Guys... guyssssss... why'd you stop reviewing? ;.;
That hurts, bro. That hurts.
Anyways, this would have been done sooner, but half of the chapter got deleted right as I was getting ready to post it and I had to rewrite it.
The pizza was hot and delicious, both twins eating their weight in cheese, sause, and bread before collapsing onto the couch and moaning in contentment. Fibonacci's really knew their stuff. No wonder the Avengers still ordered it from across the country in the future.
Tyler and Taylor were both asleep, snuggled in the clean clothes Pepper had gotten them as well as a gigantic pile of blankets, when Tony Stark got home. He promptly dropped him suitcase on his foot. He was very glad that he had only been carrying it around for show, and hadn't put anything in it. Otherwise that would have hurt. A lot.
"What the hell, Pepper? Now there's two of them?" he nearly shouted.
Pepper materialized immediately. "Well, they showed up looking absolutely awful, almost like they'd been in a fight... I couldn't just turn them down. Really. It would be inhumane."
Tony groaned. "What, so now I need to host two weird kids? Does the other one say they time-traveled to get here too?"
"Well, he didn't talk much when he got here, at least that I heard, and then they demolished some pizza and passed out," Pepper explained.
"I bet I paid for the pizza too, right?" Tony pouted.
"Oh, don't be like that. You have plenty of cash. It may as well go to a good use instead of funding more weapons."
"Peps, we talked about this. Weapons research is how I make my living. It's not like a personal thing, and they go to a good use. They help defend our country, right? Captain America would be proud," he smirked, his tone laced with bitterness. Memories from Tony's childhood flickered behind his eyes, all those time when his father would turn down time with his son to search for a fallen hero he would never find.
For all his genius, Howard Stark could never recognize the fact his search was fruitless. Tony saw a touch of irony in that.
Pepper smiled gently, reading his thoughts. "Your dad loved you, Tony. He just was really, really bad at showing it. And I bet if you ever have kids, you'll be a much better dad then he ever could be."
Tony didn't talk in response to that, but the look of gratitude in his eyes said plenty. Pepper was good at knowing what he needed to hear. It was one of her many skills, and one of the things he loved about her. Not that he loved her. It would be much more complicated for him to be in a long-lasting relationship with someone he saw every day then the easy one-night stands he was used to. Besides, he had a playboy image to uphold.
Nick Fury felt a headache coming on, and popped an aspirin in his mouth to alliviate the pain. After the attack by the crazy blonde teenager, and after being forced to release their only bargaining chip, Fury was worried about the trouble the super-powered kids could cause. Just to fish for ideas, he had sent a memo to all SHIELD personnel asking them how they would deal with this problem. He had gotten hundreds of results, and was currently going through them with Agent Coulson.
Most of the agents simply suggested killing or recapturing the twins, which would be great if it were possible, but according to the tracker they had implanted in the boy, the siblings were currently living at Tony Stark's house. Stark had apparently gotten some sort of complex from growing up with a crazy dad obsessed with Captain America, because he had a hard time listening to any authority figure and would almost certainly not give up the kids without a fight.
Fury didn't want to fight Stark to get the twins back either. The man was a grade-A genius and weapons developer, so it made even SHIELD's director shudder to imagine what sort of defense machanisms he probably had in place. Coulson suddenly spoke up, interrupting Fury's thoughts.
"This one says to send in a stealth mission, sir. That could work if we chose the right agents."
"No, no, no. Stealthy or not, our targets are now inside a virtual fortress. Plus, we don't want to alienate Stark. A lot of our newer weapons are Stark Industries issued."
Coulson nodded. Many of the suggestions he only took a cursory glance at before moving on. One held his attention.
"Sir, this is a pretty good idea. One agent is sent undercover to work at Stark Industries, gaining the trust of Mr. Stark as well as his new charges."
Fury was intrigued. It could work. "Who submitted this idea?"
"Agents Barton and Romanoff claim to have worked together on it, sir."
"Do they suggest anyone for the role?"
"Agent Romanoff nominated herself, but she's going to be in the hospital for at least another month, sir. There is also a glaring issue with sending her."
"Yes?"
"Agents Barton and Romanoff were the ones to first encounter the boy, sir. Unless she is very well disguised, there is a good chance of him recognizing her and blowing her cover. I'm sure I don't have to tell you we only have one shot at this, sir."
Fury balanced the pros and cons in his head for a moment. He knew that the Black Widow was an expert actress and practically a chameleon, so the boy having seen her before probably wouldn't be an issue. She could take the role of a shy and demure computer expert, not the harsh and icy spy he had doubtless seen. "Send her."
Coulson looked surprised. "Sir, are you sure? She's hospitalized!"
"She's the best. Besides, the kids will let their guard down if we delay. You know, a false sense of security type of thing. They won't be prepared when Romanoff makes her move."
Dun dun dunnnn! So, please review!
Taylor: Please? If she thinks people don't like the story, she'll just end it and leave us trapped in the past!
Tyler: That's scientifically impossible. If the story ended without proper closure, it would mean we never existed to the existential paradoxes posed by such an event.
Taylor: What?
Tyler: We wouldn't continue to exist in the past, we'd just disappear. Like Marty McFly.
Taylor: Who?
Tyler: Oh my God, you've never seen Back to the Future?
Taylor: I'm scared to say no, but...
Tyler: YOU MUST WATCH IT RIGHT NOW.
So, I noticed how some people write dialogue of their OCs after the story and I'll probably be doing that from now on. :)