{Author's Note: Okay, so I'm thinking I'll be able to post one more chapter after this one before my summer is officially over, and I have to go on hiatus as life hits me in the face like a ton of bricks. Of course I'll post more if I have time, but unfortunately I cannot write for fun all day e'ry day. :( I won't abandon this story though. There just may be long stretches between updates, so be prepared. I apologize in advance.}

ERIK POV

Despite all of the chaos that came along with handling the aftermath of an escape of a deadly psychotic soldier and the departure of rogue super soldier, Natasha had delivered on her promise to get Erik a jet back to the States. When he managed to find her after re-entering the government building, she'd only raised an eyebrow at him and asked what had happened.

When Erik recounted that Rogers and Barnes were gone before he had even made it to the roof and all that was left were the tattered remains of a helicopter in the water beside the building, Natasha had simply studied him for a moment before replying, 'Word must travel fast if you already know the circumstances surrounding the Captain and Barnes departure because you were no where near that roof.' A silent understanding had passed between Erik and Natasha then. An understanding that for reasons Erik couldn't quite comprehend, Natasha had chosen to protect Erik, leaving him out of Barnes escape completely, so he could get back to his children.

Very shortly thereafter, Erik had boarded a private jet with only a pilot for company and started his journey back to the U.S. Just before they'd taken off Erik had tried to call both Wanda and Vison using the cell phone Natasha had given him, hoping he could talk to his children and let them know he was on his way back, but neither Avenger had answered.

Erik felt a seed of worry began to grow inside of him as he conjured up a number of dreadful scenarios as to why they weren't answering, but he forced himself to push those thoughts aside. There was a significant time difference between Berlin and the U.S. after all. Everyone could easily be sleeping or busy…or perhaps it was just the case that no one wanted to talk to him. Erik knew that last theory was preposterous as he was calling from Natasha's phone, so they wouldn't no it was him on the other end of the line anyway, but he couldn't help the fact that it had crossed his mind. And it was a better explanation than many of the other dark scenarios he had imagined a moment before.

Nevertheless, Erik told himself their lack of a response was no cause for alarm. Wanda and Pietro were safe. Though he may have tried to push this world's Wanda Maximoff away from his kids, Erik still knew she wouldn't let anything happen to them. No, his children were fine. They had to be tucked comfortably in bed with the largest threat to them being the nightmares that arose in their unconscious minds.

They were safe. They were safe. They were safe. Erik repeated that mantra to himself occasionally throughout the plane ride. He feared that if he did not he might accidently bring the metal flying contraption around him down into the ocean. Then he would never get to see his children's faces again, so Erik focused on his breathing, and mediated just as used to for years in order to make it through every painful hour of his metal-less prison.

What Erik didn't know was that no one answered his for an entirely different reason than any he had thought of or hoped to be true. Vision was currently preoccupied with alerting Tony of Clint's visit and departure with the Wandas and Pietro, so answering his phone was not his main priority. Nor did Erik know that Wanda had left her phone behind either in her haste to leave the Avenger's compound or the ingrained sense of avoiding the possibility of it being traced as she, Clint, and Erik's young twins made their own trip overseas.

CLINT POV

Immediately after Clint and the rest of his band of misfits had left the Avengers' Head Quarters, he had little chance to question his Wanda about the kids they were currently dragging closer to something kids should definitely not be a part of. He'd had to explain what was up with Cap and Bucky, where they were going to meet them, not to mention the detour they had to make to pick up Cap's final reinforcement before they left the country.

The kids had been remarkably quiet and attentive during his explanation of events. Clint would never admit it, but he was actually a little disappointed that he didn't have to pull out his Dad voice to get them to listen.

Picking up Scott and convincing him to come with them had been surprisingly easy, though beyond getting to meet Captain America, Clint wasn't sure the guy completely comprehended what he was agreeing to. The man barely seemed awake enough to make it to their confiscated Avengers' vehicle, let alone the jet.

Scott didn't even seem to really register that Clint wasn't the only Avenger along for the ride, though he did seem to pick up on the presence of the two rather out of place teenagers. When Scott had noticed them, he had said, 'Whose kids? I guess even superheroes are allowed to have a bring your kid to work day, but we're going to go do dangerous adult things right? Was I supposed to bring my daughter? I'm not really sure it's a good day to bring kids along. Maybe we should schedule a safer job shadow experience on a day we have training or team building! That'd be fun! Oh! Neat hair!' the man had exclaimed with sincerity when he noticed Peter's silver locks before falling asleep because apparently it was still to early for him.

Once everyone was loaded up into the jet, excluding Scott. Clint had half dragged the man aboard, where he was out for the count again as soon as he sat down. Good Lord he needed a lot of sleep to function. Clint made a mental note to make a quick detour for coffee when they landed.

Even though Peter, and his sister Wanda too since he had informed her of Wanda's real name, were very interested in learning why Clint's Wanda (the Avengers' Wanda? This was going to get confusing) didn't tell them her real name, they didn't stay awake much longer than Scott. After the older Wanda refused to elaborate on why she withheld her true name other than saying it was to avoid confusion—which Peter had proposed before but didn't really seem to buy— they'd both passed out in adjacent chairs not long into the journey.

Only then, did Clint finally have a chance to interrogate Wanda, who had just walked into the cockpit of the jet and plopped down next to him, without interruption.

"Alright kid, spill." Said Clint glancing over at Wanda.

"Um spill, what?" asked Wanda, feigning confusion.

"Don't play dumb, Wanda. Cultural differences aside, I know you know what I mean. Explain to me the existence of mini Wanda and little speedy back there." Said Clint giving her his no nonsense look that he often used on his own kids as he jerked his thumb to the rear of the jet.

"Uh…well…it's a lot to explain." Said Wanda hesitantly.

"Well we're not exactly going for pizza, kid. This jet is fast, but it's still a long flight. Plenty long enough to explain why there's another Wanda and Peter—Pietro?—Maximoff currently in dream world back there." Said Clint briefly looking in one of the cockpit's mirrors, which gave him a view of the back of the jet.

In one chair, Scott was passed out looking like you could light a fire under him and he wouldn't even notice. Across the isle the two teenagers were sprawled out on two other seats. Despite somewhat remaining on the two separate chairs, they were still huddled pretty close together. Peter had fallen asleep with his head on his sister's shoulder and one leg kicked up over her lap. Clint had to admit they looked pretty darn adorable, reminding him again they definitely shouldn't be involved in what was to come. They were not soldiers. They weren't old enough for a war, no matter how small the size of the armies might be.

Clint looked back at the Wanda sitting next to him, since she still hadn't started an explanation, he thought he better prompt her and just be direct as he needed to be. "Wanda…you didn't let someone experiment on you again, did you? They're not…clones of you and your brother, are they?"

"What! No! Of course not! How could you think that?" answered Wanda appalled.

"Okay, okay! Calm down! But what was I supposed to think? Is that really so farfetched? Who are they then? Because you're sitting in front of me, so the younger girl is definitely not you, and that boy doesn't look exactly like your Pietro—I'm guessing your brother was never quite that skinny—but he's got super speed, and I'm guessing that means the girl has powers like yours, am I right? So just tell me what happened, or I'm just going to conjure up theories that involve a lot of unnatural scientific mojo that kids should never be subjected to." Clint looked over at Wanda again as he finished, giving her another hard look.

He didn't want to believe that Wanda had resorted to any dark…science? Magic? (hey anything was possible) in an attempt to bring back some version of her brother, but love made people do crazy things.

"It's nothing like that." Said Wanda quickly, letting out a heavy sigh. "The girl isn't me, obviously, or a clone…and I know the boy is not my brother…not really….I…there's really no good way to explain this, so I'm just going to say it: they're a Wanda and Pietro Maximoff from another universe."

Um what?

"Run that by me one more time." Said Clint stunned.

"So apparently, there is another universe—a parallel universe?—maybe multiple universes, where other versions of Pietro and I exist. They came from one of those universes." Explained Wanda matter-of-factly.

Alright then.

Clint accept this because that's what his life had come to now. Inter-dimensional travel was no longer the thing of science fiction films. Earth had already encountered people from other dimensions, some good….a lot bad. Some who liked to wear a helmet with antlers and others who ran around in capes, so sure, enhanced teenagers could definitely fit into the category of other worldly beings.

"Okaaay." Said Clint slowly. "So I wasn't expecting that, but I guess given everything we've been through, I probably shouldn't be so surprised…but Wanda, I know you miss your brother. I can't even imagine how much you miss him, but did you really think it was a good idea to uproot two kids from their lives…from their world? You just admitted he's not really your brother. Don't you think that maybe they belong in their own universe?" Clint said, trying not to sound too critical.

"I know that." Said Wanda defensively. "And I didn't bring them here. The other Wanda did, by accident. She thought her brother was dead and she just sort of just…let loose…she's not as great as I am at controlling her powers." Wanda joked sarcastically. Clint knew Wanda didn't really feel like she had much control over her own powers, even with all of the training she'd had with the Avengers since her brother's death.

"Okay." Said Clint again. "And they couldn't get back to their own universe? Or did they not want to go back? I guess I get that, if their childhood was like yours. Getting experimented on and developing powers at even a younger age than you and your brother has to be traumatizing."

Even if they volunteered for it. They're just kids. They couldn't understand what they were volunteering for. Heck, Wanda and Pietro were older and they probably didn't really understand.

"I don't think they've tried to get back yet actually." Replied Wanda thoughtfully. "There's just been a lot going on, and Pie—Peter has been recovering. You probably noticed he's not exactly an image of health. Unlike Pietro and me, they were born with their powers. People with abilities…with gifts…like them are called mutants in their world, but that didn't stop their government from kidnapping, torturing, and experimenting on Peter. I guess evil transcends space and time." Wanda finished practically spitting out her words in disgust and bitterness.

Clint let that sink in for a moment.

No wonder the kid was a little skittish when I met him.

"Maybe, but evil spans the universes than so does good. They're lucky to have wound up here with the Avengers though. Lucky you're looking out for them…but I guess I kinda screwed up your job in that regard, since I'm flying them straight into danger….Cap's gonna flip out, maybe even let loose a swear word, when he sees we have kids with us."

"It wasn't exactly luck. Tony and Maria brought them in pretty much against their will after they picked up a spike in energy readings around the farm where they were staying, and then once they found out they were enhanced…well of course those two were going to bring the kids in. And if you think Cap is going to be upset, I assure you, his anger is going to be nothing compared to their father's when he finds out they're not at the Avengers' Head Quarters anymore." Said Wanda.

"Wait. Their dad? They're parents are here too? Are they…do they resemble your parents?" asked Clint hesitantly. Having a version of your dead parents around on top of meeting a version of yourself and dead brother had to be rough.

Kid can't catch a break.

"No. It's just their dad. I think…I think their mom died when they were little. I looked into their father's mind, and accidently got a little more information than I had planned, but their dad has enough parental instincts for 10 people…and no, he's not like my dad, not even a little bit…well beyond loving his kids above all else." Answered Wanda, looking as though she were caught up in a memory. Clint wondered if it was her own or of the one belonging to the younger twins' father.

"Did we just take his kids right out from under his nose then?" asked Clint, trying to lighten the mood. "Was he sleeping through all of our commotion back at HQ? Because, I mean it would've been nice if he would have backed us up and said, 'No kids. You won't be going to a foreign country to help a couple of super powered people fight a bunch of other super powered people. Go back to bed, and in the morning I'll make waffles.' Said Clint, half joking, half serious.

Next to him, Wanda was silent before letting out a surprisingly loud and genuine laugh. It was nice to hear her laugh. She was grim far too often. "Sorry." She said as she wiped a tear from one eye. "I'm sure Erik—that's their dad's name—can cook. It's just, I pictured him wearing an apron and making waffles. If you'd met him, you'd find the image pretty funny too." Said Wanda pausing to take a breath and control her laughter, before growing far too serious for Clint's liking again, "And he wasn't at HQ anyway. Ross coerced him into bringing in Bucky, but now that Bucky's escaped, I'm not sure where Erik is."

"Why would Ross want their dad to help bring in Barnes?" asked Clint confused. "What made him think one man could do more than a bunch of trained government agents when he wouldn't even give permission to Steve to get Barnes?"

"He can control metal." Replied Wanda simply.

At this point, I really should get better at guessing this kind of stuff.

"Well shit." Said Clint. "I supposed that would do it."

"Yes and being that metal is a pretty common commodity, you can see why it'd be a bad idea to make Erik angry…which taking his kids into what is likely to be a battle definitely qualifies as something that would make him angry." Wanda sighed (she was doing an awful lot of that). "And he is already not too fond of me, and unlike his kids, he knows all about my brother and me, and he doesn't like the idea of me getting involved in his children's lives…I can't say I blame him."

Clint frowned. He did not like the fact that Wanda thought so little of herself. He knew she had plenty of reasons—maybe some valid ones—to have a low opinion of herself, but overall, she was a good person. And when it mattered, she did what was right.

"Hey. Anybody would be blessed to have you in their life. You are a joy to be around…you know, when you're not shoving people a hundred stories or more underground…but the kids really don't know anything about who you really are? Don't you think they deserve to know?" asked Clint looking over at Wanda who had drawn one leg up onto the seat and now had her chin resting on her knee.

"Why tell them? It would only serve to upset them. Did you notice Peter's arm? I caught him cutting himself with a butcher knife the other night. He's not emotionally stable enough for me to have any conversation with him along those lines, and I don't want to push that on him either. He's a great kid and so is his sister. And I really do feel like they're my little siblings…but I don't want Peter to think I'm using him to replace my brother or that I'm stealing Wanda's brother from her. I like them for who they are, not for who I wish they were, and they have enough to deal with without me laying my own life story on them. They're dad's right. It would only cause them more pain, and they definitely don't need that." Said Wanda looking straight ahead out the window and not at Clint.

Clint let the silence hang between them for a moment. He wasn't really a vindictive guy, but knowing that someone had caused a kid enough physical pain and emotional turmoil that he'd wanted to hurt himself, made Clint want to hurt that someone or someones very much. And he understood Wanda's reasoning, but he didn't like to see her hurting either.

Why does the world (worlds?) keep throwing shit at a bunch of innocent kids?

He wasn't just thinking of the younger twins, but also the Avenger's Wanda too.

Focusing on what he could do, instead of a vengeful fantasy. Clint decided to do what he could to try help the one kid who was awake beside him. "Did you ever think that maybe you wouldn't be adding to their pain, but that sharing your pain and what you've gone through would help them deal with their own experiences?"

Wanda didn't answer right away, but he could tell by the look on her face that no, she hadn't considered that, but she wasn't immediately inclined to believe it. Clint just hoped she wasn't immediately inclined to disbelieve it.

"I just…I shouldn't get close to them anyway. They aren't going to be here forever. I can tell that their dad for sure is itching to get back to their own world, and it's no good for any of us to get to know one another more than we need to if we're just going to be out of each other's life soon anyway."

"Kid, that's not a good enough reason to shut them out and you know it. With what we do—or what I used to do—any one of us could be here today and gone tomorrow. That doesn't mean we should stop living…stop loving people. You might not have felt like it when you first lost him, but aren't you glad now that you had the time you did with your brother rather than no time at all? Sure, it might save you pain, but I'd imagine you'd regret it if you lost those memories. Heck, I worry about my kids and wife everyday, and I know they worry about me, but that doesn't mean any of us wish we weren't in each other's lives just because we're afraid to lose each other. You can't live in isolation Wanda. That's not living. That's just existing." Said Clint sharing something that he had had to figure out on his own long ago.

"But what if I tell them, and they don't want to get to know me or it's just too weird for them" asked Wanda quietly, still not looking at Clint.

"Well then you'll know you tried and you do your best to accept their response and move on, or give them enough space and hope they'll come around. But have you met them? They both seem a little weird. I think they can handle a little more weirdness. Not to mention the fact that they were so adamant about being involved with what we're doing…something tells me they will want to be involved in your life too." Clint responded confidently.

Wanda didn't look like she completely believed him, but he thought he saw a little bit of hope in her expression that wasn't there before. And she didn't seem like she wasn't going to argue with him again, so Clint counted that as progress.

Right. That's enough heavy talk for now. Time for a more lighthearted conversation for the rest of our flight.

"So Wanda, do you think you could hook me up with some of those Hawkeye pajamas Peter was wearing for my kids? Right now all they have are Iron Man and Captain America pjs and I really think that needs to change."

{Author's Note: As always, thanks to everyone who has left feedback and chosen to follow this story! You make writing this so much more fun!}