A/N: Hi! I finally got this out! This chapter seriously, was like pulling teeth. Blindfolded. While riding a horse. Or something like that :) Spoilers for Age of Ultron :)

"He looks nasty."

"He is." Natasha zoomed into the face. "Baron Von Strucker, one of the top heads of HYDRA right now. We think he's using the scepter for human experimentation, trying to get their mutations to manifest."

"Not cool," Allie piped up from the corner, where she was playing with her spaceships.

"Not cool at all," Loki agreed. "The scepter is too powerful to use on humans, mutants or not."

"But the Tesseract's gone, it can't be that powerful," Steve said. "Can it?"

Loki shook his head. "The scepter is not part of the Tesseract. The scepter contains another Infinity Stone. The Mindstone. There is no..." he shook his head again warily. "It should not be in the hands of any mortal. It is too powerful."

"We knew that already, thanks," Tony said, but there was no heat behind his words. He looked at Steve. "What's our plan of attack, Cap?"

Steve looked at the layout for the fortress in the mountains, and grinned. "Why don't we try the front door?" he asked.

"The front door?" Tony repeated, and grinned. "I like that plan."

"I thought you would."

"I would like to go with you," Loki said quietly.

They all turned to look at him. "Uh, no," Tony said. "Moving on."

Loki huffed. "If the Baron was using the Mindstone for experimentation on humans whatever he created will be more than capable of twisting your puny minds. Nobody wants that to happen again, so it's logical if I go with you to even the odds, as you people say."

"You're mortal too, remember," Natasha said.

"But I know how it works."

Steve sighed. "He's got a point."

Clint scowled. "If he touches it though, can I shoot him?"

Steve sighed again. "Sure."

Everyone looked satisfied with the arrangement.

Allie was not.

"Why do you all have to go?" she asked, clinging to Steve's neck like a very determined limpet.

He hugged her. "It's our job, sweetie. We've gotta make sure that he's not gonna hurt anyone else."

She pouted into his shoulder. "Fine," she said. "But you all come back safe, kay Steeb?"

He kissed her cheek. "As safe as we possibly can," he promised.

Allie repeated the hugs and kisses for everybody on the team, including Loki. "Don't do nuffin stupid," she advised him.

"I will try not to," Loki promised.

"Good."

A~A~A~A

"That was SO stupid!" Tony yelled at a slightly bruised Loki, after the battle. "You don't just throw yourself at enhanced strangers like that!"

Loki pressed an icepack to his black eye and scowled. "If I hadn't subdued the little witch she would have blasted you at point-blank range with her mental powers, genius. Imagine what that would have done. You didn't even see her, Stark. You were too focused on the Leviathan remains."

Tony huffed. "Whatever." He stomped away in his suit muttering, "Of all the stupid... you'd think he'd know better..."

Clint chuckled from the other side of the quinjet.

"Aren't you supposed to be bleeding?" Loki asked crossly.

"Oh, trust me, I'm an excellent multi-tasker," Clint replied, pressing a hand to his side. "But the bleeding's slowed down. I just need to get stitched up."

"Uh-huh."

Steve, who was watching over the two unconscious enhanced, ignored the byplay in favor of staring at the twins. They were so incredibly young, and were a reminder of him and Bucky, just the two of them against the rest of the world.

"Cap?"

He looked up at Sam.

"We're ready to go. SHIELD and the UN are here."

"All right." Steve took a quick headcount and nodded. "Let's go home."

Bucky took the controls and they were off.

Natasha held Clint's hand the whole way home.

A~A~A~A

The quinjet touched down on the landing pad and they all filed off. Allie was waiting anxiously with Maria, and bolted over to Clint with a tiny gasp.

"Hey, pumpkin, I'm okay," he said, before she could say anything. "Stay with Bruce, okay? He needs some cuddles."

"Okay daddy," Allie whispered, watching him and Natasha go into the Med lab where nice Dr. Cho was waiting.

Bucky scooped her up. "He'll be fine, sweet pea, I promise." He kissed her head and passed her to an exhausted-looking Bruce.

Thor passed them, holding the scepter like it was a giant live scorpion.

Allie wrapped her arms around Bruce's neck and ignored the rest of the hustle and bustle. "Snack?" she asked.

"Yeah. Sounds good." He carried her away to the common floor kitchen, his internal rage and guilt already calming due to unconditional child-love. "So, what did you do today?" he asked.

She chatted to him about school and Xbox and her robodog as they made sandwiches and ate. She had half a sandwich, Bruce had four. She refilled his electrolyte drink three times and watched him expectantly until he drank it all. And then she turned into a puppy and cuddled with him until he fell asleep.

"JARBIS, where's mommy?"

"Agent Romanoff is in the Med ward with your father." JARVIS added, seeing her pout, "Mr. Stark is headed there now if you would like to join him."

"Yes please." She ran for the elevator and hopped in, nearly bowling over the billionaire.

"Whoa, Speedy Gonzalez, where are we going?" he asked, amused.

"With you."

"Oh. Cool." He noticed the apprehension in her face and asked, "Would you mind holding my hand, sweetheart? I'm still kinda shaky from the fight."

She clutched his hand in a death grip and leaned into his side silently.

They walked hand-in-hand to the Med ward where Clint was laying on his side, under the regen cradle light. Natasha was helping him drink a smoothie.

"This belong to you?" Tony asked, instead of the joke on the tip of his tongue. Better to play it safe where Allie was around.

"C'mere, malyshka," Natasha murmured, leaving Clint to his own devices with the smoothie and holding her daughter close.

"You okay, mommy?" Allie asked, her little face squished into Natasha's shoulder.

"I'm okay, baby."

Allie curled into her lap and reached out to hold Clint's hand. "Daddy? Does it hurt?"

"Nope. Look, it's already almost done."

She inspected the site. "Doesn't even look like anything," she said, frowning adorably.

Dr. Cho smiled and explained how it worked.

"Whoa," Allie said, suitably impressed. "Daddy gon' be made of plastic?"

"Nope. It's his own cells."

"Cool." Allie sat with her parents while the regen cradle finished its work, and then went to find Loki.

"Hello Allie," he said, looking up from his bowl of pasta.

She sat across from him and swung her feet. "So," she said, dragging the word out, "how'd it go?"

"Fine," Loki said.

"Tony said you did sometin' stupid."

"I saved his life," Loki replied, irritated.

She nodded sagely. "Then it was a good stupid."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What is the difference?"

She stole a piece of spaghetti from his bowl and slowly chewed it. "Bad stupid is, like, turning evil again, or, forgetting about de team. Good stupid is, like, Steeb thwowing his shield to cover Bucky, or daddy, or someone, and den gettin' hurt himself. So, you saved Tony, but got beat up. But it's a good stupid." She patted his hand. "You's good on missions." She stole another piece of spaghetti and dropped it into her mouth. "Mmkay. Time for homework." She turned into a bird and flew away.

Loki frowned thoughtfully after her.

A~A~A~A

Wanda and Pietro Romanoff were not happy campers. They'd been put in the Hulk-out room to recover, and Loki had put up a shield that he said would blunt any mental attack. Currently, they were sitting in the corner glaring daggers at Steve and Thor.

"Are you guys hungry?" Steve asked.

Glare.

"Thirsty?"

Glare.

"Injured?"

Glare.

Steve sighed. "How about a pizza? Yes? No? Last call."

Glare.

"Okay, cool, two pizzas coming up." He left.

Thor frowned at them. "We mean you no harm," he said.

Glare.

Thor sighed.

Steve came back with the pizza a few minutes later, and slid it through the portal. "Here you go. Hope you're not vegetarian. If you are though, we can find you something else."

Glare. There was no movement made towards the food.

The door from the hallway opened and Allie came trotting in as a chocolate lab puppy, trailing a fleece blankie in her mouth. She yipped and transformed into a girl, wrapping her arms around Steve's legs. "Steeb, Steeb-" she caught sight of the two strangers staring at her and paused. "Oh," she said softly, hiding behind her flower-patterned blankie. "Hi."

That got a smile out of the boy, the speedster. "Hello," he said.

She went up the glass and waved. "I'm Allie. Who are you?"

The boy gave the two adults a wary glance but answered anyway. "I'm Pietro, and this is my sister Wanda."

"Hello," Wanda said quietly.

Allie gave them both a smile. "You gonna eat the pizza before it gets cold?" she inquired. "Cold pizza's naaaaaastyyyyyyy, unless you're like, weally hungry." She looked at them expectantly.

Gingerly, Wanda opened the box with her telekinesis and raised a slice of pepperoni.

Allie's eyes got huge. "Whooaa," she breathed, pressing her nose to the glass. "That's awesome."

Wanda raised an eyebrow at her. "You are not frightened of us?"

"Nope."

"Even though we are in this cage?"

Allie frowned. "'S not a cage, Wanda. It's de time-out room. Dat's where Bwuce goes when he's feelin' Hulk-y and he's gotta remember to be calm again. And Bucky was there for a few days while he remembered Steeb and how to be himself again. And now you guys need to 'member something." She held up the fleece blankie. "You want to borrow my blankie? Something warm and fluffy helps, Bwuce says."

Wanda gave her a smile. "No thank you." Darting a glance at Steve she added, "We are not here to remember anything."

Allie blinked. "Well what're you here for, den?"

"Revenge," Wanda said simply.

Allie brightened up. "You gonna be part of the team?"

"Revenge, not avenge," Pietro corrected.

Allie's whole face scrunched up in confusion. "But dere's no bad guys here."

Wanda's eyes narrowed. "Stark."

"Tony?" Allie frowned. "He's not a bad guy."

"He killed our family," Pietro retorted sharply.

Allie's eyes got big. "No. He wouldn't."

Thor reached forward and ushered her away. "Allie, I think it is time to go play elsewhere."

Allie clung to the edge of his cape. "No," she protested, "how come dey think Tony's bad? He's not!"

"He is!" Wanda said, standing. The forcefield sparked with energy.

Everyone tensed.

"Tell us why you think so," Steve requested calmly.

The twins gave a heart-wrenching story of revolt in their country, and then, the bombings. The missile with Stark emblazoned on the side. Waiting, for the bomb to go off, or someone to rescue them. Living with riots and demonstrations, joining them when they were old enough. And finally, recruitment by HYDRA to become something... more.

"I'm sorry," Tony's voice said, startling everyone. He emerged from the doorway where he'd been hovering. "I am really sorry."

"Murderer!" Wanda hissed.

Allie hid behind Thor.

Tony approached the glass, shaking his head. "By that time, I was no longer producing weapons. I never sold any to rebels."

"Then how do you explain-"

"Obadiah Stane," Tony said soberly. "He was the head of the board. He was secretly selling weapons to arms dealers all over the world. It wasn't me. When I was kidnapped and got this-" he tapped the center of his chest, "I found out the truth. When I came back, I stopped weapons production because I knew, first-hand, what I had caused. And now I'm trying to make up for it." He faced them, his expression unexpectedly vulnerable. "I'm sorry for your loss. I get it, okay? I lost my parents because of HYDRA. But I'm not going to revenge myself on you. And I would appreciate it, if you don't try and kill me, and end up hurting the people I care about."

Both Maximoffs looked shaken, and retreated to the far corner to confer silently.

Allie went over to Tony and asked for a hug. He picked her up, and buried his face in her hair.

"We believe you," Wanda declared, and they both came to stand in front of the superheroes.

"That was fast," Steve said cautiously.

Wanda shrugged. "I read his mind. He is sincere, as are the rest of you."

Everyone's jaws dropped. "How did you-"

"It stopped my telekinesis, not my telepathy," Wanda replied, making the forcefield fizz again.

"Oh." Tony blinked a couple of times, and then turned to Thor. "Anyway, big guy. How long can we have the scepter for study?"

"Three days," Thor said. "Any longer and the Allfather himself will come to retrieve it."

"Got it." Tony put Allie on the ground and headed directly to the lab.

Steve opened the door to the Hulk-out room. "So, welcome to the Tower," he said. "The basic rules are, no fighting, no breaking things unless it's an accident or a lab explosion, and, no swearing with little ears in the room." He patted Allie on the head.

"I knows dem all," Allie informed him. "Tony bwoke his prototype and had to put like a hundred million dollars in de jar and mommy smacked him. But I forgot most of 'em already I think."

Wanda stifled a disbelieving giggle, and Pietro grinned. Thor rolled his eyes.

Steve forced himself not to smile. "Well, we're not gonna use 'em anyways."

Allie took each of the twins' hands and tugged them along. "C'mon, JARBIS'll give you rooms, and I'll show you how to pick your decorations, and, oh, you have to see the kitchen, and my toys, and the TV, and, the shopping app cuz you need pajamas and stuff, and..." her voice faded as they went around the corner.

Steve and Thor shared a glance. "It cannot be that easy, can it?" Thor asked.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Steve told him, sighing. "C'mon, we better go babysit."

Thor paused. "One of us should stay with the scientists. In case of explosions."

The two blonds shared a significant glance, and parted ways.

A~A~A~A

A/N: Next part will be arriving eventually.

While waiting for the next chapter, I offer my two new stories as a pastime. There's another Avengers story featuring a de-aged Cap, and a Doctor Who / Star Trek crossover, for any Whovian Trekkies out there. Thanks for reading! :)