almost felt like she was intruding when the two were talking in a vague manner, though they would bring her in the circle often and Allison would tell her anecdotes from their home life. The stories mentioned their father only in passing, usually revolving with their mom and their brothers' antics that were mostly Klaus's. Pepper enjoyed them, and she thought Allison as well whenever they made Vanya snort and giggle.

For a girl who was homeschooled and hadn't met a lot of people, Allison was a people person. She thrived on her interactions with others, always with a smile on her face. Allison was a lively girl where Vanya was the serene one, but at the end of the day, Pepper could imagine them staying late at night gossiping about boys and talking about trivial things.

"Can I ask you something?" Allison said by their dessert in a quiet nook of the establishment. "What's your reaction when Tony took us under his wing?"

Pepper took a bite off her cheesecake before replying, "I told Vanya this before, but the only notice I got was a call from him. He said that I shouldn't be surprised when I found seven kids at the tower. Did you know that the first thing I asked him was if you guys were his? Not my finest moment when I felt relieved that you weren't."

Allison giggled behind her milkshake, and Vanya hid a grin by taking a gulp of her smoothie.

"He had been adventurous for years before I met him, and while it's nice that he quitted that part of his lifestyle, I can't help but feel that a day will come and a kid will come knocking at the door and claim that he or she is Tony's from an encounter with his or her mother a decade ago," Pepper said, pushing the piece of dessert around on her plate. "You know what? It's not even what worries me. It's Tony's attitude that makes him think he's invincible. Don't get me wrong. I'm proud of him being one of Earth's heroes, but I fear for him sometimes, knowing he isn't the kind to ask around for help despite knowing he needs it. He wants to solve everything on his own." When she looked up, Allison and Vanya were staring at her with slight worry. "Oh, dear, I didn't mean to unload that to the both of you."

"We don't mind," Vanya said quietly. "I think you need to unburden yourself with these kinds of thoughts from time to time, or else they'll eat you slowly." She spoke like she was speaking from experience.

"Vanya's right. We might be too young, but we're here to lend an ear if you need it," Allison said. "Nothing will get out of this table."

It was like being a teenager again, Pepper thought idly with a smile. Ah, well, she has good listeners with good heads on their shoulders, and Pepper felt like making the most out of the moment. "But I love him, and after withstanding life-threatening situations with him, sticking my whole hand in his chest, I'm sure I can manage any hurdle that might come our way."

"Tony's a lucky guy to have a sensible woman who can control his impulses," Allison said, sounding far too old for her age.

"I'm not really an expert, but it's easy to tell that he cares about you a lot," Vanya inputted. "It's nice seeing how the two of you balance each other out."

Those weren't childish naivety, were they? In some ways, they knew what they were talking about. Was it something they've seen at home between their parents? Pepper could only wonder.

Luther

He wasn't surprised when it was Diego who followed him to the gym.

Like Luther, Diego was having qualms mingling with the other people living in the tower. They were pleasant, that was clear, but it wasn't fair that within three days they knew a lot about them. Five seemed to think it would be advantageous to show their abilities but keep secret of their time travel. Personally, Luther thought their ace hardly amounted to anything.

"I don't get why they're easy around them," Luther spoke with a frown, trying out a weight. "Do you think it was a good idea to show them our powers?"

Diego shrugged, but there was a noticeable edge on his shoulders. "Five thinks so. Besides, what are they gonna do about it?"

"A lot." They were already monitoring them, and the knowledge of what Vanya could do alone was valuable. "Even Five seems to trust them quickly."

"You know him. He got a plan. Probably. Did bust out our asses from the apocalypse." Diego stretched.

"And landed us here, far from where we're supposed to be. Literally worlds away."

Diego paused from working his neck. "And you're being ungrateful," he deadpanned before shaking his head. "S-Seriously?"

"I don't mean to sound like that," Luther amended. "All I'm saying is are we really safe here? Is this place a better alternative from what we escaped from? Vanya is with us, and what if we can't fix her and she caused the end of the world in this place?"

"Wow. 'Fix' her?" Diego scoffed. "What i-is she, a broken t-toy?" His voice rose volume higher.

"The word isn't even mine, Diego," Luther said as calmly as he could. He almost forgot how much shorter Diego's patience was for him. "What I said is reasonable, and we should be prepared for the worst."

"The only way it'll come to w-worst is if we fail her again j-just like we did the last time," Diego said. "And the fact that you're avoiding h-her doesn't help o-one bit."

Luther didn't deign him with an answer. The reason why should be obvious already.

"Y-You haven't even a-apologized yet."

He sighed. It wasn't only Vanya that he owed an apology. "I know that."

"Then why not?"

"I'd rather not talk about this, Diego." Luther had been mulling over his actions and did find them wrong. There was no need for Diego to rub it on his face like Five did.

"Why aren't you m-making the effort to avoid it from h-happening again?"

"Are you?" Luther snapped. "Last time I checked, it's Allison who's doing all the heavy lifting in mending the bridge," he retorted. "Why aren't you doing the same?"

That seemed to trigger even more Diego's somewhat foul mood. "I'm not the one w-who called her a b-bomb, nor am I the one who i-imprisoned her."

Luther's face went stricken. "I did, and I was being rational."

"You were being s-stupid because Allison got a-accidentally hurt by our own sister who n-needed our help. It's a-always about Allison first with you. Is it because of what you two have that the rest of us are only s-second to that?" Diego said heatedly.

Luther refused to rise to the bait. "And you're being immature by trying to pick a fight with me."

Diego snorted. "You s-started it with all this bullshit of yours. You can't e-even trust our b-brother to make the best judgment for us."

It shouldn't be even like that, one person deciding for the rest. Shouldn't they all learn that for themselves? "Leave me alone, Diego. Join the others up there. Or Pepper. She's a nice woman, reminds me of Mom. You'll get along just fine."

Luther wouldn't call the fist that connected with his face unexpected the moment he said the words, and yet the force of the blow made him stagger back.

"D-Don't you forget that it's your stupidity that led to M-Mom's death," Diego growled as he grasped Luther's shirt. There was only an inch difference between their heights now compared before, and Diego definitely didn't miss on that. "I'm n-not replacing M-Mom!"

"You said that, not me," Luther replied evenly, catching an incoming punch to his face but was unable to dodge the other hand directed to his side. He suppressed a wince and extricated himself from Diego's hold. He didn't want to hit back, not when Diego was incredibly high strung. Luther should have noticed it earlier. "Diego, stop this."

"Don't t-tell me, t-that despite being far a-away from h-home, traveled b-back in t-time, y-you're still D-Dad's lapdog!" Diego was instantly on him again, digging his finger on his chest.

Luther batted away Diego's hand with more force than necessary. "I'm not his lapdog, and don't bring Dad to this!"

"You brought u-up Mom, so why s-shouldn't I bring up your f-favorite parent?" Diego sneered. "I thought f-finding out that he sent you off to the fucking m-moon for no reason will w-wake you, but you're s-still the same o-old Luther w-who never grew up and l-left Dad's s-shadow!"

When Luther grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him sideways, he liked to think it was payback from when Diego slashed his arm at Dad's funeral. Diego goddamn deserved it, for all his words of disrespect to the man who raised and cared for them.

The ugly sound of Diego crashing against the equipment brought Luther to his senses right then, panic creeping in upon realizing he used his strength on his unarmed brother.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Luther immediately rushed to his side. "Diego, are you okay? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"Shut the fuck up, Luther." Diego groaned as he adjusted himself on the floor to get more comfortable as he could with the obvious pain. His back looked alright if he could move like that. "Thank god this room is padded. Will have a bad bruise, though."

"I'm sorry," Luther repeated, slumping beside Diego. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Would have done the same if I have a knife. Fair game, I guess."

"It's stupid."

"You are," Diego agreed. "So am I. Used to think Dad didn't make me Number One because of my temper. I hated you for it. Then I found out that Mom was better than Dad anyway, but I guess the jealousy and resentment never left me." He rubbed on his face. "I'm such a fucking hypocrite," he muttered.

Luther silently regarded him, recalling that it was Diego who had first outwardly shown his displeasure towards Vanya for writing the book. Nobody knew what made her do it, but then again no one had been in her shoes to understand her. By the looks of it, Diego was thinking the same thing. "Can you stand?" Luther asked instead. "We need to get your back looked at."

"I'm fine, just not in the mood to stand up yet." Diego removed his arm from his eyes, blinking up at him. "You look like shit," he pointed at Luther's broken nose and a split lip. "How's that for a guy who doesn't have super strength?"

"You punch like a girl," Luther replied without heat, wiping away the blood from his nose and not making a move to stand from his position. They could stay here longer with all the time they have.

Diego smirked. "We have two badass sisters. I'll take that as a compliment."

TBC