A/N: Finally, an update. I've been working a lot, and then I got my wisdom teeth out... I look like a chipmunk still. Anywho, here's the next chapter.

Clint woke up the next morning, his wife still sleeping by his side, and took a few minutes just to enjoy the quiet. No explosions, no bad guys, no world ending catastrophe... he stroked his fingers through Natasha's hair lazily.

She stirred, and shifted closer to him with a sigh. "Morning," she murmured. "What time's'it?"

"Dunno." Clint looked. "Nine thirty," he said. He yawned. "J, are we the last ones up?"

There was no reply.

"Vision," Natasha reminded him.

"Oh yeah." Clint stared at the ceiling. "Who's gonna be the AI now? Tony's got other ones, right?"

"Mm-hm." She nudged his shoulder. "Where's Allie?"

"I dunno. JAR- agh. This is gonna be a hard habit to kick," he grumbled, rolling out of bed and pulling his slippers on.

Natasha snickered at him and rolled out of bed as well. "I call shower," she said, slipping into the shower before he could.

"Ninja," he muttered rebelliously, and knew she'd heard him when she laughed. He grinned, and put on a hoodie before going up to the common room.

As he exited the elevator, he heard the sounds of Dance Battle coming from the living room.

He grinned, and hurried up, and then stopped to lean against the couch and laugh.

Allie was on one side, against Pietro, and she was shimmying and dancing like an expert while the speedster was fumbling hopelessly, his character flopping all over the screen. Wanda was on the couch, laughing herself into tears, and Vision was standing off to the side, watching the spectacle with befuddlement.

Allie's character won, to roaring applause from the game, and she gave Pietro a high-five. "You's a terrible dancer," she said cheerfully.

"I know," he said, with a dramatic sigh. "Is curse from childhood."

Vision caught sight of Clint and nodded politely. "Good morning."

"Morning everybody." Clint scooped Allie up from the floor. "Good morning, peanut."

"Morning daddy." She kissed his cheek. "Sleep good?"

"Yep. You?"

"Yep." She beamed at him. "I'm teaching 'em how to play Dance."

"Who's winning?" Clint asked.

"Wanda," they all chorused.

He laughed. "Where's everybody else?"

Allie tried to flatten down his hair as she replied. "Steve and Buck are trainin', and Tony and Bruce are sleepin' finally, and Thor's on de phone with Jane, and Loki's reading the Hobbit, and Pep's havin' coffee."

"She's back?" Clint asked.

"Yup." Allie beamed. "And we made pancakes!"

"Who made the pancakes?" Clint asked, slightly worried.

"Wanda," Allie said, and added in a whisper, "she flipped 'em with her powers. It was awesome."

Clint smiled. "Sounds fun. Are there any left over?"

Allie nodded. "We made like, a hundred and fifty-seven, so there's enough."

"A hundred and fifty-seven?" Clint asked, raising an eyebrow at the highly specific number.

"Uh-huh." She wriggled down from his hold. "Vision, your turn!" she declared.

Vision suddenly looked like a deer in the headlights. "I..." he started.

She tugged at his hand insistently. "You's only a day old, you gotta try new stuff," she said persuasively. "It's fun, pwomise."

He allowed himself to be dragged over to the TV, and picked a character.

"Punk rocker," Allie said, nodding wisely. "Good choice." She started the level.

That was how Steve and Bucky found them, a minute later. Allie and Vision having a dance off, the Maximoffs and the Bartons sprawled on the couches, laughing as Vision tried to moonwalk and Allie was throwing her hands up in the air as the grand finale.

"Double hundred percent!" she cheered, giving Vision a high five. "You're de best-est!"

Steve and Bucky joined in the clapping. "I smell pancakes," Bucky said, before Vision could get too embarrassed.

"Oh yeah, I'm hungry 'gain," Allie said, grabbing Clint's hand and pulling him off the couch.

He went dead weight. "Oh no," he gasped, "the gravity is too much, I can't move..."

She tugged at him. "Daaaaaaaaaaddddyyyyyyy," she complained, digging her heels into the floor and pulling at him ineffectually. "Steeeeebbbb, help meee," she begged, still tugging at Clint's arm.

Steve grinned. "Do what Loki showed you, baby."

"Oh yeah." Allie huffed, and then suddenly she was a small pony. She delicately nipped Clint's hoodie in her teeth, and dragged him bodily off the sofa.

"Hey!" Clint protested, jumping off the ground. "When did you learn that?"

Allie shifted back into her human form and said, "The day before yesterday, but I forgot 'bout it."

"Why a pony?" Wanda asked.

Allie clasped her hands in front of her and recited in a sing-song tone, "Because people will not expect me to increase in mass and will take longer to compensate, giving me time to get away." She giggled. "And cuz they're so cute!"

Bucky scooped her up in his metal arm. "You're so cute," he parroted, tickling her gently, and toted her into the kitchen.

Pepper smiled as the flood of people entered the kitchen for second breakfast. "Dancing give you an appetite?" she asked.

"Yes!" Pietro said, zooming to get a plate.

Bucky grabbed him by the back of the shirt and tugged him back. "Nuh-uh, punk, you already ate once. Back of the line."

Pietro sighed dramatically. "You guys are so slooow," he complained, as everyone else got their pancakes.

Clint deliberately went into slow-mo to stack his pancakes. "I don't, know, what, you're, talking, about," he said slowly, and reached leisurely for the syrup.

"Uugghhh," Pietro said despairingly, hamming it up to make Allie laugh.

Bruce shuffled in when they were halfway done eating. "Morning," he said, yawning.

"Morning!" came the cheerful chorus.

Thor and Loki were drawn by the sound of camaraderie a few minutes later, and the piles of pancakes began to dwindle alarmingly.

"How was Jane?" Natasha asked.

"Excellent," he said. "She is going to win a Nobel Prize."

"Wow. That's incredible."

"She deserves it," Thor said simply.

Tony dragged himself into the kitchen as everyone was finishing up, and made a beeline for the coffee.

"Morning, Tony," Steve said, amused.

"Mnggh." Tony stared at the empty coffeepot in dismay. "?" was the literal sound that came out of his mouth.

Allie giggled. "Uh-oh."

Tony just stared at the coffeepot, willing it to refill with the power of his mind.

They all just watched him and giggled, waiting to see if he moved. He didn't.

"All right, come on," Steve said reprovingly, as no one moved to help him. He stood up and refilled the grounds, setting it to fast brew. "You know he'll stay there all day staring at it."

Pepper gave him a gracious smile. "This is why he loves you best," she told him.

Steve grinned.

Tony breathed in deep as the coffee began to drip into the pot, and they could almost see the neurons sparking to life.

Vision frowned. "That level of dependency on caffeine cannot be healthy," he said.

"Nobody said it was," Clint said, swigging down his third cup. "Have you tried it yet?"

Allie giggled. "He didn' like it."

"It's an acquired taste," Bruce told Vision kindly. "I don't care for the stuff, either."

"It's cuz he's British," Steve decided jokingly. "Tea's more your cup of tea, I bet."

Everyone groaned, and Bucky punched him in the arm. "That was the worst joke I've heard in ninety years," he said. "I think you just gave me a grey hair."

Steve grinned unrepentantly.

"You're in a really good mood," Natasha said, eyeing him oddly.

Steve gestured around the room. "Well yeah. Everyone's here, safe, stuffing their faces, this is the best day ev-"

The Assemble alarm went off.

"Good feeling gone," Steve sighed. "J, what's the situation?"

There was an awkward pause, and they all not-looked at Vision. He shrugged awkwardly.

A screen came up. It was Phil Coulson. "We need you in Sokovia," he said, without preamble. "Baron Von Strucker's men that escaped are causing havoc. They're holding the entire capital hostage. We need you there ASAP."

They all shot to their feet, even the twins and Vision. "Wheels up in 10," Steve ordered.

"We have to come with you," Pietro said.

"That's not a good idea," Steve started.

"Please, Steve," Wanda said quietly. "It's our home."

He sighed. "All right. But the two of you stay back and follow my orders, understand? There will be no hot-heads."

They both nodded.

"Come on," Natasha said, ushering them along. "Time to suit up."

Clint picked Allie up and kissed her. "Be good for Pepper, kay baby?"

"Kay daddy." She kissed his cheek. "Stay safe."

He set her down, and was gone.

Tony was the last to leave. "Bye, sweetheart," he said, ruffling Allie's hair. "Don't let Pepper work too hard."

"Mkay." Allie went to Pepper's side and gratefully accepted the hug. "They'll be back soon, right?"

"I hope so."

Pepper took Allie up to the penthouse and started a pot of tea.

"Can we watch Frozen?" Allie asked, already snuggled into the big sofa.

"Sure we can." Pepper sat next to her and turned on her tablet.

They were just putting honey in their tea cups when the lights in the Tower flickered. Both of them froze. "JARVIS?" Pepper asked, and then shook her head. "Right. No JARVIS." She brought up the Tower security on her tablet, but before she could read anything all the lights went out.

"Pep?" Allie whispered, grabbing her hand.

Pepper kept calm. "Allie, I need you to turn into something inanimate. And don't turn back until I tell you it's safe, all right?"

"Okay."

There were clanging noises from the elevator. Pepper reached under the counter and found a gun. She drew it out. "Allie, go," she ordered.

Allie turned into a dull silver spoon.

A moment later the elevator doors burst open and HYDRA agents began pouring out.

Pepper took down two of them before diving behind the counter. She managed to graze another one before she was overpowered and knocked out. They tied her up and swept the penthouse. "No child," one of them reported. "Exiting the Tower."

They left before SI's security composed of ex-SHIELD agents could get out of the trap they'd been put into.

Allie stayed as a spoon until she was sure they were gone. She transformed back into a girl and looked for Pepper. The penthouse was empty. "JARVIS?" Allie whispered and then face-palmed. No JARVIS.

She went to the nearest computer screen and pulled up the Tower security. The place was clear but all the blue dots - security - were in the bottom floors of the Tower. She zoomed in. The doors were all flashing red - broken.

Allie picked up her Bucky Bear, put her shoes on, and got in the elevator. She made it go double-fast with the special code she wasn't supposed to know, and got down to the third floor. She walked over to the locked door and shapeshifted herself a foot taller to look in the window. "Maria!" she called, tapping on the door.

Maria Hill rushed over to the window and said, "Allie! Thank goodness. Where's Pepper?"

"They took her." Allie yanked on the door. "It's stuck."

"There's an override," Maria said. "Can you go to the first floor and get Happy?"

"Okay." She got down to the first floor and found Happy unconscious on the floor with everyone else, and patted his face. "Happy? Happy wake up."

He didn't wake up.

She shoved at him forcefully.

No go.

She ruffled through his pockets and found the security cards. She took them back to the third floor. "Everyone's passed out but I gots the cards," she announced.

"Good girl. Go to the panel and put in the card and then type in the code 41596322741, okay?"

"Kay." Allie went to the panel. "41596322741," she repeated slowly. "Do I say yes?" she hollered back towards the door.

"Yes!"

Allie clicked Yes, and the lights in the Tower flickered on again. Then all the doors in the level opened, and agents began pouring out to secure the Tower, looking mad enough to spit fire.

Maria grabbed Allie and hoisted her onto her hip. "Stay with me, okay?"

"Okay." Allie watched in admiration as Maria barked orders, got sit reps, and contacted Coulson all before they got to the Avengers control room.

"Jane and Darcy have been abducted as well," Coulson said. "The Avengers are still in the air on the way to Sokovia."

"Have they been told?"

"Not yet. They're gonna want to split and we need them all in Sokovia."

"That's mean," Allie said, pouting. "They need to know."

Coulson gave her a small smile. "All right."

Maria nodded stiffly. "I'll inform the team. They'll need visual confirmation that Allie is safe."

"All right. We'll follow the leads on our side." He closed the channel.

Maria vid-commed the jet.

Steve answered. "What's wrong?" he demanded, seeing Allie on Maria's lap.

"HYDRA abducted Pepper, Jane, and Darcy simultaneously," Maria announced.

"What!" Tony yelled, from the other side of the jet.

"Where's Allie?" Natasha yelled from the pilot's seat.

"Here mommy!" Allie said. "I turned into a spoon until they went away."

There was a general sigh of relief. "Do you think they kidnapped them in retaliation for our kidnapping?" Steve asked, inclining his head towards the twins.

Maria nodded grimly. "Probably."

"They don't know we defected," Wanda realized. "They want their assets back."

Tony looked angry. "So they stole ours?"

"We'll deal with it when we get to Sokovia," Steve decided. "That's probably where they'll take them."

Clint poked his head on-screen. "Allie-bear, stay with Maria, okay?"

"Okay." She blew a kiss to the whole team. "Stay safe!"

Maria turned off the comm and looked at the little girl on her lap. "So, what do you do all day?"

"I dunno."

"School?"

"It's Sunday."

"Oh. Are you hungry?"

"Nope." Allie leaned against her. "I just need a book and a tablet. I'll keep busy."

Maria could appreciate a self-driven individual. "All right."

So Maria did her job, and Allie sat on a blanket on the floor with her toys and read Boxcar Children and listened to Disney songs. She didn't complain and she didn't bother Maria, and she didn't ask for anything.

At around two o'clock Maria looked over. Allie was laying on the floor, drawing on a piece of paper. "Hungry?" Maria asked.

Allie nodded fervently.

They had chicken stir fry from the cafeteria, and Allie ate all her vegetables. She didn't ask for any dessert, just looked longingly at the line of puddings and jells.

Maria raised an eyebrow. "Do you want one?"

A nod.

"What kind?"

"Butterscotch please."

She got one for Allie, one for herself, and they went back to work. Allie finished her dessert, and then turned into a kitten, curled up next to the computer core where it was warm, and took a nap.

She woke up twenty minutes later crying. "Is Darcy and Jane and Pepp gonna be okay?" she whimpered, throwing herself into Maria's arms.

"Uh..." Maria patted her back awkwardly. "Everyone's going to be fine."

Allie buried her face into Maria's shoulder. "I don't b'leaf you," she sobbed into Maria's shirt.

"Why not?"

"You're not good at cuddles," came the plaintive response, as tiny fists curled into Maria's blazer.

Maria resisted a sigh. She should've taken up Clint's offer to bond with Allie months ago, before a crisis. She regarded the small, disconsolate child in her lap, and felt something in her demeanor crack. She put her arms around Allie and hugged her tightly, smoothing her hand over Allie's soft hair. "Everything's going to be fine," she repeated, trying to modulate her tone to something soft and soothing. She ran her fingers through Allie's hair, gently working out the tangles. "Everything's going to be fine," she said again, rocking her gently. "Shh, sweetheart, it's gonna be okay."

Allie's sobs lessened, and then petered out, and she lay there, limp and exhausted from crying as Maria petted her hair. "Never mind," she murmured, hugging Maria's neck, "you're good at cuddles."

Maria stifled a smile. "Thank you." She stood up, lifting Allie with her, and walked over to the blankets. She burrito-wrapped her, like Clint had shown her one time, and sat back down at her desk with Allie in her lap. "You finish your nap, sweetheart, everything's gonna be okay."

"Mkay." Allie fell asleep again after a few minutes.

Maria found she didn't quite mind working around the sleeping little girl.

A/N 2: Don't worry, next chapter will bring action and adventure and lots of fluffs :)