Chapter title is from the same song title by Imagine Dragons

Enjoy!

Vanya

There was a violin case right outside her door.

She carried it in, unclasping the lid to see her new violin from Stark. Once she opened the case, she let out a small gasp.

While her old one had a more utilitarian appeal with how simple it was in design, this one has a dark brown finish and intricate woodwork on the side, a display of a craftsman's delicate masterpiece. Vanya almost didn't want to touch it, afraid that she would somehow tarnish the impeccable, dark brown finish, but eventually gave in to the temptation and placed it on her shoulder.

It was lighter than what Dad had given her, and there was the distinct smell of cedar that was pleasing to the senses. Vanya glided the bow across the strings and took in the sound of the short notes she made. It felt right to be in her hands, like it was something she could call hers. She had no problems playing with her previous violin, loved it, even, but there had been a part of Vanya that thought it never quite belonged with her, that the violin would solely be with the only person who originally had it.

She carefully laid the instrument down before making her way downstairs. There was a small smile on her face that she didn't realize having until Ben took notice of it once she reached the kitchen.

"Good morning, Vanya," Ben greeted with a grin. "Had a good sleep?"

"Good morning, Ben, Pepper," she said to the two people present, smiling meekly. "Yeah, I did. And I got a new violin earlier."

"Oh? That arrived earlier than expected," Pepper said thoughtfully. "Pancakes for you, Vanya?"

She nodded at the offer, intending to seat across Ben when he gestured to the empty stool next to him. Vanya quietly made her way to him. Ben had always been nice to her, and she regretted that this was the first time they've been together alone since coming here. She missed him just as well.

"You should try the chocolate syrup with maple," he suggested when Vanya was served with her breakfast. He stuffed his mouth with a forkful of pancakes, a display that Dad would surely disapprove but made Pepper hide a smile, asking if Ben would like more.

Vanya drizzled hers with both chocolate and maple syrups. It was a tad too sweet for her palate, though delicious like Ben said. It wouldn't hurt to try it occasionally.

Diego came in, somewhat surprised that Ben and Vanya were already there. He sat across them, muttering a 'good morning' under his breath and a quick 'thanks' at the plate pushed his way. Vanya could see that Diego winced on his seat, his back apparently hurting since last night. Allison said something about him and Luther hitting each other. It made Vanya think that it must be their way of bonding with each other.

"Hey, I'd like to hear you play a piece," Ben suddenly told her when he was finished with his food. "I've always been partial with the Spring of Four Seasons."

"Is it your favorite?" Vanya asked.

"Not really, but hearing it makes me feel posh," Ben admitted.

"It does have that kind of effect," she agreed. "I'd love to, but, you know." She glanced apologetically at him. "I don't think I should."

Pepper, who was listening to the conversation, asked, "Why not? I'd like that too."

Oh, right, she didn't know. "Um, it's about my powers. It's tied with my playing, and I can't… I can't properly control it yet."

"Is that so?" Pepper looked disappointed but was more worried. "Well, alright. I'm sure you're doing your best anyway," she said. "We'll hear from you soon, how's that?"

"Of course," Vanya told her, for some reason feeling optimistic that she would get it right soon. It was hard not to hope with Pepper and Bruce eager to hear her perform.

When Pepper left to rouse Stark, Ben leaned towards Vanya. "You don't have to be careful around me," he said. "I can listen to you today if you want."

"It's dangerous, Ben," she reminded him. Had he forgotten already what she did? She knew Ben was around within the eight days towards the end of the world. Why was he so casual about this?

"It's linked to your emotions, right? What if you're happy when you're playing? Will it be bad?"

The effect wouldn't be disastrous, she knew, remembering the audition she did.

"I mean, you are, right?" Ben asked sheepishly. "Or at least, you're not that mad anymore with us, are you?"

Vanya couldn't be mad at Ben, certainly not to somebody as forthcoming as him. She wasn't mad at any of them, really, only felt tired and fed up with the lie she grew up with. She wasn't even mad at Luther because she understood how important and special Allison was to him, and when that someone was hurt, you would do the unthinkable. Like what she did when she cared for Leonard when she thought he was truly hurt defending her.

"Vanya? Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she said, sniffing a bit. "I'm fine."

"You're not. You're not fine." It came from Diego. When Vanya glanced at him, he swallowed, looking down on his plate like a chastised kid. "I mean, it's o-okay not to be f-fine."

Ben's eyes were lit with what was akin to satisfaction with Diego's answer. "What he said. We care, Vanya, though we failed to show that when it mattered the most. There's a lot of work to do, but we also have plenty of time to prove that to you. And we hope you'll let us in again."

Vanya was speechless. Ben was never the talkative one, but once he spoke, he was eloquent and nothing short wiser than Vanya. Was there wisdom gained in being a passive observer for years? Perhaps. Perhaps Ben had been watching his brothers and sisters for too long, unable to stop those he left from distancing away from each other.

"Thank you, Ben, Diego," she said, as gratitude was only what came to mind. "I'll make it right this time."

They were complete now, after all.

Klaus

One of the perks of living with Tony was that Klaus got to oversleep, like how he could once he left the Academy. Living in a tower owned by a billionaire was worlds away (pun intended) in comparison to living in a mansion owned by another billionaire. Tony was a pretty chill guy who let them mind their own businesses. Frankly, Klaus wouldn't mind being stuck here.

"Master Klaus, I suggest rising up or else you'll be late for breakfast."

Okay, so while Edwin's calm, British voice was loads preferable than the siren Reggie used as an alarm like the soldiers that they were, Klaus began to rue making the acquaintance of the ghost butler last night.

"I didn't ask for you to wake me up," Klaus groused against the pillow. He raised his head, frowning deeply at Edwin's imposing presence by the side of the bed. "When did you enter my room?"

"A short while ago," Edwin confessed. "I wanted to knock, but I couldn't. My apologies, but you do need to rise."

"I hate you," Klaus mumbled half-heartedly, burying his face against the sheets in hopes of sleeping again, though ultimately finding it difficult when a ghost was hovering in wait. "Fine."

Klaus warned him to not follow him to the bathroom. He knew he wouldn't, but it was fun to pick on Edwin. Klaus didn't get to do that with any other ghosts aside from Ben, and most were not this… genial to him. Before Ben, he used to think that Casper was the only friendly ghost, who also happened to be a fictional character so that alone must have been a sign.

An old ghost like Edwin Jarvis has a lot of knowledge regarding his kind. Albeit spending several late hours, the talk with Edwin last night had been more informative than any of the training Reggie subjected Klaus into. And Edwin was nothing but a patient man—Klaus supposed he had to be if he managed to deal with a teenage Tony—and a natural lecturer. He was also a good listener, which was a plus when Klaus was struck with the urge to open up with his experiences with ghosts, with the exemption of his trips to the mausoleum and Ben's former state.

Edwin told him about his years existing as a spirit and what he noticed regarding ghosts. Vengeful spirits tended to linger until their deaths were righted, usually with people who died bearing deep-seated grudges and terrible regrets. The same kind was not as 'whole' in appearance as to how he appeared to Klaus, and Edwin told him that it was also how he saw them. These were particularly what haunted Tony, Edwin said, back when his company was secretly dealing arms to terrorists without Tony's knowledge, and when the person behind it died, the hateful ghosts followed that man and took him down. Whether figuratively or literally, Edwin didn't say. He told Klaus that existing on the other side for too long had given him the capability to send minor spirits away so that they couldn't wish Tony harm. While Edwin, his wife, Ana, and Tony's mom, Maria, were nowhere akin to angels, with wings and all that, they were basically Tony's guardians, and the thought that ghosts could be those sent Klaus's mind reeling.

"When you have a late person who already accepted death but remained wanting to protect you, they became that kind, I think," Edwin had said, wistful. "Because that is what keeps the three of us here. We know that we can always move on, but we don't want to. Not yet, anyway."

Klaus had thought that it would explain Ben. Ben had been his guardian of sorts, but more of a companion since he never could chase away the other ghosts that used to badger Klaus. Did that mean that Ben had been unable to accept his death back then? It never came up before in their conversations, with Ben too busy to have Klaus see some sense during the short periods that he was half-sober before going back to taking substances again. And Klaus never asked. He never asked what Ben was feeling and thinking whenever he watched Klaus high as a kite.

"You'll find that it's not dissimilar with the living," Edwin told him. "There's always a room for communication if you're willing to listen, like what you're doing now."

When Klaus looked at the mirror that morning, absently listening to Edwin humming outside as he waited, he felt a profound sense of clarity when he recalled what Edwin said. It was the first time Klaus had this kind of understanding of a problem that had been a part of him for as long as he remembered.

"I forgot to tell you that there are two boxes waiting for you outside," Edwin said the moment Klaus exited the bathroom refreshed. "Master Tony left it out while you slept."

Klaus opened the largest one first that had an easel, paint brushes, and acrylic and watercolor paints. It wasn't a particular interest at the moment, but painting could be a therapeutic distraction. He could blend colors nicely if he must say so himself.

The other nondescript box contained a swanky Ouija Board that was a hard-hitting reminiscent of Reginald's severity to him. And, really, that was all it took for Klaus to chortle, because never once did Reggie made him successfully use the fucking board.

"Hey, Ed, want to watch me play with this bad boy tonight?"

Tony

It did prove quite a challenge on what to find for them.

He got a Stradivarius for Vanya, check; an Ouija board for Klaus and a set of painting tools, done; and a set of twenty high carbon, low chromium stainless steel knives for Diego that Tony finished personally. As for Luther, Tony was given a suggestion by Pepper to get a record player. Old-fashioned for Tony's taste—for a couple of millennials, Luther and Five have the inclination for the archaic—hence an Audio Technica AT-LP120 it was; not without Tony's customization, of course. There was a prototype that he was working on with Bruce as a side project which could detect brain activity particularly on the part in-charge of emotions. It was basically a record player that could suggest specific titles to play depending on the mood of the user. Tony decided to incorporate it next time on the radio.

Allison struck Tony as somebody who would be interested in cameras, so he got one for her, top of the shelf kind of brand with a few tweaks made by him. It had a thermal function and was capable of UV photography once he was done; now that was an idea for the next SI product.

Tony decided to get Ben an external hard drive that contained movies since he liked Shyamalan so much that it was worrying. Tony feared for Ben's acquired taste in the future; therefore, introducing him to other films was the next logical step. An HDD was too simple to Tony's liking so he ended up giving Ben a laptop, only it was small that could fit in his pocket and use it anytime and anywhere he wanted. Another idea for SI, as it turned out.

Five was the trickiest to gauge as to what he would like. Tony could give him dozens of coffee makers—hell, maybe an espresso machine and other equipment that were enough for Five to start a coffee shop. How about a chessboard since it seemed that it would appeal to the old man in him? But no, not quite satisfactory to Tony. No, no, no. Five was a peculiar kid, hence he would be getting a peculiar thing from Tony.

The peculiar thing from Tony came in gray fur and yellow eyes.

"What's this?"

"You don't have a cat back there?"

"I know what a cat is. I'm asking why you're giving it to me."

"This is an American Shorthair," Tony informed him, depositing the cat on Five's lap. The cat curled itself immediately, much to Five's chagrin. "Internet says they're good companions to seniors. Look, she likes you already."

For all of Five's protest and lack of consensus with the animal, he didn't make a move to push the feline away. He was scowling at Tony, though, meaning it was ingenious. Tony counted it as a victory.

"If you need help with names, hit me up. Don't trust Jarvis to generate an interesting one. I'm fond of the name Tutti Frutti myself."

By afternoon, Tony was back to his workshop, seemingly satisfied and entertained with the earlier events (and Five's reaction). At the refuge of his workshop, it occurred to Tony that he was a week behind the scheduled timeline of his creation of the Iron Legion. He might need a better term later, but for now, it would do. Iron Legion sounded straightforward for its purpose: the protection and guarding of civilians in populated areas during the Avengers' perilous battles. S.H.I.E.L.D. had been shortsighted with this issue, thus Tony would be remedying that with these remote-controlled Iron Man armors that served to function only as how Tony would program them.

Tony was well-aware that he has the perfect kind of response team in the making, but no way in hell he would put the kids in a precarious position. And he had been right when he told Five that child labor was a huge deal that also included superpowered minors. Not that Tony would knowingly place them at risk if that law didn't exist. Tony was a jerk, but certainly not that much of a prick.

"Sir, if I may?"

"What is it?" Tony said absently.

"You might want to watch the surveillance video of May 14, from 11:00 PM to 2:30 AM."

Last night? Tony set aside his soldering iron and flicked a screen. It appeared to be that unused floor with the broom closet. Seconds later, Klaus was shown on the video as if he rushed out of bed, carrying his blanket with him as a makeshift jacket.

Tony zoomed the recorded video and turned on the audio. Klaus was speaking to someone that wasn't there. If Tony wasn't told of Klaus's ability, he would have thought the boy nuts.

But a ghost inside his tower? Please.

"Any way we can confirm who or what he was talking to?" Tony asked, not at all bothered with the concept of ghosts in general (to see is to believe, he would say), though the fact that there was one lurking at the tower was unacceptable. "Or better yet, remind me to make the tower ghost-proof, will you."

As to how that could happen, well, that was the challenge to Tony.

"There's another thing that might get your attention, sir. Master Klaus occasionally mentioned a name, and I mistook him calling for me." Jarvis paused. "He was addressing someone else."

"Someone else who's also called Jarvis, huh?"

"Yes, sir. The name Edwin had been mentioned for a total of five times."

"So I'm haunted by your namesake," Tony said. "Go figure."

There was no reason for Klaus to fake that bit, but Tony couldn't seem to properly wrap his mind around at the thought that Klaus was communicating with Jarvis, the late Edwin Jarvis. Tony wasn't sure what to make with the mixed bag of feelings that welled up in him.

He needed to talk to Klaus.

A little past dinner, there was a distant rumble of thunder from the clear evening skies. Some would say there was an oncoming storm, though to some who knew better it was the known signal of the arrival of Odin's firstborn, the Asgardian crown prince who has Earth under his protection, the alien who acquainted and allied with Earth's defenders, and was a core member of the Avengers.

Nobody could be blamed if they were fond of what followed the thunder.

TBC