A/N: Hello faithful readers! I have a doozy of a chapter for you. The twins test their powers, the InHumans settle in, and Dr. Strange makes a surprise appearance. Well, a surprise to Sera.

Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, Disney, ABC, Fox or the Avengers. Just Sera.


When we arrived back to base, Steve and Bucky helped with guiding people to the Cocoon, while I introduced Coulson and Daisy to the Royals. Daisy did let the bomb drop that I was their leader here, and Medusa spoke up for Black Bolt, defending her husbands right to lead their people. Black Bolt signed to her that they are guests, and as such, they respect their hosts.

I explained that my role as leader is basically taking the fall for the actions of a few. So if one InHuman should mess up, it is my job to take the blame and ensure it doesn't happen again. Not to rule over them like a dictator.

Medusa relaxed after that, realizing that we were one people now. And I still had my duties as ambassador, where I would relay information to them, and they would inform our people. I did not want to leave them out of the process, because someone was bound to get butt hurt about it.

"Mom! You're back," Callie said as we all walked into the testing lab.

"We are," I said, hugging her, "And we have new guests on base. They will be in the Cocoon. You guys won't be moving there, but staying in your SHIELD rooms."

"Okay, are you guys ready?" I smiled, as Callie and Eli noticed the royal family behind me.

"Oh, guys, these are Black Bolt, Medusa and Crystal. The Royal family of Attilan." I said, gesturing to each InHuman.

"Hello, I'm Calliope. It's nice to meet you," Callie said, walking up and extending her hand towards Black Bolt.

He took it hesitantly, nodding once to her. She smiled in response, before signing, "I look forward to hearing more about your history."

He gave a small smile and signed, "I look forward to sharing our knowledge."

"Good girl," I thought. She was a proven people person, and would do well as an ambassador herself. I knew I wasn't always cut out for it.

"Hello, my name is Elijah," Eli signed and spoke, before extending his hand to Black Bolt. The king, smiled again, "It is good to meet you as well."

"I am Medusa," the Queen introduced herself, offering a hand to Callie. Callie smiled and shook it, "Welcome back to Earth. I hope you will enjoy your time on our base."

"I am sure we will," Crystal said, catching Elijah's eye. I saw him swallow visibly, before extending a hand to the Princess.

"Welcome," He said after he cleared his throat, and I had to hold back a snicker as I shared a look with Steve and Bucky.

"Eli, you're up first," I said, reminding all of us about why we were here. He looked back at me and nodded. He stood against the cement wall, and the rest of our group got behind the bulletproof screen. Bucky would be the one to actually shoot him, as he would catch any deflecting bullet fragments easily and heal faster than we would. Plus he could aim for a spot on Eli where it would be easy to heal him.

"Remember, we still have a bit of Wade's blood. Don't need to go in the Cradle," I said to Bucky and Eli. They nodded, before I braced for the gunfire. The shot rang out, and I opened my eyes. Eli was standing there looking at his arm that Bucky had shot. The crushed bullet was on the floor, as if it hit a substance it couldn't penetrate.

"Oh thank god," I sighed in relief.

"Wow, that was weird. Barely felt anything," Eli said, picking up the bullet.

"Okay, now how about the weight. Can you lift as much, or more than your fathers?" I teased, as Bucky and Steve led him over to a gym they had brought in for the testing.

"Callie, your turn honey," I smiled. She beamed, standing where Eli stood and concentrating.

"Picture it in your mind's eye, the place you want to go. The exact time as well," I said, seeing the royal InHuman's in my peripheral vision, confused as to my instruction. How I knew what her powers would be and how they worked.

"Wow," Callie said, pushing open a portal. It was small, but I encouraged her to expand it.

"Hi Grandpa!" She said, waving with her other hand to the portal.

"Aaah!" My Dad's voice was heard, making me laugh as I heard some tool clatter to the floor.

"Dad, it's gift day!" I yelled, walk through.

"Okay, that's gonna take some getting used to," Dad said, doing as I asked.

"Callie, remember to concentrate to close them too. Soon you'll be doing this with a wave of your hand," I said, as Dad walked up to hug me.

"Now, where is Eli?" He asked.

"Over there. First, Dad, this is Black Bolt, Medusa and Crystal of Attilan."

"Ah the moon people," He smirked, making me roll my eyes.

"Forgive my father, he was ignored a lot as a child. Acted out for attention."

"Uh, rude," He said, making a face at me.

"Is it not true?" I sassed. He rolled his eyes at me, "So has she brought you up to speed on our impending doom?"

"Dad!" I said, eyes flashing.

"Mom! I think I almost beat their records!" Eli's voice said, pulling us all away from our conversation.

"That's awesome sweetie. Wish we could name you Superman without having copyright lawyers all over our asses," I smirked.

"Impending doom?" Black Bolt signed to me.

"I wanted you to have a few months to settle in before we asked anything of you. It can wait. If you would like to know, I can give you a brief overview, tomorrow. It's a long, long story," I said, before launching into my short version of our plan. They seemed to be confused as to my intentions of their being here, so I assured them that they would not be forced to fight.

"Wow, you really didn't tell them," Dad said after the royals had gone back to settle in for the night and think about their futures.

"No, I thought I would let them settle in first before I mentioned it. Dad, you and me are going to have a very long talk later, and you won't like it. This is Steve post-thaw all over again," I said, pulling him away by the ear as he whined. Eli and Callie were testing their powers with Jemma monitoring their heart rate and brain activity like the mad scientist she was.

"Can I go home now? I don't like the abuse I am being subjected to," Dad said rubbing his ear.

"I need to talk to alt. Tony anyways. Callie?" I asked. She immediately began to open a portal to Stark Tower, saying, "I will open a portal for you to visit tomorrow Grandpa."

"Sounds good Callie girl, I'll bring Parker. He may need a training session. Since the merc left, he's been training with me, but I have an unfair advantage," He smirked.

Callie smiled, "That would be awesome. Eli would be a better opponent now."

"But I was- okay, it can wait," Eli said, glancing at the door that the Inhuman royals had left out of not five minutes earlier.

Steve and Bucky shared a knowing look while I mouthed, "Later," to my Dad.


The settling in period was about what was to be expected for the Royals. Everyone else was quick to take advantage of our integration opportunities. We all took turns helping the royal family figure out where they would fit. I still thought they were only cut out for an ambassadorial role between the UN and Inhumans. But after a few weeks, they got the hang of it, of our earth technology and Jemma was being careful not to upset the delicate peace between us, even though she wanted desperately to test a 'more pure' sample of InHuman DNA. I didn't take offense, but I was the closest thing on earth to their bloodlines, so who knew, we might even be related. I found ways to relax, that didn't involve sitting in front of a TV or a computer. But I had to sneak out t do some of them. Like today, I was working in the hangar, searching the tool chest for my wrenches.

"MACK! Where are my wrenches?" I yelled out the door.

"Middle drawer!" I heard yelled back at me.

"Nothing there," I said, looking right inside the drawer. There was only a piece of paper, so I pulled it out, seeing my Dad's handwriting.

"Thanks for letting me borrow them without asking. They look prettier than mine. Sorry not sorry," I said, crumpling the note up and waddling out of the closet. Only four more months to go and then I could reach my toes again.

"Where are they?" Mack said from his place inside.

"Dad 'borrowed' them. It's amazing. I finally get a nice set, with good grips and a well-organized drawer in the chest and he takes them. He's got more money then he knows what to do with and he takes mine," I huffed, looking at my car longingly. I was having flashbacks to the last time Mack and I worked in the garage and I was pregnant.

"Do you want to use mine?" He sassed, gesturing to his case.

"Nah, I got the gun. Sometimes I just like doing it by hand," I sighed dramatically, brandishing the torque gun and extended bit.

"Should you be working on that?" Mack teased.

"Don't you start. I had to lie and say I was helping Fitz in the lab with something. I am 27 years old and I've already had two children. I don't get to do anything fun anymore, so I am working on my goddamn car! But don't tell them that," I said, deflating a bit after my rant.

"Hey, if Cap asks directly, I'm not gonna lie. But only if its specific," He smiled, basically saying he would cover for me.

"A, turn it up again," I said, as the music went back to the usual volume. As I tapped my foot, carefully leaning into the engine, I heard a humming behind me.

"Huey Lewis and the News," A familiar voice said, as if pondering something, "Fore!, August 20th, 1986."

"But this was released as a single less than two months later, October 6th, 1986," I responded, "What's it been, two months?"

"Something like that," Stephen said, as I pulled my head out from under the hood and grabbed a rag to wipe my hands. He was dressed in the same blue robe tunic from Kamar-Taj, but with the added effect of the red cloak.

"So, Master of the Mystic Arts, Dr. Stephen Strange," I teased.

"Yes. But you knew the Ancient One would die," He said, a tad accusingly.

"She knew as well," I countered.

"Not even a heads up?"

"As the protector of the Time Stone, I would hope you knew the rules of changing events. Everything that has happened up until this moment was needed to set up the future. Did you know you were one of the intended targets of the Helicarrier over DC? But because they were stopped you lived to have your accident and become a Master of the Mystic Arts. See how that works?"

"I concede to your point. So Wong is guarding the Sanctum, and I think we need to talk," He said, leaning against the car, "About Thanos."

"Hands where I can see them buddy," Mack said from behind me, gun raised.

"Stand down Mack," I said, giving him a nod. He lowered his gun but Stephen still stood back to give Mack an unobstructed view.

"Dr. Stephen Strange," He introduced himself.

"Agent Alphonse Mackenzie, but everyone calls me Mack," He said, holstering his weapon and offering a hand to shake. Strange took it and said, "I can understand your hesitation about strangers suddenly appearing."

"Yeah. Had a bad experience with a guy who could teleport," Mack said.

"ARSENAL, call our team to the conference room. Call Dad and Peter too. We need a formal introduction for the last player on our team. And connect Xavier's to the conference room."

"Yes Ma'am. Shall I add Dr. Strange to our security database?" The AI asked, and I nodded, bringing her up on my watch, "Sounds good. Scan his hand and we can input biometrics later."

"Picked last? That's new," Strange smirked, as the holographic display scanned his hand from my watch interface.

"No, you just had some things to figure out before you were ready for the chaos that is our team," I said dramatically, before gesturing my head towards the door, "Follow me."

"Chaos is putting it mildly. It's like a circus on drugs around here sometimes." Mack chuckled, as I heard Joey approaching.

"I would say, "Not my circus, not my monkeys," but that would be lying. It's like I was handed a barrel of apes that set fire to things and told to make sure they contribute to society," I said as Joey's head found my hand, as he rubbed up beside me, licking my wrist in greeting. Suddenly, Strange's cloak reacted, like it was alive, reminding me of Abu from Aladdin and clinging to Strange's head like a lifeline.

"Oh come on, it's a dog," Strange said, muffled by the cape's multiple layers.

"That's different," Mack said, before Strange got the cloak to unravel itself. Joey barked at it, and I said, "Okay, let's just move and Joey will be distracted. Joey? Where's Daddy?"

"Which one?" Mack joked, as Joey barked once and ran off down the hallway. As we walked at a normal pace, I pointed out labs and such, being careful to not mention the Cradle or Helen, before we made it to the conference room. I motioned for Strange to take a seat, but instead, like the show off he is, chose to levitate cross-legged in the air.

"Really? Cause I didn't already think you had a big head," I laughed.

"Whoa, that's freaky," Sam said as he and Brock walked in, Wanda trailing behind with Vera in her arms. In groups, they all filed in, with Steve and Bucky eyeing Strange as they walked in to sit down. I looked at my watch and said, "A, how far out are my Dad and Peter?"

"Just landing Ma'am," She said, as I saw the Quinjet come into view.

"Sera!" Professor Xavier said, appearing on screen.

"Good afternoon Professor, I hope you are well."

"I am, thank you. Jean sends her love, but she has a class."

"I send my love right back. Okay, another few minutes. Hey, Callie, do you mind grabbing-"

"Ah! That's who I forgot!" She said, jumping up and running through a quick portal. A portal opened first where T, Shuri, and Okoye stumbled through, before looking around the room in confusion as Callie's voice called out, "Hi and bye Uncle T!"

"T!" I said, waddling after him. He smiled, and pulled me into a hug, careful to not crush my belly.

"That was the oddest way I have ever travelled. How is my nephew?"

"He is killing my liver," I laughed, as Shuri squeezed in between us to hug me.

"I have missed you Sera," Shuri said, as I hugged her tightly.

"I missed you too Shuri."

"I want in on this hug!" Hope's voice said before I felt another pair of arms wrap behind me.

"Sister!" I said, after Shuri released me, as I turned to hug Hope.

"Your hair! It looks fabulous," I smiled, seeing how long it had gotten. I hadn't seen it very well the last time we had a meeting over video call.

"Scott mentioned that he hadn't seen it longer, so I thought I would give it a try," She smiled while shrugging.

"Why didn't you just show him a picture. I have tons of us from my college days and you had long hair then," I said, laughing at her.

"Well, it helps that he gets this look on his face. I forgot how it feels when a guy looks at you with complete adoration. Boost to my confidence," She smiled.

"Ah yes, it's the same way Bucky and Steve look at food. Now if I could only get those looks directed at me," I teased loudly, making the other guys chuckle at my bashful husbands.

Two seconds later, Callie was pulling a whining Quill by his ear, and the rest of the team joining him.

"Little spitfire," Quill muttered under his breath, rubbing his ear.

"Nebula," I regarded the last of the group to enter, to which she sneered, "Who are you?"

"Nebula, we talked about this. This is Sera, and the Avengers and we are on Earth. She has been planning the counter attack on Thanos," Gamora said, before ushering the team to seats at the back of the room, "Continue Sera."

"Yeah, that took a few minutes," Callie said, sighing dramatically as she sat down again.

"Whose the wizard?" Rocket said, gesturing to Strange.

"Whose the raccoon?" Strange said, eyeing Rocket.

"I wouldn't go there Strange. It's for the mental health of everyone here if we refrain from cheap shots. We all need to be civil. Goes for you too Rocket," I said, eyeing the snarling Guardian.

"Fine," He said, pulling his paw away from the gun at his hip.

"But first, introductions. Everyone, go around the table-"

"Really? What grade are we in Sera?" Clint said, leaning his head back in his seat at the front of the conference table, and talking at the ceiling.

"Clinton," I said, death glaring at him. He grumbled a bit and started, "Clint Barton."

They all introduced themselves, and Dad walked in with Peter piping in sarcastically, "Thank you to my wonderful daughter for waiting."

"Oh, can it Dad. Introduce yourself and sit your ass down," I sighed, pinching my nose in frustration.

"Stark, duh," He said, unimpressed with Strange's levitation. I understood his train of thought, as Vision was usually floating around like Strange was.

"I'm Peter… Parker. Spiderman?" Peter supplied, extending a hand to Dr. Strange.

"Dr. Stephen Strange," He said, shaking the extended hand once before regarding the room, "Master of the Mystic Arts."

"Sorcerer Supreme," I fake coughed, making Loki and Pietro snort.

"Weren't you just saying something about my big head," He said, setting down on the ground finally.

"Dr. Strange here is the second to last piece on our side of the chess board. We have one more player to bring into the fold, and that one is going to take some searching, as he is in another dimension," I said, before I pulled up the battle plan for Dr. Strange.

"Our strategy is simple, eliminate as many of the drop ships as possible before they reach the ground. They each contain over 3000 Outriders. Nasty looking things that won't hesitate to gut you. They aren't the smartest of Thanos's army, as they are mainly controlled by their bloodlust," I said, bringing up the holographic display Gamora supplied us with.

"While the ARSENAL Defence Net will protect earth, we have no current plan for saving this planet, nor a place we can retreat to," I said, before Rocket piped up, flipping his tablet-like computer around to show me, "Way ahead of you. Made this last week, just in case."

"That will do. Thank you Rocket," I nodded at him.

"Someone's got to protect you losers when this thing goes south," He smirked. Rolling my eyes I said, "Now, I have a theory, and it's going to sound crazy. We need to allow Thanos to get a few stones."

"WHAT?" Most everyone yelled, making me close my eyes and wince.

"Not the reality stone for sure, and definitely not the time stone, but he needs to think he is winning before we unveil our secret weapons. Seriously, if I learned anything from my time at SHIELD, it's that the enemy will spill his guts if he thinks he is winning."

"Strange, have you-" I stopped what I was saying, as I saw Strange hovering in the air again, this time making strange movements, like a VCR on fast forward. And then suddenly he stopped, panting hard.

"She's right. I just witnessed every possible outcome of this battle. Over 14 million ways it could go, but only 1 where we win. He should get the power stone, the space stone. Only those stones. He will try and take the rest, but if he gets more…"

"What?" I asked, seeing him looking at me strangely. He looked like he was going to say something, but changed his mind and said, "Well, the end of worlds."

"For as long as I've known Thanos, he only had one goal. To wipe out half the universe. And if he gets his hands on all six stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers," Gamora said, snapping her fingers once as she stared out the window.

"We can't let him get more than those. Even with two, he is still more powerful than all of us combined," She said, turning around determined.

"Sister," Nebula said, grabbing Gamora's arm, "You can't-"

"Nebula, only I know, but I can't bear this burden alone. Like Sera said the last time we were called, I cannot bear this burden alone. I know the location of the soul stone."

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"It is on Vormir. Guarded by a wraith, the Stonekeeper. I don't have more information than that. If I knew more…"

"We need to assess the situation at a later time, but are you sure he cannot find it?"

"I burnt the only map," Gamora promised.

"Why would you withhold that?" Steve asked.

"Because my knowing where it's located makes me valuable to Thanos. He would kill and torture anyone close to me if he knew, just to get me to talk. I was going to get Peter to shoot me if Thanos got close enough to us."

"What?" Quill said, shocked.

"It won't happen," I promised her, "He doesn't want to threaten any one of us because I will kill anyone that threatens any of you."

"You would do that for us? I get we only met about a year ago, but you barely know us," Rocket said, surprised as all the Guardians were. The rest of our team smiled at me, nodding. I paused, looking at him and saying, "Yes. Because you are all family. We may disagree on how things should be fought, or who is in charge, but you are all my family in various capacities."

The stunned silence I received was enough of a 'thank you' for me, because I knew they all felt like outcasts and misfits. Groot sniffled and said, "I am Groot."

"He says he loves you too Sera," Loki spoke up.

"You speak Groot?" Rocket asked, surprised again.

"It is an elective on Asgard," Thor shrugged, "We took Groot and Loki cheated off my exams."

"Okay, that feels like it should be the other way around," Sam said, making a couple people laugh, including Loki.

"It's not. I did cheat, but I eventually picked it up. I am Groot," Loki said to Groot, who nodded back, "I am Groot."

"I do not have a thick head Loki," Thor said annoyed, while Rocket snickered. I rolled my eyes at them as I watched Phil lean forward.

"I don't know all of you very well, except for those who live at this base, and I imagine over the next several months there will be a lot more time for us to get to know everyone," Phil said, speaking up regarding the Guardians, Wakandan royal family and Dr. Strange, "But there is one thing I do know. That we won't rest until this is over."

"I agree Phil. We didn't have a heads up about New York, or Hydra or Ultron. But if we had, they wouldn't have happened. But the one thing I know is that you're all Avengers. And we will avenge the destruction and chaos Thanos has unleashed on the universe, or we die trying," I said, watching our group nod.

"Well, we better get training then," Trip said, "Cause just because I don't dance, doesn't mean I can't tell when my partner is off beat."

"Trip, it was one time! I'm bigger now and my center of gravity is off," Daisy said, holding her belly. She was a month away from giving birth, as was Jane, so this was the most involvement that was allowed.

"Trip's right, we won't be in sync with each other," Wanda said, rocking Vera slightly.

"So, then we train. Starting tomorrow, 8am on the left field. Callie will pick up our out of town members," Steve said, before all eyes turned to me.

"What?" I asked, confused as to why the SHIELD agents didn't do their usual, "Yes sir."

"I believe you have point on this one," Phil said, exchanging a nod with Steve.

"Oh boy. I wasn't even allowed to be in most meetings of the higher ups at SHIELD. I mouthed off too much," I said, making Nat chuckle softly, before laughing louder to herself, and everyone looked at her in shock.

"No, you basically called them all whiny bitches who couldn't find their way out of a wet paper bag, if you didn't draw a map out in crayon for them to understand. Fury then put you on solo missions, because he didn't want you undermining the higher ups in front of the lower level agents. Most of them were scared of you anyways. I thought Natasha terrified them, they were petrified of you." Phil said, making quite a few more of our group laugh under their breath.

"So that's why you were the only one giving me mission briefs and de-briefs... Well… It was true. I wanted to use crayon, but Fury thought that would be offensive. So I chose red pen and offensive stickers, because it reminded me of when teachers disagreed with my opinion. And the lot of them ended up being Hydra anyways, so I don't feel bad," I shrugged.

"Alright, alright. Your move boss," Phil said, smiling at me.

"Well, first thing is first, take a long hard look in the mirror tomorrow everyone. Because that happy person you seeing looking back at you will be a sad sack of limp noodles tomorrow after I put you through your paces," I smiled sweetly.

"Yes ma'am," I heard Steve say, as he smiled at me. Bucky gave me those dark bedroom eyes and said, "Looking forward to it."

"Okay, no foreplay at the conference table," Brock said, making everyone chuckle.