Hi everyone! Sorry for the late update. My computer was in the shop and unfortunately they had to wipe my hard drive. I did NOT lose any bit of this story though. I've kept this story stored in at least two places since the start so if one of them was ever compromised, I still had the other as backup. What really took me so long was that since they had to wipe my hard drive, they wiped out my word processing unit so I had to figure out how to re-download it. But I'm back. Just a quick note, this chapter starts with Natasha's POV of the search for Gwen and Peter so don't be alarmed if it seems like we've gone backward a little bit.

Disclaimer: Still don't own it, nor do I claim to. You lawyers can cool your jets.


"Hawk, what's your position?" Natasha spoke into her comm device.

"I've checked all our floors, there's no sign of them," came her partner's voice in her ear.

"I checked all the R&D floors." Dr. Banner's voice was tight with just barely controlled emotion. He was being very careful to keep his other half in check. "I doubt they would have hidden there, but it never hurts to be sure."

"Very true Bruce," Captain's voice rang through her ears. "According to Thor, they haven't tried to go through any of the doors on the ground floor. I think we need to change our strategy."

"I agree with Spangles." Even serious, Tony's attitude still made Natasha want to punch the man. "I just looked at the footage from the elevator they were in. I think we went in the wrong direction."

"Meaning what exactly?" That was Clint's voice again.

"I think they went up," Tony stated simply. "Gwen took the emergency exit on the roof the the elevator they were in."

All the lines were silent for a moment before the sound of Steve cursing could be heard. "Alright, I want everyone to the top floors asap. Tony, you're still on security feed in case we're wrong and they try to get out another way."

Everyone chorused their agreement and Natasha made her way to the nearest elevator. She punched the button for the top floor and leaned her head against the cool metal interior. The pair had been missing for just over five hours now and everyone was getting more than a little bit scared.

What if they hadn't reacted fast enough and they were already out of the building? What if Osbourne had caught them again? What if they never came back? Natasha wasn't sure which one of the last two was worse. The duo had been at the tower for all of two days and already she had grown attached. She didn't want to know what that said about her at the moment. All she knew was that she felt overly protective of the pair, and judging from the way the rest of her teammates were coping with the situation, she was willing to bet she wasn't the only one.

The soft 'ding' of the elevator told her that she had arrived at the top of the tower. Her and Clint's floor. Clint had insisted on having the top floor, his name was Hawkeye for a reason. As she stepped off the elevator, her eyes were scanning the room for anything out of place. Something that would tell her that someone other than herself or her partner had been there recently.

"Clint, did you take the vents?" Natasha asked into her comm.

"No. Been doing it the old fashioned way," came his reply. "Any reason?"

"I'm on our floor and it looks like the vent grate in the front room has been used recently."

"What makes you think that?"

"It's on backwards."

"I'm gonna take the nearest entrance and have a look around."

"Want me to meet you in there?" Natasha asked.

"Sure. You remember the layout?"

"You want any other back-up in there you two?" Captain asked.

"No offense Cap, but I practically live in these things." Clint's voice was echoing around him. "And Natasha knows her way around well enough. Anyone else up here would get lost in a heartbeat. I don't wanna have to run two rescue missions instead of one."

"You all meet us on the community floor," Natasha said. "They've been up there for hours so I'll bet that they're cold and hungry. You guys order out and someone find Peter's cold medicine. There's a good chance that it's gotten worse."

"Lady Natasha." Natasha raised her eyebrows when she heard Thor's voice at the other end of the comm link.

"What's up Thor?" she asked as she swung herself up into the ventilation system.

"I am sensing a large swell of magical energy on the third floor to the top of the tower."

"Is it Loki?" asked captain.

"No, it carries the same signature that Lady Gwen's magic carries. I believe that is where you will find them."

"Thanks Thor. Hawk, you copy?"

"Copy that. Heading that way now, meet you there."

Everything was silent on the comms for about fifteen minutes until everyone heard Clint calling Gwen and Peter's names.

"Guys, I've got them. No injuries that I can see. Gwen, Peter, are you alright?"

"Are they ok Clint?" Natasha asked, double timing through the tunnels.

"Gwen's got a shield up and isn't responding to me. Tasha, any advice?"

"Just keep them calm and talking till I get there. ETA to your position is ninety seconds," Natasha replied.

She could vaguely hear Clint's voice through the comms trying to get Gwen talking. As she neared their position, she could see Peter curled up against his sister's chest, both of them surrounded by Gwen's bubble of power and Clint talking to them.

"Gwen, Peter, Clint?" Natasha called. She saw Gwen's tense body relax as soon as she heard Natasha's voice. The girl's eyes snapped to meet Natasha's.

"Gwen, let the shield down." Natasha made sure to keep her voice soft. Gwen was on edge right now and if she were to go off... "Let's get out of this vent. You can't hold out much longer and Peter needs food."

The bubble of power didn't go away. Natasha had thought that the bit about Peter would work for sure.

"No strings attached Gwen," Natasha said, her voice even gentler than before. "We swore on our hearts, remember? Let's get out of here."

Both she and Clint held their breath as they waited. Then there was an enormous sigh and the shield turned to particles and retreated inside Gwen's body. Natasha allowed herself a smile as Peter crawled out of his sister's protective embrace.

Clint lead them to the nearest exit that was close to an elevator. He kicked out the grate and swung down to the ground the way he was taught in the circus. Gwen took Peter into her arms and then gently lowered him into Clint's waiting arms.

Natasha held out her hand to Gwen so the girl could get to the ground safely. Natasha's eyes narrowed when Gwen teetered precariously for a moment and it looked like she wouldn't be able to stay upright.

Once Natasha herself had leapt out of the vent, Clint lead the way to the elevator. Once she had pressed the button for the floor they wanted, Natasha turned to survey the two children. Peter was looking tired and he was probably hungry. He looked alright for having just spent the afternoon hiding out from the Avengers in the vent system. Gwen, on the other hand, looked like she was on death's doorstep. Her face was pale and she was sweating. Her knuckles were white where she was clinging to the railing of the elevator and she was swaying.

"Gwen," Peter said, "You gonna be ok?"

His sister didn't answer him. Instead, she turned to Natasha.

"Nothing's going to happen right?" she asked. "You aren't going to send us away or give us to SHIELD?"

Where is this coming from? Natasha wondered. Out loud, she said, "We swore, didn't we Gwen? We're going to keep you two safe."

"Good," Gwen said as the elevator doors opened. She moved to follow Clint, but didn't make it for more than a step before she collapsed.

"Gwen!" Natasha cried, rushing over to the fallen girl and checking her pulse.

"Natasha, what happened?" Bruce was there in a split second with his medical bag in hand.

"She just collapsed. She said that they weren't hurt but she wasn't looking so good. Her face was pale and she was sweating. She could barely stand upright." She had been asking if they were going to be alright, she knew she was about to collapse and she wanted to make sure Peter would be safe while she was out. Natasha was between strangling the girl for not telling her sooner, or strangling her for thinking that she and Peter wouldn't be safe.

"She did too much." Everyone looked at Peter when he spoke up. "She barely ate today. She's been using her powers since the mall and she hasn't slept too well lately. It happens when she forgets to take care of herself. She'll be fine when she wakes up."

"Are you sure Peter?" Bruce asked him. "You're sure that's all it is? She didn't hurt herself when you guys were running or anything?"

"I'm positive," Peter said, sounding indignant. "I may be five but I'm not stupid. This has happened before. Once she wakes up, she'll be fine."

"Then let's get her to the bedroom and let her rest," Clint said, scooping the unconscious girl up into his arms. "I'll put her in the room and you guys came explain to everyone what happened."

Clint went down the hallway as Natasha took Peter's hand and they headed to the rec room. The air of relief was palpable. Pepper, who had been a wreck since Gwen took off, zeroed in on Peter as soon as he walked into the room and swooped him up into her arms.

As Pepper shot Peter a thousand questions a minute, Natasha looked around the room to the rest of the team. She saw Steve frown and knew he noticed who was missing. A few seconds later, Clint appeared at her side.

"Where is Lady Gwen?" Thor asked with a worried face.

"She collapsed once we got her out of the vents. Peter says she overexerted herself and to let her rest. Clint laid her down in their room," Natasha explained.

"But Peter's alright?" Steve asked. "What did she do that took so much out of her?"

"Used too much magic," Peter spoke up from his place in Pepper's arms. "She's been using it since the mall this afternoon to keep and eye on me and then to find the Lab Rats that were there. She didn't eat much breakfast this morning and she didn't sleep last night."

"She didn't sleep at all?" Tony asked, speaking up for the first time. "What in the world was she doing? Teens can't be quiet for eight hours, it's not possible."

Peter shrugged. "She probably found a book to read."

Tony's snort told the rest of the room what he thought of that. Steve elbowed him in the ribs.

"We need to have a plan," Steve said. "If Gwen saw the Lab Rats then it can be assumed that they saw them as well as Natasha and Pepper. As high profile as Pepper is, it's almost certain that they'll put two and two together. We can expect more to be coming. We'll either have a legal custody battle on our hands or a physical, violent one."

"My hope is for the latter," Thor spoke up, cracking his enormous knuckles as he spoke. It was clear he hoped for a physical fight so he could bash the Goblin Man's head in.

"As much as I agree with that," Bruce spoke up. "I have a feeling it will most likely be of the legal sort. A man as high profile as the CEO of Oscorp doesn't strike me as the type to settle disputes with fists."

Tony snorted again. "The man is a more demented version of Hammer. My company is superior to his in every way, including in lawyers. If he wants custody of Peter and Gwen, he's going to have a fight on his hands either way."

By this point, Peter had started squirming in Pepper's arms. "I'm hungry," he mumbled as he dug his face into Pepper's neck.

"I'll make dinner," Clint said. "How long will Gwen sleep for Peter?"

"Tomorrow morning probably," the boy replied. "Maybe afternoon. She usually needs sweet stuff when she wakes up."

"Magical exhaustion," Thor said. "Honey usually works best but other natural syrups work as well. I do not suppose you would have any Osbarth sap on hand Tony?"

"Cooking is not my department," Tony said. "Never heard of it."

"That's because it doesn't exist," Natasha replied. "I think we'll just stick with honey. Thor, is there anything else we can do for Gwen when she wakes up?"

"Just make sure she doesn't push her limit again. She will need rest and of course, the honey. It is like any of you recovering from a wound."

Dinner went smoothly and halfway through, Peter started yawning so big that Tony said he'd start catching bugs in his mouth. Pepper just rolled her eyes and bundled Peter off to bed. She tucked him in next to Gwen and turned off the light.


The next morning, Peter was up with the sun. He looked to his sister to see that she was still as soundly asleep as she had been the previous night. That really must have taken a lot out of her. She doesn't usually sleep through the night for anything.

Becoming bored after a few minutes of sitting awake in bed, Peter wandered into the kitchen to see if he could find anything to eat. He found Thor, god of thunder, in the kitchen getting a box of poptarts out of the cabinet.

"Good morning Peter," his voice boomed. "How was your sleep?"

Peter blinked up at the big man in front of him. Normally he was scared of anyone really big, but he felt safe with Thor. "Slept good," he replied, "Sis is still asleep though."

"Well she used an enormous amount of her magic yesterday, it is little wonder she needs sleep to recuperate," Thor replied, watching Peter as he opened the refrigerator and stood on tiptoe to reach the milk on the top shelf.

"I know, I'm not worried. Will be if she sleeps longer than lunch time though." Peter huffed in frustration when he couldn't get his hands on the milk carton. Without thinking about it, he pointed his wrist at the item and shot a web, catching it neatly in the air.

"That is an impressive skill to have young Peter," Thor commented. "Were you born with it or did you acquire it somehow?"

"Sissy says a spider bit me when I was small and that's why I have these powers, but I don't believe her. She was bit by a spider a year ago and nothing happened to her." Peter gently set the milk on the table and went to get a cup. He leapt up on the counter and then to the top of the fridge to get to the cabinet where they were kept.

"Be careful young one," Thor said.

Peter frowned. "Why? I do this all the time. Sis says I shouldn't do it in the daytime or around strangers. But you all aren't strangers. Gwen trusts you so it's safe."

At that moment, Steve walked into the room. When he saw Peter on top of the refrigerator, he nearly dropped what he was holding. "Peter, get down from there! You could get hurt!"

"No I won't," Peter said as Steve walked over to him to help him down. "I've been much higher than that and never gotten a scratch. Besides, Thor was watching me."

"Be that as it may, you need to be careful when you climb things," Steve said as Peter poured himself a glass of milk.

"Steve, he's a kid. He's going to get into places where he's not supposed to be," came Clint's voice from the doorway. "God knows I got in tons of trouble doing that stuff when I was his age."

"You also got circus training and training in how to fall correctly by the time you were eight," Natasha shot back, walking in behind her partner. "And you didn't have whatever powers he's got that make him more prone to climbing than a normal kid."

"I climbed everywhere I wasn't supposed to be when I was his age and if Gwen is the type of sister I think she is, she'll have taught him how to fall without getting hurt by now," Clint retorted.

"And what kind of sister is she?" Peter asked, a hard edge to his voice when he heard the man say what sounded like a bad thing about his sister.

"Calm down buddy," Clint said. "I just meant that your sister is very protective of you and that means she loves you. It's a good thing, I promise."

"A very good thing," Thor agreed.

"Is Gwen up yet?" Bruce asked as he walked into the kitchen and over to the electric kettle to make himself some tea.

"Sis is still asleep," Peter told the man.

"I want to see her when she gets up to look her over and make sure she isn't hurt and didn't tell us," Bruce said.

Peter frowned at the man. Gwen trusted him, she seemed to trust all of the people in the tower, but that didn't mean he couldn't be concerned. "You're not going to hurt her? Or do ex-spearmints on her?"

"I swear on my heart I only want to make sure that she's alright Peter," Bruce said, going down on one knee to look Peter in the eye. "I know that you and your sister are wary of doctors, and for good reason, but she needs to be seen by someone who has some medical training."

"And just who, Doctor Banner, needs to be seen by someone with medical training?" a hard voice sounded from the entrance to the kitchen. All of the Avengers present looked up to find S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury standing there in all his eyepatch and trenchcoat glory.


Gwen had woken up to find Peter nowhere to be seen. Her first reaction had been pure terror. Peter wasn't beside her in bed. That meant one of two things had happened, either she was back in Oscorp, or Peter had gotten hurt. She knew without a doubt, which one was worse.

All those feelings and thoughts had run through her head in less than five seconds. That was how long it took for her brain to catch up with her instinct. She was lying in bed in Avengers Tower and while she wasn't to the point of trusting them with her life, she trusted them enough to leave Peter alone with them. From the sun that was coming in the windows, she judged that it was probably somewhere between eight-thirty and nine in the morning. She had slept in late.

Though, considering how much of her energy she had used up yesterday, she was almost surprised that she hadn't slept later. Content in the knowledge that, for the moment, she didn't have to be worried for her life, Gwen stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom. She splashed water on her face to wake her up and then ran a hand through her hair, absentmindedly wishing she knew where there was a hair brush.

Hearing voices coming from the direction of the kitchen, Gwen decided that it was time to go see what Peter had gotten into while she was asleep.


Everything in the kitchen froze for a moment when Fury walked in, then there was a flurry of movement. Steve stepped into the Director's direct line of sight while both Bruce and Thor moved in front of Peter, pushing him behind them protectively. Clint and Natasha stayed where they were, but they both stiffened, ready to act at a moment's notice.

"Well, I'm waiting. And while you're at it, I want to know why two civilian minors are currently residing in the tower."

"As I told Agent Coulson yesterday," Tony drawled, walking into the room and getting right into the director's face, "I don't see why that is any business of yours or of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s."

"It is if my response team suddenly decides to suit up and go on an unauthorized mission."

"And what are you going to do about it Nick?" Tony replied. "Because however long your reach is, it means nothing going up against mine. And I really don't think you want your entire team mad at you."

"Stark, I have no reason to fear you or whatever influences you may have. And you still haven't answered my question to my satisfaction yet." Fury's attention was drawn to Thor, who had a small face peering out at him from behind the god's legs. As soon as the boy got a good glimpse of the director of the most covert and most advanced militaristic force in the world, the small face disappeared. "And here I thought Coulson was kidding when he said there was a five year old in Avengers Tower."

"And what are you going to do about it?" Tony spat. "Cause you're going to have to get through every single one of us if you want them gone."

Fury raised the eyebrow that wasn't covered by the eyepatch. "And here I thought you didn't do kids Stark."

"People can change. Self-obsessed, volatile and doesn't play well with others, remember?" Tony shot back.

"You're still all that Tony," Steve said, getting between the director and the billionaire before blood could be drawn. "Coulson was not kidding, Director Fury, when he said that there was a five year old in the tower. He and his sister are going to be staying with us for the foreseeable future."

"Sister?" Fury asked.

Just as Steve was about to answer, there was a new voice added to the mix. "Uncle Blackbeard?"


Can I just say that we have now reached my favorite part of this entire story? Tell me what you think! Please review and I'll see you all next time!
CaseClosed621