My two cents:

At first, I was totally Team Cap...but then I shifted and became TeamIronman...and then I gave up taking sides. They were manipulated and tricked. And they are both wrong. I'm hoping to explore that a little once the teens simmer down a little. Sheesh, kids!

~New York~

Cut up onions, mushrooms, peppers and ham framed the counter as Pepper prepared ingredients for Tony's infamous omelets. It was one of their favourites, something light as they prepared for something heavier after. Pepper uncorked the wine and took a whiff of its aroma before pouring it into a glass. Swirling it around in the glass, she stared at the clock, wondering why Tony hadn't been waiting for her.

Her mouth dropped open in bewilderment when she saw the Ironman suit land on the landing pad off the base of the penthouse. The glass in her hand nearly tipped in her hand as she watched the doors swing open with Tony, his suit stripped from him as he walked, struggling to hold Spiderman in his grasp. He didn't stop until he'd carried the flailing boy to the sofa and tossed him down none too gently. His face set firmly in a scowl until he spied Pepper looking at him in alarm.

"Uh, hi, Pepper. I..uh..have a little-unintended business to attend to, but it shouldn't take but a minute or two. Smells good in here." When Tony looked towards the kitchen noticing the ingredients cut up in preparation for their dinner, he grinned. "Did you forget the bacon?"

Pepper stood still in astonishment, her mouth gaping open as Tony walked over and pulled Spiderman's mask from his face. Pepper looked from Tony to Peter and from Peter to Tony.

"You remember Peter Parker, don't you Pepper? The kid from Queens who I took on as my would-be intern? Pete, here, has been working with me for several months now. Good kid for the most part. Smart too. A little stubborn and a little cocky but nothing I can't fix, right Pete?"

Peter stood up, sputtering and gasping for breath. "What the hell? Mr. Stark, why did-did you do that? Shit!" shouted Peter, stepping forward in his anger and shoving the man in front of him.

Tony stood his ground. "You sure you want to get into a pissing match with me, Underoos? I can tell you right now, you won't win." Tony's voice held a clear warning to it making Peter take a step back. His face flushed when he saw Pepper Potts staring at him. She was dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and short shorts, her feet were bare and her face held an expression of complete bafflement.

"Tony," said Pepper, finding her voice. "What's going on?"

Tony walked across the room and grabbed a glass, pouring himself a drink. He took a long drink and then proceeded to pour the rest down the sink. He put both hands on the counter, staring at his hands for a few moments before spinning around and looking at Pepper.

"It's a long story which I plan to explain to you tonight. Unfortunately, the little spiderling here picked tonight of all nights to piss me off. If you'll excuse us for a few minutes, Pep, I will deal with him and be right back."

Pepper walked to the centre of the room feeling the tension radiating off both males in the room. The teenager seemed to be reeling in unbridled fury that rivalled Tony's perfectly.

"Hey, I'm Pepper," she said, looking at Peter kindly. She held out a friendly hand to him which he accepted timidly. She then turned to Tony with questions all over her face.

"What happened?"

"Peter has broken some rules I set out for him, Pep. Nothing major…"

"Why does he look so upset?"

Peter scowled. "Stark is a control freak."

"Pete," said Tony, his voice sounded edgy. The last thing Tony wanted to get into was a debate over the rules when things were as complicated as they were. It wasn't something he could explain to Pepper in a couple of minutes. Things were too damned convoluted.

"Damn it! You can't keep popping in and out of my life, Stark. You're either in or you're out."

Tony's face darkened. "What did you do to Jocasta?"

"Who's Jocasta?" asked Pepper, her eyes and face going back and forth like she was watching a tennis match.

"You dared me to hack her, so I did!"

Tony rolled his eyes. "You messed with her. I'll give ya that much. Damn, kid, you are a pain in the ass. Anyone ever tell you that?"

"You do! ALL. THE. DAMNED. TIME." Peter clenched his fists.

"Who's Jocasta," echoed Pepper stepping closer to Peter in an attempt to defuse the situation that seemed to be escalating in front of her.

Peter huffed a few times before sticking his arm in her face. Pepper flinched in spite of herself.

"This is Jocasta. Stark thought it was a bright idea to put a tracking device on me so he could stalk every damned move I make. Tell me that's not creepy."

Pepper blinked as she looked at the watch on Peter's wrist and then to his angry face. Then she looked at Tony with more questions on her face.

"It's for his own good, Pepper! It's a long story. I said I would tell you everything, and I will, but for now, I need to deal with this." Tony walked across the room and stood intimidatingly close to the teenage superhero. "Pete and I need to have a little tete a tete."

Pepper looked uncertain but nodded.

Peter crossed his arms defiantly. "Anything you need to say can be said in front of her."

Tony's lifted a brow, his temper simmering close to a boil. "You sure about that, Pete? Remember an earlier conversation we had about breaking rules? You sure you want Pepper to be privy to that?" Tony crossed his arms as well.

Peter's face paled.

Pepper frowned. "What's that mean, Tony? What are you talking about?"

Tony waved a dismissive hand. "Nothing, Pepper, right Pete?" Tony pointed towards the hallway. "I think my office will be a nice place to chat. What do you think, Spidey? You go ahead. It's the third door on your left. Might wanna find a corner to look at while you're there. You can look for spider webs for me."

Peter heaved a loud sigh, nodded and began walking slowly down the hallway.

Tony watched him walked like a man condemned to death and rolled his eyes. He ran a hand through his dark hair and felt his head begin to pound again. This wasn't the way he'd envisioned his evening with Pepper. He didn't even know where to begin explaining his relationship with Peter to her. He knew that Pepper was not going to agree with any of his choices. He just hoped that it wasn't going to add to their problems.

Pepper licked her lips and gave Tony a look of complete bafflement. "What's going on, Tony? Why did you bring that kid here? And why is he dressed like Spiderman?"

Tony rubbed his face and sat down wearily. "It's a long story, Pep. I wasn't kidding about that."

Pepper sat down across from him. "Okay, give me the reader's digest version then."

"I shouldn't leave him too long…"

"Did you just send him to your office to stand in the corner? Tony, since when did you take on disciplining a kid?"

Tony sighed. "Reader's Digest version? Ok… Germany. I needed some extra manpower to help convince Cap's Team. Peter is enhanced, and I accidentally discovered that he is his own hero. His aunt doesn't know and he doesn't want her to know, so I keep an eye on him. I keep him from hurting himself. I keep him responsible. I made rules and he agreed. He broke the rules, so now I hold him accountable for that."

Pepper tipped her head, perplexed and bewildered still. Tony's heart picked up a little. Damn if that look didn't turn him on. Pepper was adorable and she awakened parts of him that he so desperately wanted to appease.

"So, what now? What rules did he break?"

"He went off grid, he messed with the tracker, he gave me attitude and he just generally pissed me off."

Pepper crossed her long legs. "How old is he?"

"15."

"Tony," she scolded. "He's a baby. You shouldn't keep secrets from his aunt."

Tony held up a finger for a moment. "Think about that, Pep. Hey, Auntie, your nephew is a super-enhanced being…yah, he's Spiderman. He fights crime and makes the world a safer place. Yah, he misbehaves a little. Just ground him to his room. Oh? He won't listen to you? Why? Oh, because he is a damned super enhanced teenager with a chip on his shoulder?"

Pepper raised her hand like a white flag. "Okay, okay, I see your point. Geez, 15 years old? He's still a child…"

"I know. Hence, my problem and why he's standing in the corner in my office. He needs to be held accountable and called out on his shit. And I'm the one in the position to do it."

"So, what are you gonna do with him?" asked Pepper.

Tony stood up. "Well, I'm gonna start by talking to him."

Pepper stood up too. She reached out and grabbed Tony by the hand. "Do you want me to come back another time?"

Tony grabbed both of her hands. "Please don't leave, Pep. I didn't plan this. I still want us to talk."

Pepper smiled and cupped Tony's cheek with her hand. "Okay. I'll wait."

Tony leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on the lips. Her lips were so soft and enamouring that his knees went weak. Life was not even a little fair.

~Wakanda~

Steve took a deep breath and knocked on the door to Wanda's room. Clint leaned against the wall beside him and crossed his arms. When no answer greeted him, Steve knocked again.

"One knock, wait a moment for modesty sake and enter," muttered Clint, rolling his eyes at Steve's old-fashioned propriety.

"What?" asked Steve, looking at Clint in confusion. Clint shrugged.

Steve knocked again. "Wanda, may we come in?" Still, no answer came.

"Open the door," growled Clint loudly.

Steve frowned. "Clint, what if she isn't…?"

Clint rolled his eyes impatiently and reached for the handle. "Coming in, kid. Better be decent." With those words of warning, he threw the door open and entered the room.

Steve sighed, shaking his head and walked in behind him. Wanda was sitting on the bed with one arm in a sling. Her face was bandaged up in a few places and she wore a scowl on her face that made Clint groan. He'd seen the defiant look before; it was the kind of look that just begged for a battle of wills, but Clint wasn't in the mood. He wasn't about to climb into the boxing ring with her or any other kid for that matter. He'd been a parent for too long to buy into that crap.

"Knock the chip off your shoulder, Wanda. We're no mood for your histrionics."

Clint saw Steve toss him an irritated glare; Clint shook his head and sat down. He figured he'd watch the show awhile before he said anything else. He was okay with seeing the Captain crash and burn.

Steve approached the bed and his eyes widened when he saw the bruises and scrapes on the girls' face. He hated seeing her injured and so terribly lost. She was hurting so badly and pushing them away. He wanted to draw her into his arms and comfort her. He wanted to take away the pain in her eyes and show her that she was loved and cared for…and that she didn't need to keep running in fear of letting people in. She used to listen to him once upon a time but now she shut him out. She shut everyone out. He sat down beside her, reaching out to touch her arm.

"Are you okay?"

Wanda didn't look up at him but instead glared at Clint. She pulled away from Steve and brought her hands together, her fingers glowed with red energy threateningly. Clint raised a brow at Steve, annoyance written all over his face.

Steve placed his warm hand on hers. "You can't handle problems with threats, Wanda." He squeezed her hand lovingly, hoping she'd look at him and see the concern and love in his eyes.

"Who's threatening?" she hissed, pulling her hands away and lifting them higher. A beam of red light slithered around her fingers like a red glowing serpent.

Steve sighed. "Stop it," he warned her sternly, his voice still soft and gentle.

Clint chuckled to himself. "Yep, that'll scare her into submission, Cap."

Steve tossed a glare in Clint's direction. Steve didn't want to scare her. He didn't want to be some kind of domineering father figure. He wanted to be her friend.

Wanda continued to allow the serpent to build up energy around her fingers.

"Wanda, I said that's enough. Stop it!" Steve's voice became louder and firmer.

"He shot me!" she snapped.

"You're damned straight I did. And if you ever threaten or attempt to hurt one of us again, I'll do more than that, little girl! What were you thinking?" Clint closed his eyes and silently rebuked himself for not keeping his mouth shut and letting Cap burn first. He had zero tolerance for belligerence from anyone let alone a kid. He couldn't stomach it.

Wanda's eyes lit up and her face distorted. Her anger was building again and Steve clenched his jaw at it all. Being nice and calm wasn't working, and he felt like he was going to need to come down on her harshly and that was highly inappropriate no matter how he felt.

Steve leaned in closer getting right into her personal bubble. "Don't make me say it again!" This time his voice was unyielding. Wanda's eyes widened and the energy dispersed. Clint nodded his head in approval; he was impressed. The Cap had balls after all.

Steve remained in position staring at her severely as her face took on a more contrite expression.

"Now, how about you tell me what you were doing in that meadow today. What happened?"

Wanda drew her knees up under her chin. "Queen Ramonda will be back."

Steve softened. "That's okay. We can talk until she comes back."

"Shuri shouldn't have snitched."

"She didn't, Wanda. She was worried about you."

"I could handle it."

Clint chuckled and Steve shot him a look.

"What?" said Clint.

"Wanda, tell me what happened out there?"

She fidgeted a little but hid her face in her knees. "Sometimes, the energy is strong, and I have to release it."

Steve was quiet a moment. "You were hurting yourself. Was that on purpose?"

Wanda didn't answer.

"Sweetheart, when the energy gets that strong, who controls it? Do you control it? Or does it control you?" asked Steve. His voice sounded saccharine, even to himself. He was trying to maintain his patience. He had a lot of questions and only so much compassion. As much as he wanted to understand and sympathize with the girl, he didn't want to jeopardize their asylum. Bucky was still on ice while they worked on a cure to the brainwashing. T'Challa wouldn't go back on his promises but Steve didn't want to wear out their welcome either. Time was of the essence. Wanda needed to learn self-control while they were in Wakanda, so she would be ready for the important tasks once they left.

Wanda shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it."

Steve put a hand on the blanket where her foot rested. She pulled her foot away, wrapping her uninjured arm tighter around her legs. "You have to, Wanda. I need to know. You need to have control over yourself or be taught how. You cannot be out of control because that puts you and others in danger. Understand me?"

"Go away!" Wanda moaned into her knees.

Steve looked at Clint and shrugged his shoulders. Clint raised a brow as if asking Steve if he was finished yet. Many an unspoken word flew between them before Steve's shoulders dropped. It was a sign of concession. It was Clint's turn.

Clint rose to his feet and stood beside the bed, thoughtfully looking at the young girl hiding her face. He leaned over and snaked a finger under her chin, cupping it gently and bringing it up to his eye level.

"Yah, that's not gonna happen, little girl. We need to talk and that means you, me and the Captain here. So, you need to sit up, pay attention and start answering our questions or else things are going to go from bad to worse and you're gonna like me even less than you do now. Catch my drift?"

Steve heaved a loud sigh and Wanda's eyes grew large and unsure.

"Always the heavy, aren't you?"

Clint tipped his head and released Wanda's chin. "It gets the job done."

Steve stood up, walking across the room to the window. "Listen, Wanda. Remember in Nigeria when you caught the explosion?" He turned to look at her and Wanda's eyes filled with tears. "You couldn't control the energy then, could you? You gave it all you could but still lost control." Tears spilled over her cheeks. "Today in the meadow, sweetheart, you were not in control either. That energy was tearing you apart."

"I could handle it. I was handling…"

Steve shook his head. "No, honey, you weren't. That energy was tearing you to pieces and it you would have hurt me too if Clint hadn't have stopped you."

Wanda stood to her feet, her fists in the air. "Shut up! You don't know anything about me!"

Steve nodded calmly. "I know I don't, but you and I have been working on that, haven't we? We spend months and months tempering and harnessing that energy until you could master it."

Clint stuck his hands in his pockets as he listened. He's been back home with his family when Steve assembled and trained the new Avengers Team. Steve was one hell of a soldier. He knew how to train recruits. He was a tactical genius.

"Why are you allowing yourself to lose control now?"

Wanda brushed tears off her cheeks. "Because."

Steve frowned and took several steps closer to her. "Because?"

"I'm a freak, Steve and you know it! I was created to manipulate and destroy. There is no good in me." Tears fell down her cheeks as she spoke.

Steve shook his head. "Wanda, that's not true."

"It is true and you know it," she snapped, energy building around her once more.

Steve reached out and grasped her wrist. "NO! Don't even think of starting that again!" He shook her for emphasis. The energy quickly was zapped away.

"You and I are no different. I was created to be a super soldier and your powers were created by Hydra."

"And both of us did it by choice, only you did it for the greater good! I wanted revenge!"

Steve took her by the shoulders and lightly shook her, being mindful of her injuries. "You did want revenge, but that changed, didn't it?" He shook her again more forcefully. "Didn't it?"

Wanda looked up at him and pulled away. She took a few steps back and waved her fingers toward him. Before Steve could say another word he was thrown back into time. He found himself back when he and the Avengers had infiltrated the Hydra base and first discovered the Maximoff twins.

"Don't worry," Strucker was saying, "I know when I'm beat. You'll mention how I cooperated, I hope."

"I'll put it right under illegal human experimentation," he found himself saying but this time he was acutely aware of Wanda sneaking up behind him. "How many are there?" he heard himself say. This time when Wanda raised her hands to throw him, he grabbed her before she could succeed. Then he felt himself being jerked harshly back and he found himself back in the infirmary with Clint and Wanda.

He grabbed his head and moaned in pain.

"That's it, kid. You've just managed to hit my last nerve," snapped Clint, pulling the girl towards him and sitting down. Steve blinked a few times as his vision cleared and saw Clint pin the girl between his legs.

Tony has a lot to tell Pepper. Poor Pepper...she's been incommunicado for too long. She's in for quite a story.

Steve and Clint have their hands full with our resident teenage witch. I can't imagine trying to handle my hormonal daughter if she was an enhanced individual. So fun to write Steve and Clint...

So, what are your thoughts? How much should Tony tell Pepper? How should Clint and Steve handle things with Wanda?

Tony can't seem to keep ahead of Peter either. Parenting teens can be rough.