*Steve's shield slowly scoots on screen. AglonAuthor peeks cautiously over it*
AglonAuthor: Heeeeeey, guys…
*Knives throw*
AglonAuthor: Ah! That's why I have a shield!
*Steve walks on screen and takes his shield back. AglonAuthor is now exposed. Tomatoes are thrown*
AglonAuthor: I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! I write my fanfictions on my iPod and my iPod broke (I'm still using it anyway, hehe…).
Thumbs up for Steve's cameo in Thor: Dark World :D
This chapter = long and pointless. I feel accomplished and unaccomplished at the same time.
**Again! Loki shows up in the next chapter! :D
-(::)-
TV is the best babysitter.
-John Goodman
-(::)-
Marie was watching a Muppet movie that Tony had found on Netflix. Elizabeth had said she always liked it when she was little. The team sat in the kitchen discussing their current situation. "I suppose this seems a bit weird for you Steve," said Lily.
"And you don't think it's weird for me?" asked Tony, pointing at himself.
Lily rolled her eyes. "I know it's weird for you. It's weird for me too."
"We need to think about what'll happen over the course of her situation," said Bruce. "We're bound to have a mission while she's like this. Who would we contact?"
"A SHIELD agent," said Clint simply.
"You're kidding me, right?" asked Elizabeth. "Dude, do you seriously think an AGENT is the best person for the job? Lily and I will stay."
"I hate to break it to you," said Natasha, "but even though you may have the brains of twenty-four year olds, I don't think it would be a good idea for you two to watch over someone who's basically a one hundred percent four year old."
"Well if we aren't gonna do it, and a SHIELD agent isn't gonna do it, who is?" Lily wondered.
"Well not just any old babysitter, that's for sure," stated Clint.
"Do you know anyone who knows Parker, is good with kids, and can be trusted with a big secret?" asked Steve.
Lily and Elizabeth exchanged glances. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Lily asked Elizabeth. Elizabeth gave a single nod. The Avengers looked confused.
"Who?" questioned Tony.
"There's two people we can think of," said Elizabeth, "and ONLY two."
"Well?"
"Their names are Joanne Doven and Sam Berenson," explained Lily.
"Wait, they're the actresses that play Glinda and Elphiba in Wicked," said Natasha.
Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, and they are probably the only people other then Lily and me that have known Parker all the way from elementary school years to now."
"I'll try to find a way to contact them," said Lily. "I know a mission will come up, I just know it!"
-(::)-
Joanne and Sam were in the dressing rooms. It was seven-thirty and it had been a long evening, and their show had gone nicely. Sam's phone rang. She picked it up and looked at the caller ID. She didn't recognize the number. "Hello?"
"Hi, um…is this Sam Berenson?"
"Yes, who is this?"
"Um…this is Lily. Lily Falda."
"Lily?!" she asked in pure shock. Joanne ran over. Sam put it on speaker phone. "Lily, you don't sound like you've changed a bit!"
"And for a strange, yet good reason too. Look, we need to ask you and Joanne to do us a favor."
"We?" wondered Joanne. "Who's we?"
"Uh, well I think it'd be better if you just came to…okay, look. I can't give you details just in case someone is listening over our conversation but I can tell you this much: We – I — need you to babysit someone."
"Oh. Who?" asked Sam.
"Like I said, I can't give you details but you two are the only people I trust with this job. And just in case something happens, we — I — need you to be prepared for an extreme babysitting job. I'll pay you."
"No need," said Sam before Joanne could ask how much. "When's the job?"
"We don't — I — don't really know. If an opportunity comes up I'll—" she stopped and some inaudible muttering could be heard in the background. "—What?…When?…Should we have them come over?…Okay. Sam, Joanne, we need you to get to Stark Tower."
"Stark Tower?" asked Joanne. "But why would we—"
"I'll explain everything when you get to the Tower. For now, just trust me." Joanne and Sam exchanged glances.
"Alright, we're in. How old is the kid?"
"Four. Now come on. Quickly."
-(::)-
Joanne and Sam walked into the lobby of Stark Tower. They glanced around and saw a familiar face. Two familiar faces. Yet they hadn't changed since the last time they saw them. They ran forward to the teenager. "Lily?" asked Joanne in shock. "Elizabeth?!"
"Yes, it's us," said Elizabeth. "Follow me." She walked over to the elevator and pressed in a combination. The four figures stepped into the empty elevator.
"I'm so confused," muttered Joanne.
"In a nutshell, in a recent battle this blue ball of magic hit us. Parker took most of the blast."
Sam's eyes widened. "So if you're like this, and Parker's not here right now, and you only trust us to take this babysitting job, and she took most of the blast…then—!"
"Yes, Parker is the four year old."
Joanne rubbed her temples. "Why do you three always cause trouble?"
"Oh, you say WE cause trouble?" asked Elizabeth.
"You're the superheroes who always argued over who had the coolest powers, debated over who was going to be leader 24/7, and fought over colors for your costumes," pointed out Sam.
"Touché."
"So why are you guys at Stark Tower?" wondered Joanne.
"Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are cooping us up here," said Lily. "I blame them. They say they want to keep an eye on us."
"Well if you have all the Avengers here checking up on you guys, why do you need us to look after Parker?" asked Sam.
"There's bound to be an inevitable mission to come up," Elizabeth explained. "When no one's at the Tower, Parker will be alone. That can't happen."
The elevator dinged open and the four friends walked out. "One more thing," said Elizabeth. "She only responds to Marie. You remember when she got her nickname."
"Yeah," said Sam.
A small girl ran into the living room and saw the four people. She giggled and ran over to Lily. "Hide me!" she said, almost bouncing up and down in excitement. Footsteps could be heard from in the hall. Parker ran behind Lily, grinning widely.
"Marie," said a playful voice from the hallway. Parker laughed and hid further behind Lily. Tony peeked in from the door to the hall. He spotted the visitors and walked in a bit more casually. "Oh, so you're Sam and Joanne?" he asked. Both of the women nodded.
"Yes," said Joanne.
He shook their hands. Joanne looked absolutely in awe. She was grinning as wide as she could. "Hello Mr. Stark! I'm Joanne. I've read all about your work and accomplishments."
"Must've been a pretty thick book." He smirked and turned to Lily and Elizabeth. "Fury wants us at the Helicarrier. He said you guys were included. I convinced him to have an agent or some SHIELD medics check up on Marie tomorrow." As he said this he looked down at the toddler behind Lily. "Okay, time for bed."
"No," she said. Not defiantly, but just playfully.
"No?" asked Tony in mock shock. "Don't make me pick you up." Parker giggled. "Okay then…" He reached down and picked up Parker before she had a chance to run away. The toddler squealed happily and struggled a bit in the billionaire's grasp.
"Wait, so we're babysitting right now?" asked Sam.
"Yeah," said Tony. "We need to skedaddle off to the meeting like" he looked at his watch, "…right now. As a matter of fact— JARVIS?"
"Yes sir?"
"Tell the rest of the team to meet at the helipad."
"Right away sir."
"Thanks." He looked at Sam and Joanne. "We'll do better introductions when we get back. Marie needs to go to bed right now—"
"—but I don't wanna."
"And basically just make sure she doesn't…wait, do you know of her…abilities?…"
"Yeah," said Sam. "We were with her and Lily and Elizabeth when the got their…talents…"
"Good. No explanation needed then."
"But we still don't get how she turned into—" started Joanne.
"All will be clarified when we come back. Right now, good luck," he said, handing Parker to Sam.
-(::)-
"Rock, paper, scissors?" suggested Sam. The two girls were trying to find out who was going to put Marie to bed.
Joanne shrugged. "Sure." They both put out their hands. They hit their fist into the palm of their hand three times before showing their answers. Sam was rock. Joanne had her ring finger and pinky next to each other and her middle and pointer finger next to each other. She was—
"Spock."
"What?"
"From Star Trek. Spock incinerates rock."
"That doesn't count. You get the job for cheating."
"…Best two out of three?" Sam gave her 'The Look'. "Fine, fine." She walked out of the kitchen and over to Marie, who was sitting on the couch. "Hello Marie. I'm Joanne."
"What happened to the others? Why did they leave?" This little Marie was full of questions, unlike her normal self. Normally she would assess the situation by listening and reading in between the lines. At this age, she was inexperienced and curious. Although, the curiosity level was only just higher than normal.
"They had a meeting so Sam and I are watching you for a little bit. Now come on, it's time for bed."
"Awwww…"
"Come on." Marie hung her head and Joanne followed her into her room. Marie climbed into her bed and sat up, looking expectantly at Joanne. Joanne sat down on the edge of the bed, making it sag under her greater weight compared to Marie. "What?" she asked.
"I dunno, I guess I'm just waiting for something to happen."
"Well I'm not sure what I'm suppose to do." She paused, thinking up an idea. "Do you like singing?" Joanne knew what the answer was from fourth grade and up, but didn't actually know when she gained her love for music.
"Singing? Yes. About a year ago I preformed a song for my dad and some people he knew. I got a balloon!" She seemed very excited about the balloon. 'Then when did she get her fear for balloons?' Joanne asked herself. She just smiled.
"Do you want to hear a song?" Joanne asked her.
Marie perked up. "A song? Okay."
Joanne smiled and began. "There is a castle on a cloud. You should go there in your sleep. Aren't any floors for you to sweep. Not in this castle on a cloud." Marie laid down, listening intently. Joanne continued her ever so slight word changing. "There is a room that's full of toys. There are a hundred boys and girls. Nobody shouts or talks too loud. Not in this castle on a cloud." She smiled and got a bit closer. "There is a lady all in white. Holds you and sings a lullaby. She's nice to see and she's soft to touch. She says:" Joanne sang/spoke in a softer voice. "Marie, I love you very much." She began to sing once more. "There is a place where no one's lost. There is a place where no one cries. Crying at all is not aloud. Not in this castle on a cloud." Joanne smiled and got up, walking out of the room.
Then just to herself, making sure Marie couldn't hear, she whispered, "Get back to normal Parker."
-(::)-
Lily sat next to Elizabeth on a bench in one of the SHIELD training rooms on the Helicarrier. Both of them were exhausted. They had gone through scans and tests, both physical and mental. "If I have to fly another lap I'm going to turn into a brontosaur and start rampaging," Elizabeth mumbled.
"Well I've been making ice cube after ice cube." She sighed angrily. "This is stupid, we're all gonna freeze to death if I go any longer!"
Steve walked up to both of them. "Tired?"
"Understatement of the century," said Elizabeth. "Are we done here?" Steve nodded. "HALLELUJAH!"
-(::)-
The team walked into the den and saw Sam and Joanne sitting on the couch watching the first season of Doctor Who. "Wait…Sam, you watch Doctor Who?" asked Lily, exceedingly confused.
Before Sam could say anything, Joanne peeked over the couch and answered. "She does now!" Both Lily and Elizabeth jumped with grins.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so proud of you!" said Elizabeth excitedly.
"I'll go check up on Parker," said Natasha. She went down the hallway and opened the door to Parker's bedroom. Nat saw her lying in bed and was about to turn around and leave when a moan escaped Marie's lips. She turned back and walked over to the side of her bed. "Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it…" Natasha put her hand on Marie's forehead. She was hot. Pulling off one of the two blankets, Nat attempted to make her cooler.
"JARVIS, what's Marie's temperature?"
"Ms. Kiehof is currently 103.7 degrees fahrenheit. Shall I inform the others?"
Natasha shook her head. "No, I'll tell them." She stood. "Tell me if her situation worsens."
"Of course Ms. Romonoff."
Natasha walked out of the bedroom and into the den. "I think Parker's got the flu," she announced. "Or at least something along the lines of it."
Bruce stood up from his seat. "I'll go check on her."
And thus ended a super long, mostly pointless chapter written by AglonAuthor.
Lily: Really? Les Misérables?
Me: Yes! Really!
Clint: This chapter was reeeeeeaaaaaalllly long.
Me: Thank you Captain Obvious.
Tony: Erg…Sick kids. Even worse than regular kids…
Me: I have the power, Tony…I have the power…
**Should Sam and Joanne show up once more? Please review and tell me! ;)