Chapter Ten: Like Adopted Earth Mom, Like Adopted Sparkly Son

Everyone had broken off into their own little family groups in Tony's bunker — playing with the little ones or cleaning up after them, as the case may be. Chance and Charlie had invited Gerry to play their "gone fightnin" game, and all three were simply running around at top speed trying to take each other down, with Gerry letting the two younger kids catch him on occasion when Natasha gently reminded him that he was bigger than they were and it wasn't entirely fair. The Hale kids didn't take long to decide they wanted to play as well, though Leslie Ann and her sister decided that they needed a better target than the teeny tiny toddlers and piled on top of Scott until he tickled them into submission.

"You gon' play with de others, petit?" Gambit asked little Dani Cage when he noticed her watching the scene with all the kids with her head tipped to the side, but she shook her head and went back to coloring in her coloring book.

"They're playing hitting games," Dani said. "And Mama says I shouldn't do that until we know how much like her and Daddy I am." She gestured pointedly toward her mother, who was asleep and worn out from roughhousing with some of the kids — though that didn't stop Charlie from peering over at her occasionally, apparently to check that she was okay.

"She a smart woman, that mama of yours," he agreed with a smile as she handed him a red crayon and gestured for him to join her.

"That's what Daddy says," Dani said, which got Gambit chuckling again, though it was drowned out by the sounds of Scott being so soundly 'defeated' by both of his nieces.

Somehow, despite all the noise in the hidden-away bunker, Kate had drifted off with her head in Kurt's lap as he played with her hair — after Kristina had finally settled out and stopped kicking her.

Jessica Drew, Peter, and Natasha were talking quietly in a corner. Jess kept looking more and more concerned as she heard about how the rescue efforts were going, almost absently resting a hand on Natasha's arm. Even though she and Clint weren't dating anymore, it was obvious she cared about him deeply — and she knew from experience that being Clint's girlfriend in the middle of this kind of mess was trying even when he wasn't about to be publicly executed.

Natasha didn't miss the move and was sure to give Jess's hand a little squeeze in return, a silent 'thank you' for the support. They hadn't said anything aloud because of the little ears in the room, but both of them knew that Natasha was in far deeper than she cared to admit, and if this didn't work out — if they didn't find Clint or, worse, if they found him dead — then Natasha honestly wasn't sure she would be able to handle it.

Laura and Gabby had eventually left the cuddle pile on Logan after he and Elin were asleep, simply because Gabby was more interested in sneaking around to where the kids were playing to tickle anyone who got too close — with constant reminders from Laura to be careful with the littlest ones, always with the response that "I know."

And with Nate and Hope helping Scott with the small army of little ones, that left Elin and Logan and Jubilee to take up their quiet corner undisturbed. Elin had fallen asleep curled up on her dad's chest, and Logan was simply wrapped around the little one when Jubilee heard the telltale chime that meant Logan's phone was charged up.

She punched in the code and glanced at the number of missed calls and texts and shook her head before she quietly called out so as not to wake any of the sleeping people around them. "Kurt — you win. Punk." But then, she moved on to the texts and who they were from. She saw a few of her own, and some from Kitty, and a pretty serious string from Wade that she was sure would be worth reading simply for the entertainment factor — and of course, the string from the guys on the young Avengers .. though the bits that she saw from them looked exceedingly polite in their wording. They were obviously still trying to stay on Logan's good side and not reveal that they were the adorable fanboys that everyone knew them to be. Which was totally a losing battle, as far as Jubilee was concerned.

None of it looked out of place — until she saw one string from a number that had no name attached to it. She frowned and opened it up, only to glare at the screen. Whoever it was seemed to be half talking in code — when it didn't come up in Japanese. "Who the heck is this?" she muttered to herself. She considered it for a moment before she made her way over to Logan. "Who the heck is this? No one slips on here like that, and all of your numbers are punched in — so what gives?"

He reached out to take a look, clearly not recognizing the number, judging from the look on his face. But he sat up a bit straighter as he got to the top of the string of texts and started reading it. "It's Daken," he said quietly, so as not to wake Elin, before he quickly drafted out a response and sent it. "Osborn has K, Noh, and Clint." He handed the phone to Jubilee. "Take that to Scott. I know he can't read Japanese, but he can try to get a trace on that number. Daken's not saying where they are. I don't think he can."

"Wait wait." Kate peeked her head up from the couch, suddenly awake now that there was news — which had Kurt chuckling to himself at her timing. "Norman Osborn?"

"That's what he said," Logan told her tipping his head at the phone. "Take a look yourself."

"Like Scott, I don't read Japanese," Kate said with an expression that clearly said 'duh.'

"And nowhere does it say Osborn," Jubilee said, scrolling down the message with a frown.

"It does, but it's in code. He's not gonna lay it out so anyone can read it," Logan said as if it was entirely obvious.

"Okay yeah, but ... Norman Osborn? The guy that totally tortured my mentor and tried to kill Noh for ditching him? That Norman Osborn?" Kate looked very nearly incensed and was hardly keeping her volume in check.

"You know of a bunch of other Osborns?" Logan shot back with a raised eyebrow. "Yes. That Norman Osborn. You know. The one Daken worked for."

"That's new," Kurt said with one raised eyebrow. "I thought he hated his time on the Dark Avengers — at least, most of it."

"Far as I know, he did in the long run, but the kid's an opportunist. He likes to know who's doing what and where the action is," Logan replied. "He likes to keep in the middle of things, and he figured Osborn was up to something big."

"Didn't even know he was out of jail," Kate muttered out.

"Yeah, Normy likes to slip out when other big, catastrophic things are going on that are super distracting," Peter pointed out.

"Especially if someone lets him out," Logan said. "Though conveniently, Daken didn't mention who."

"I'll be sure to introduce them to my arrows," Kate said with narrowed eyes.

"Tell me where you want him to get stuck, and I'll stick him for you," Logan told her.

Kate looked up to meet his gaze for a second and then let out all her breath. "It's much more satisfying if I shoot him," she grumbled.

"Yeah. I know," he agreed. "But I'm pretty sure that your Elf wouldn't survive the experience this far into the game."

Kurt nodded with a soft smirk. "I would appreciate it if you didn't give me a heart attack," he said in a light tone. "As you keep reminding me, I am getting older."

She glared at both of them for a second before she lay back down with her head in Kurt's lap again. "Yeah, I'm too tired to waddle all the way there anyway," she joked. "And I don't think they'd appreciate it if we waited til Kristina came to go get them."

"No, I think they'd like a little more haste," Kurt agreed quietly.

"Okay, well ... give Norm a haircut, Logan. That's always fun, and Clint would enjoy it," Kate called out, which had Natasha outright snorting.

"I'll take it all off the top," Logan agreed with a nod. "Like a whole foot's worth."

What Hill and Osborn had failed to tell the two-man team before sending them off to go kill Zarek was that the guy was the presumptive leader of one faction of Kree, the last vestiges of his supporters from when he and Ronan tried to seize control of the planet — as well as a few loyalists who saw him as a means to an end to lead them to a swifter victory in the war.

What that all added up to, more or less, was that there was plenty of security around the guy, and he was already paranoid about his security, considering a good chunk of his forces didn't actually want him in command.

But in spite of the odds, the two of them were well-equipped for this kind of job. Noh's knowledge of Kree tech and protocols was helpful in getting them past potential hurdles — and the super strength was useful for simply tearing big holes in walls for the other obstacles. And Clint ... Clint could get inside just about anything with a lockpick and a whole lot of luck, so any doors that required a little more stealth that they didn't have codes for? Clint handled those.

In fact, the two of them made it all the way to the hallway outside Zarek's office before they were spotted, and even then, Clint ran the guy through before he could alert anyone to their presence, twisting his sword and pulling it out with a look of disdain. "Haven't used swords in a while. That technique was terrible. My old teacher would've tossed me off a cliff for something like that," he whispered low enough that only Noh could hear it, which got the slightest of smirks out of Noh before they pressed on.

Once they got to Zarek's door, the security measures in place were a bit beyond Clint's ability to hotwire, so Noh simply tore the door open, and the two of them stepped through, ducking instinctively when they heard the distinct sound of an energy weapon charging up. They looked up to see that Zarek had pulled a gun from his desk and looked somewhere between livid and delighted.

"You've only come back with two," he said with a grin. "I can't say that I'm surprised."

"We thought we'd let her sit this out. We don't need all three to deal with you," Clint said with a glare.

Zarek glared right back for a moment, his gun still leveled; he seemed annoyed by the news that K wasn't dead. "More likely you thought yourselves chivalrous to keep her from facing justice for what she did to Ronan and to other Kree," he shot back.

"See, Ronan's really only got himself to blame. He did call her a killer of Accusers. Gotta live up the name, and his name's got Accuser in the title. It's like… it's like the setup of a Deadpool-worthy punchline, really," Clint said, his body language relaxed even as he and Noh carefully edged their way closer.

Then, all at once, Noh darted forward, fast enough that he was able to completely dodge the shot Zarek took at him and simply tear the weapon from his hands. In the time it would have taken Clint to blink, Noh had the Kree leader pinned against the wall, his weapon thrown to the side and his feet off the ground when Noh picked him up by the uniform.

"It's been my experience," Noh said, practically hissing, "that those who deal in others' pain often cannot take nearly what they give out. Let's put that theory into practice, shall we?" With that, he simply seized on Zarek's arm and pulled his shoulder apart, shattering the bone on the left shoulder in about the way he figured had been done to Clint when he was shot. And when Zarek cried out, Noh reached up and took the man's jaw between his thumb and index finger and squeezed until he felt the bone crunch. "Don't alert the guards. I'm only getting started."

"Uh, Noh?" Clint raised an eyebrow. He hadn't seen this side of Noh come out in full force like that, and while he could understand it, he wasn't sure this was the time. "You know the guards have shifts—"

"Could you watch the door, Hawkeye?" Noh asked in a falsely polite tone without taking his gaze off of Zarek. "I'm sure you'll spot them before they spot you, and this man is Kree. I feel he should experience Kree justice the way he seems to think it should be dispensed."

"I'm suddenly very glad it's just you and me. If we brought K, this would… yeah. I'll watch the door," Clint muttered.

Noh smirked for a moment before he turned back to Zarek. "I don't believe I'll do you the courtesy of asking any questions. Since you didn't see fit to do the same for my friends," he said in a low tone, and Clint in the doorway just took out his aides so he didn't have to hear what followed.

But after a while, the guards did make their rounds, and Clint spotted them coming and turned back to Noh, grimacing the slightest bit as he saw just what a fully trained Kree fighter was capable of when pissed off before he called out, "Time to go."

But when Noh didn't immediately respond, Clint took out his sword and ran Zarek through, then looked at Noh pointedly. "It's time to go," he repeated. When Noh finally took a step back, Clint plugged Zarek several times with his sidearm. "Just making sure he stays dead," he added when Noh raised an eyebrow at him.

Of course, when one of the guards saw the ruined door leading to Zarek's office, the alarm was raised, and Clint and Noh glanced at each other for just a second before they shared a nod and dove in — and Clint definitely noticed that Noh was fighting more on Clint's left side to protect his weak spot.

"Thanks for the support, Marvel Kid."

"If you were so grateful, you would use my given name," Noh said without missing a beat, which had Clint chuckling as they cut their way through the Kree soldiers.

By the time they got back to their own transport, they were both bloody — covered in both their own blood and that of the Kree — but wearing similar satisfied grins. "Feel any better?" Clint asked.

"I believe so," Noh replied with a matching smirk. "Though it's more of a consolation prize than anything."

"I'll take whichever one of the creeps you don't want," Clint said. "I mean, I'd love to screw with Norm, but you can pick."

"Let's just say that we'll see what opportunities arise," Noh suggested as he set the coordinates back to where K... and Osborn and Hill were.

When the two men arrived back from Zarek's ship, they found their usual escort shyly grinning and waving at them to take them back to the briefing room. "Um ... you guys need showers again," Tammy said, gesturing to the dried blood on their clothes.

"This is a constant, kiddo. Sorry to say," Clint told her frankly. "Just wait til K goes out with one of us — especially if it's with Marvel Kid over here," he added, tipping his head at Noh.

"Please ... that… that has never been one of my handles. Just call me Noh," he said, shaking his head when Clint just smirked at him.

Tammy couldn't help but smile at them as she led them down the halls and held the door open for them. She slipped off, and the two men were a bit surprised to find that K and Daken were there again as well — though she was quiet, she didn't look ready to fall asleep like she had been before.

She glanced up at them as they came in but didn't offer any friendly greeting before she turned back to stare at the table in front of her.

"You'd've been the perfect partner for Marvel Boy, K," Clint called out to her to try and get her attention again, half watching her reaction. "He's got your some penchant for, um, creativity when it comes to punishment."

"He's a good boy," K said quietly.

Noh smiled warmly at her. "Perhaps next time," he said without looking at Hill or Osborn. "I suspect you and I could cause sufficient destruction to sate even their needs."

"Is that your way of saying that you achieved your goal tonight?" Hill said as she fixed him with a look.

"Hawkeye was the one to finish him. I simply made sure he sampled justice before he went," Noh said evenly.

"Were there many other casualties?" Hill asked as she jotted down a few notes.

"Sure. A few dozen guards took exception to our being alive," Clint said with a shrug. "Disabled the ship too. You're welcome."

K cracked a smirk at that and shook her head lightly as Osborn started to tell them about the next mission.

"The next run is going to be a lot more covert and quiet," Osborn said looking toward Clint. "There is a file that needs to be retrieved from the safe in Fury's office."

"Okay. Been there a few times," Clint said with a nod.

"Didn't you catch that, Ronin? I said quiet. You're not going," Osborn replied. "She is. And since we know about her … creative streak, there's a timer on the job. Get back in the window or that shock will be a whole lot worse than the last one."

"That is a lot to ask of a woman you have deprived of sleep and mistreated after my people had us in captivity. Surely I can go with her," Noh said.

"She can handle it," Hill said. "Daken will be flying her to make sure she doesn't try anything."

"That does not assuage my worries in the least," Noh pointed out with a glare.

"Your worries mean very little to me," Osborn told him.

"That's entirely clear," Noh said, still with that same glare.

"If you're that concerned, I'm sure we could provide you with the video feed," Hill said. Daken turned his head toward Noh and Clint with a lazy smirk on his face, waiting for their take on it.

Noh was clearly struggling to keep his temper in check as he nodded. "It's not acceptable, but it is the least you can do."

"Then you can stay here. Call it a reward for getting the job done," Osborn told him almost grudgingly. "We'll wire the feed right to this room." He shoved a file folder toward K and Daken before he explained the path he wanted her to take — which would have been far more fitting for a spider, to be honest. High up, through tiny spaces, vents, and catwalks around to a hidden entrance that Fury uses to get in the back side of his office. K didn't say a word or look like she was doing more than looking at a photo for a moment as she glanced through the file and simply handed it to Daken.

"Don't you think you should study that?" Hill asked, to which K replied with a very dry look.

"You've said about a dozen times I can handle it. Pretty sure that means I don't need you micromanaging me," K deadpanned as Daken grinned and took her arm to lead her off.

"See you boys later," he called out. "We'll try not to be too late."