Hey everyone, Shadow here. I'm sorry for the long update but I was dealing with some personal stuff and then my friend got me hooked on a book series and then other stuff happened so yeah. Eventually I finally got around to this but I'm sorry for taking so long. For those of you still following this story, thank you so much for your loyalty! For those of you not, I totally understand... Yeah... Well! Let's begin!

Chapter 7: Planning for the future

"Are you sure you wanna do this?" asked Pym as he studied the figure in the distance.

Griffin took a deep breath and nodded. "As sure as I'll ever be."

He and Griffin stood on a beach just outside of San Fransisco, surrounded by people enjoying the warm, sunny day. It was hard to imagine all of these people slaving under Ultron's rule only a year and a half ago.

The two of them were dressed as civilians in simple white tank tops and shorts, though Pym's shorts were a bathing suit and Griffin's were made of denim. She wore her swim suit beneath her close.

They watched as one of the countless surfers out on the water came back into shore. He had blonde hair that was turning grey with blue eyes and tan skin. Around his neck was a necklace made of white shark teeth. The water poured off his skin, running over the scars that crisscrossed his skin, testaments to his stand against Ultron. Johnny Storm was never one to give up without a fight.

"Let's go," said Griffin as she started towards him. Pym followed quickly behind her.

Johnny looked up as they approached. He glanced around, most likely looking for their parents before turning back to them. "Are you kids alone? Where are your parents?"

"Dead," answered Pym simply. "We're Avengers. I'm Pym and this is Griffin. We were hoping you could help us with something."

Johnny cocked an eyebrow and studied them more closely. He noticed the way the girl was doing the same to him, but chose not to comment.

"You look like your parents," he informed Pym, causing the boy to hesitate. "What can I do for you?"

"We're looking for Reed Richards, and we were hoping that you could help us find him."

From the look of pain that flashed across the Human Torch's face, it was obvious what the answer was. Even so, Johnny took a deep breath and square his shoulders, testament to his will.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. You're looking at the last living member of the Fantastic Four. Ultron got everyone else at the same time he was leveling New York. We were in Malibu for Reed and Sue's honeymoo so we weren't expecting the attack. I was out surfing at the time, flirting with girls-"

Griffin flinched.

"-while Ultron's bots were attacking the house. By the time I got back..." The look in his eyes told the kids that that was as much as he could bring himself to say. They decided not to ask for details. Even so, they couldn't help but feel a bit crestfallen at the thought that James and Francis were all that much further out of reach. Johnny noticed. "I don't know if it'll help at all, but I know where you can find some of his old research notes. There might be something in there that you can use to help you with whatever it is you need."

Their expressions brightened immediatel. "Seriously?!" exclaimed Pym excitedl. "That's great! I'll tell Tony right now!"

Johnny smiled softly at their excitement before glancing at Griffin. There was something about her the made him speak before he could think.

"Hey, while he's updating Stark, you want me to teach you how to catch a couple waves?" He made a small gesture towards the ocean. Griffin's eyes widened and she nodded eagerly. "Perfect! Let's go pick up a spare board real fast and we'll get started!"

Pym smiled as he watched the pair race off down the shoreline before sliding his communicator out of his pocket.

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The first thing James could think was ow.

He could feel a sharp pain in his side from where the Black Skull had shot him, surrounded by bandages. Upon opening his eyes, James could see that he he was resting in some kind of a hospital bed, though the room he was in obviously wasn't one. It was white and every wall was blocked by hovering computer screens that revealed details about James's vitals, condition, and other necessitie. One of which seemed to include a Star Wars marathon, and another was connected to an Xbox.

Sitting at the bedside was Francis who was rather absorbed in the game he was playing. He was dressed in a simple white shirt under a grey hoodie with a a pair of jeans. His sneakers were flat against the floor as he leaned forward, a controller in his hands.

"Hey," said the archer without looking away from the screen. "You've only been out for a few hours. We're in the medbay back at the Tower. Stark's okay, but your parents have been freaking out about you. And no, I didn't say anything that would give us away. They're all upstairs trying to figure out our next move."

James blinked, shocked by the sudden answers to the questions he just getting ready to ask. He guessed that was what happened when you were partnered with someone long enough.

Having nothing much else to say, James merely watched Hawkeye play his game (some kind of alien war game. The box said Destiny, but James didn't really care). He silently brooded over his fight with the Black Skull, contemplating the possible meanings behind the man's words afterwards. When that got him nowhere, he switched his line of thought towards Ultron.

It worried James to no ends that the schematics for the most dangerous weapon in human history was resting in the hands of a madman. Even so, James was confused as to why the Black Skull was building it. He had to know that James and Hawkeye knew its weaknesses now after defeating it once already, and now they had the power of all of the original Avengers backing them. The thought of Ultron conquering the world was terrifyin, but James was confident they could stop it, and the boy was willing to bet that the Black Skull thought so too. So why build the robot in the first place?

There were several uncertainties, but all James could think of was that Ultron was only a part of the Skull's grand plan. And whatever that plan was, it would make Ultron look like a playground bully.

The boy's thoughts were interrupted as the doors to the medbay slid open to admit Steve, Natasha, Tony, and Clint. As soon as they saw James sitting up, the first two broke out into smiles. He felt a sense of relief at the thought that they were worried about him. After learning that Natasha and Clint were a couple, he'd begun to call into question the possibility of developing a relationship with his parents, not that it was safe to do so anyways. It looked like he'd been worried for nothing.

"Well it looks like Sleeping Beauty's awake," said Tony with a laugh. "I was beginning to think we'd need to find a Prince Charming to wake you with a kiss, and seeing as I'm the only one around who fits that description, I'm extremely glad that you're up."

"I was looking forward to posting it on Instagram," Clint informed them matter-of-factly.

Francis paused to cock an eyebrow at him. "Let me get this straight. You were looking forward to taking a picture of an adult man kissing a teenage boy, and then showing it to the world?"

Clint opened his mouth but no words came out. He silently closed it again before turning and sitting quietly in the corner, muttering to himself. James couldn't hear what he was saying, but he caught the words "not a pedo" multiple times.

"Well," said Steve as he watched Clint with a tilted head. "That was interesting. So, anyways, we were planning on going to an amusement park. You guys in?"

James blinked. "What about hunting down the Black Skull? Now that he has the Ultron blueprints, it's more imperative than ever that we stop him!"

Tonly raised a hand to shut him up. "Calm down Ariel. In order to get it working, he's going to need an Arc reactor. I've all of mine under lockdown and under guard by Banner and Logan, which means that he'd have to make his own, which is a lot harder than it sounds. That is, unless you're a super genius with no equal like me. But just in case, I've got Jarvis monitoring for any energy signatures matching Arc reactor technolog. If he manages to make one, we'll know. So, you wanna come with us or not?"

James exchanged a glance with Francis, who only shrugged. With a sigh, James nodded his assent.