HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Hey there folks! I've got good news (or bad seeing as I'm not a masocist)! A close friend of mine took a read through this story and took a liking to it. That means that if I don't update more often she will beat me into a bloody pulp. Then she'll go out and get a crow bar so that she can do it again. Then she'll get a fire sparkler and sign her work on my face... I'm going to go find a very deep hole to cry in...

Chapter 8: Realizations

Tony was starting to get nervous. Things were going perfectly with the portal as it took form. In fact, they were actually ahead of schedule. Which, in his experience, meant that something would go wrong pretty soon.

"You all right there Tony?" Asked a sophisticated voice to his left. He turned to face a large, muscular creature with long black claws and fangs. His entire form was encased in a mixture of thick blue and grey fur beneath a long white lab coat, but you could never tell Hank McCoy's age by that. He had all the energy and strength of a monkey in its prime.

"Yeah, I'm just getting worried. Back in the day, this was about the time when some idiot would trip over a shoelace and accidentally trip the building's self destruct sequence or something stupid like that."

Hank considered the point briefly before nodding. "Yep, that sounds about right."

Tony only chuckled as the doors behind them slid open to admit a very exhausted looking Gwen wearing an extremely dejected look on her face. Her red, sleeveless outfit clung tightly to her, sticky with sweat, and her shoulder length brown hair stuck up at odd angles.

Tony could tell just by looking at the girl what the answer was, but he asked his question anyways as everyone gathered around her. "Banner?" She sighed and shook her head.

"I tried every desert I could think of that could sustain human life for more than a few hours but couldn't find him. I just don't know where else to look!" Tony felt a stab of pity for the girl as Azari wrapped his arms around her and led her away. Everyone's trips had been rewarded somehow, even Pym and Griffin's. Gwen had nothing but sore feet to show for her efforts.

Out of the corner of his eye, the old man briefly watched Logan and Thor have a quiet discussion but he quickly ignored it. He didn't have time to worry about them; he had his own problems to figure out. Coincidentally, Richards had been looking into a field similar to the one that they were now, so his research notes were an invaluable resource. Even so, they would only do so much. After all, they were essentially powering it with gamma radiation seeing as that was the energy emitted from the cube. Reed was smart, but even he wasn't an expert in that particular field, not like Banner. If only they could have-

"I think I may know where to find Banner," a voice said, interrupting his thoughts. All eyes turned towards Logan and Thor as Wolverine continued to speak. "At the very least, I think I can find the Hulk."

"How?" Asked Laura as she stepped forward and eyed him distrustfully.

"Hulk and I used to have a little tradition," elaborated the mutant. "Every year, he and I would meet up and duke it out along the U.S.-Canadian border. Unless he wants to look like a coward, which Hulk won't with his whole 'Strongest there is' complex, he'll be there. The problem will be trying to get him to come back here. That's why I plan on taking Thor with me. Together, we might be able to knock him out and drag him back here."

"I'm coming too!" Said Toruun and Laura simultaneously as they stepped forward.

Thor blinked. "Nay! 'Tis too dangerous! Leave this task to us."

Toruun smiled, but it had a cold edge to it. She quietly stepped closer, making Thor take a nervous gulp. "Father, I love you very dearly. But the lives of our boyfriends are on the line."

The volume of her voice began to increase as she spoke. "We're going, we'll beat down the Hulk, bring Banner back here, fix the stupid portal, bring James and Hawkeye back, and then we can all live happily ever after. If you have any problem with that, well," she glanced at Laura who grinned darkly in return before turning another terrifying smile on the the men. "You both gifted us with wonderful blades. Perhaps we should use them to ensure that we're only children from now on?"

She paused to let that thought sink in before turning towards the doors. "We're wasting time. Let's go."

After the two girls left the room, everyone turned their shocked gazes on the pair of warriors. After a moment's silence, Thor spoke.

"She takes after her mother."

000000

Despite the fact they looked no different from all of the other families milling about around them, James couldn't help but think that they were the strangest group of people in the theme park. Their group was made up of Tony, Clint, Peter, and Natasha, with the addition of the boys of course. Tony's strategy was obvious, given that the Avengers already knew that the boys were withholding information. James and Francis had already begun opening up to Natasha and Clint, respectively, and with Peter only being a few years older than them, Tony was probably hoped that they all might bond.

Not happening. At least, not with James at least. Francis was chatting away like an idiot as usual. The redhead on the other hand was far too distracted as he tried to piece together what it was that he felt was wrong. It was simply one of those feelings that you can't really shake and it gnawed at you like a dog with a bone.

He didn't notice the long, snaky rides that surrounded him on all sides that carried screaming children through the air. Nor did he notice the concerned glances that Natasha was constantly sending his way.

Francis had noticed his friend's mood but chose not to comment. If he was figuring something out, he would do it. Hawkeye knew that he couldn't do anything to change that, even if he tried. All that he could really do was enjoy the rides and not bother James.

Eventually, they came across a game booth. It was one of those dart games where you had to pop the balloons to win a prize. Instantly, Clint's eyes lit up and he grinned evilly.

"Hey babe, want me to win you a present?" He asked Natasha breezily as he strolled over to it. The Black Widow only rolled her eyes as she followed, but Francis looked thoughtful. He smirked and leaned down to pick up a few pebbles as Clint paid for a round. The white haired boy lazily strolled forward and leaned innocently on the counter as the man took aim.

Right as his father released the dart, Francis flicked his wrist and a pebble shot from it like a bullet. It sailed out and slammed into the dart's tip midair, causing it to divert to the side slightly. Clint stared in unmasked shock as the dark slammed into the board, right next to the balloon he'd been aiming at. All was silent as it quivered lightly in the wood.

Narrowing his eyes, he shot the second dart out as Francis repeated his actions, leading to the same result as th first. His mouth hit the floor as Natasha began giggling uncontrollably. He glared backwards at the others as they tried and failed to stifle their laughter.

He turned back to the board and narrowed his eyes in pure, unadulterated hatred. Whatever was wrong with him, it appeared that it was causing him to throw a little to the right. It was just far enough to miss the balloon, but since he'd been aiming for the center, it was murder on him. He quickly calculated as he took aim, eyes locked on the spot the exact distance on the left side of the balloon that the other darts had landed in order to compensate.

As he released, Francis did nothing.

Clint's eyes bugged out of his head as the dart landed exactly where he'd been aiming, making him miss the balloon yet again. All the others finally burst out into full blown laughter as Clint fell to his knees in horror. James, having caught on after the first throw, shot a humored look towards Francis. The boy merely grinned in response.

"Let's just go get on the ferris wheel," grumbled the older archer angrily, leading to yet more laughter from the group.

"Aw, don't feel too bad," Natasha told him as she patted his shoulder lightly. "If it helps, I could probably win you a prize on the shooting range."

"Ferris wheel: now," was Clint's only response. The Black Widow merely shrugged and led the way through the crowd towards a large, brightly shinning wheel in the distance.

After a few moments, the group emerged into a small open space between several booths and a few spinning coasters full of screaming people. Directly on the other side of the space was a massive Ferris wheel that spun leisurely around clockwise, carrying the couples and families that constituted the long line in front of the machine high into the air. The thing that really caught peoples' attention though was the light. Large bulbs of every color shone and blinked, creating a brilliant light show that blinded any passerby.

That thing could power a city block, thought James idly.

He froze.

His mind whirled as the others stopped and looked at him questioningly. As soon as Francis saw the look on the redhead's face, he knew that their day at the park was over. Whatever he'd been puzzling after all day was finally solved. And as James looked up, it was obvious that he felt he'd discovered something important. And knowing James as the white haired boy did, it probably was.

James turned towards Tony. "You said you were scanning for arc reactor energy signatures, why?"

The billionaire seemed taken aback by the question. "What?"

"Why are you scanning for arc reactor signatures?"

"Um well-" Tony paused, glancing at the others in confusion. Only Francis didn't seem totally lost in the conversation, even if he didn't seem to totally understand it either. "The Black Skull needs a powerful, self-renewable energy source if he wants to power Ultron efficiently. Anything else would be drained too fast to be of any use."

The redhead nodded. "That makes sense, but what if he had another?"

"Another what?" Asked Peter as he tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"Another energy source. What if he had another power source that was even greater than an arc reactor? What if he had-"

"-A Tesseract," finished Francis as his eyes widened in understanding.

Iron Man burst into laughter at the words. "A Tesseract? Seriously? You DO know that that's on Asgard right? There's no way that-"

"Stark," interrupted Natasha softly. "Just answer the question."

Iron Man regarded her quietly before shrugging. "I suppose it could work, but it seems a little excessive to power one robot, even if it's something I designed."

"What if it wasn't just one?" Inquired James. "What if he was making an army." Silence followed his words as everyone digested the thought. Francis went white as he pictured the thought. If one Ultron was enough to nearly destroy the world, what could ten do? Or twenty? Or a hundred? Tony's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"No, that wouldn't work. The energy would burn up too fast. The Tesseract itself would only be able to power one machine. He would need to use a core to hold energy from the cube and use it like a battery to power the other robots. However, that energy would be limited once it leaves the cube itself. It would stop being self-sustaining."

"Unless he used an energy recycling core," interrupted Peter quietly, making Iron Man hesitate.

"Is there something like that?" wondered Francis aloud.

"Off the top of my gorgeous head, I can only think of one," replied Tony as he scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Vibranium, the material that Cap's shield is made of. It's most known for its ability to absorb energy, but it also has recycling properties. Hit it with Tesseract energy just right and you could potentially jury-rig an arc reactor."

"Where could he get the amount of Vibranium he'd need to make cores for an army?" Asked James quickly.

"There's only one place," aswered Clint. "Wakanda has the largest supply of Vibranium in the world. If that's the Skull's plan, he'll be heading there."

"We need to get there," concluded Francis, but Natasha was already shaking her head.

"We can't. Wakanda is an isolationist nation; they hate outsiders. Relations have improved ever since King T'Challa ascended to the throne, but it'll still be difficult for use to enter."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Asked James desperately. Silence followed for a moment before Peter broke it.

"Didn't Logan say that Storm was close with T'Challa? Couldn't we just ask her to help us get in?"

Tony stared at him with wide eyes before he stepped forward and placed his hands firmly on the boy's shoulders. "My brilliantness must be starting to rub off on you, kid. I'll get Wolverine on the comm now."