AGE OF ULTRON IS TOTALLY AWESOME! FYI: any events which transpire in the movie will be totally independent from this story. Especially anything that may or may not have gone on between Natasha and Bruce. I emphasize the SteveTasha in the story. This began before the movie, and I've got a feeling that it'll probably be easier on me if the story isn't impacted by the film (beyond being totally amazing). Except one little detail at the end of the film that I thought was pretty cool but won't come up until later. Yeah, just that. Just letting everyone know. And for those of you who don't know yet, the colors representing the Infinity Stones in the CU don't match the ones in the comics. Just saying. Yeah...

Chapter 12: The Truth

"We're so close," growled Tony, his eyes scanning the nearly finished machine before him. Within days, they'd be able to fire it up and finally, finally, find James and Hawkeye. Assuming their calculations were correct.

No, they have to be, thought Tony fiercely to himself. They have to be.

"We'll find them Tony," said Hank as he dropped a reassuring hand on the old billionaire's shoulder. "It's only a matter of time."

"Aye, old friend," boomed Thor jovially. "Your wards with be drowning in your mead within a fortnight!"

"If they last that long," was his only reply, desperation leaking through into his voice. Bruce watched him silently, before turning to double check Reed's old notes and compare them to his own. Again.

Tony glanced around, studying everyone in the room who'd helped him build the time tunnel. There was, of course, the three previously mentioned. In addition, there was Fiona Hardings, the scientist who'd helped build the original tunnel. She'd been an amazing help through the entire process. Despite the fact that she was only in her early twenties, the woman was as brilliant as they came. She reminded Tony of himself a little, back when he was a younger man.

Then there was Pym, who was something of a child prodigy. Only thirteen and already able to keep up with the best of them! His father would've been proud. Tony knew he was. Currently, he and Fiona sat across from each other scanning through data that flashed across their computer screens, playing some kind of "I can hack better than you can" game.

Toruun and Laura stood in the corner, having some kind of verbal duel as they glared daggers at each other. Some things never changed. Tony'd been worried for them, but after their fight with the Hulk, they'd seemed to have something of an epiphany. Now they were holding each other together, just as much as they tried to tear each other apart. Like he'd said, some things never changed.

Out of the room were Azari and Gwen, who Tony knew were upstairs watching a movie and God knew what else that he, as the closest thing they had to a father, didn't want to hear about. The pair had held together well, but he shouldn't have been surprised seeing as the spider-ling was the most level-headed of all the Avengers. Azari was something different. He was always a rule follower, wanting to trust those whom he felt had more experience and were more equip to lead than himself. But when pressure came, he started to crack. And yet, he'd held together better than just about any of them. The boy had a hidden strength that even he probably didn't know about.

Also away were Johnny Storm and Griffin. The Human Torch wasn't the brightest person around, but that didn't make his stupid. It didn't take long for him to figure out that his daughter was running with the Avengers. Now, he was making up for all the time he'd lost with her out on the waves, and she was loving it. Griffin had grown as well. When she'd first joined the Avengers, she was quiet and distrusting and plagued by panic attacks. But now she was bright and cheerful and brave. Pym might have had something to do with that, but most of it was her and her alone. She still wasn't open, but she was getting there.

Finally, there was one more person whose name was ready to be added to the list. Logan came to a rest beside Tony, his gaze sweeping over all of the others before coming to a rest on Laura.

"You did good, Stark. And I'm not just talking about the machine."

"Not good enough," replied Tony, exhaustion lacing his voice. "I've left the boy's stranded, all alone."

"Don't worry so much. They're strong. They're the brats of two of the greatest Avengers of all time, and they're leaders of the Avengers themselves."

"That doesn't mean they're ready for what's out there," was the old man's grim reply.

Logan placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "Take it from an immortal; you've got to let them grow up sometime. I could watch over my little girl for decades to come, preparing her for any possible scenario and she'd still never be ready for everything that the world has to offer. That's the hardest part of all of this: letting go, admitting that they're ready to stand on their own."

Tony weighted his words thoughtfully before coming to a conclusion. "Parenting's a bitch."

Wolverine threw his head back and laughed. "Try being an immortal one, and then we can talk."

000000

Natasha was fully aware of the silence that filled the throne room as James's words echoed into oblivion. All eyes were locked on the boy as he held the king's gaze, waiting to hear what the man would say. But when the king spoke, it wasn't to James, or any of the Avengers for that matter.

"Leave us," he commanded, his eyes never straying from James's own. Protests erupted from the crowd of onlookers, each claiming that it wasn't safe to leave T'Challa alone with the outsiders, but their real intents were abundantly clear. They wanted to hear what James had to say. T'Challa's voice cracked like a whip, leaving no room for argument. "Begone!"

The king's aides rushed to leave the throne room, clearing the area until only the king and his guests remained, all eyes locked on the expressionless boy standing before the throne.

T'Challa licked his lips quietly. "That is quite the claim to make, child, and it comes with no small implications. I will ask you the same question that I asked your companion: do you have any proof?"

Natasha inwardly scoffed. The boy needed no evidence; one look from him to Steve was all the proof anyone needed. In fact, how no one had noticed that the boy looked nearly identical to their team's leader until now was beyond the assassin's comprehension. The woman was willing to bet that if Tony had bothered to run James's DNA against Steve's, it would be a near match, if he hadn't done it already without letting anyone know, which wouldn't surprise her. There was only one thing that Natasha was wondering, and all the answers she came up with twisted her insides into knots.

"No," replied James. "I don't have any proof beyond my own blood. I'm willing to have it tested if it'll help get you to assist us. But I promise you this: I'm telling the truth. I am Captain America, and I'm the son of Steve Rogers. How I got to be here is slightly more... complicated."

T'Challa's gaze flashed towards Francis. "I'm going to assume you have something to add to this conversation?"

The white-haired boy met his eyes with a cool, cocky grace. "Name's Barton. You can call me Hawkeye. I'm the Captain's right hand man. Nice to meet ch'a."

"I see," replied T'Challa, his calm voice failing to reflect the emotions warring across his face. He eventually settled on stoicism. "I can tell that we're going to be here for a while, so why don't we start from the beginning. Speak your peace."

Natasha watched the redhead take a deep breath, her heart pounding in her chest. When he spoke, his voice was strong and sure. "How about I just tell you the story as I learned it, alright?" Heads nodded all around, but no one seemed to be able to form the words needed to describe what exactly it was that they were thinking. James seemed to prep himself, like he knew that whatever he was about to say wouldn't be received well. Was it just Natasha's imagination, or did his eyes flicker towards her for a moment?

"'And there came a day, unlike any other, when earth's mightiest heroes were united against a common threat," the boy began, much to the puzzlement of those around him. His explanation was a story? From his tone, it sound akin to a children's tale, but he seemed to find some significance in it. The spectator's were left with no choice but to listen. "The Soldier, the God, the Knight, the Spy, the Giant, the King, the Pixie, the Ghost, the Archer, the Beast, and the Spider. On that day, the Avengers were born! To fight foes that no single hero could withstand. Time traveling conquerors, alien invaders, and masters of evil. The Avengers vanquished them all!'"

He paused, steeling himself. When he spoke next, his tone took on something of a melancholy feel, like what came next pained him. "'And finally, when the world was peace, the heroes built lives of their own. The Soldier and the Spy fell in love-"

The world froze.

Natasha heard James speaking, continuing his story, but she heard none of it. Her eyes locked onto Steve's, the significance of the words slamming into them both with the force of a bullet train.

Avengers. Soldier. Spy. Love.

No. It wasn't possible. She was with Clint. She loved Clint. It. Wasn't. Possible.

Was it?

Natasha had no idea where that last thought had come from, but she squashed it quickly. No way. She didn't love Steve. That strange sense of pleasure she had gotten whenever the super-soldier had turned down one of her dating suggestions while they were working together at S.H.E.I.L.D. had no relevance. Or that moment between them in Sam's house after they'd been attacked by Hydra...

STOP!

Don't think of it, she thought to herself. Just. Don't.

She was still watching Steve. Natasha started, panic shooting through her. No. Nononononono No!

The Black Widow shook her head, disbelief in the story she was hearing and the thoughts and emotions swirling through her head filling her with pain. Without a word, she spun around and ran for the doors. She heard Clint shout something, before footsteps pounded after her, but she didn't stop. She had to get away. She didn't know where to, but she knew she had to get away.

She passed through the doors and into the shadows of the Panther's palace.

00

"'-Hope for the future.'" James finished, pain filling him as he heard the doors slam at the other end of the room, signaling that Natasha and Clint were gone. He wanted to go after her; to explain to her what was going on, try and reason with her, to say something.

To just talk to his mother, without the secrets. Mother and Son, for the first time in nearly nineteen years.

But he couldn't. One look at the faces of those around him, at the questions, was all he needed to know that his words were needed here more. Francis wore a calm grin, but James could see the slight tension in him that screamed nervousness. Everyone else had faces plastered with pure shock.

James took a breath.

"It took twelve years, but we eventually managed to destroy Ultron. By then, he had conquered half the planet, slaughtering anyone who stood in his way. Humanity was imprisoned in slums and reserves, left to fight for survival. Meta-humans were purged. We managed to restore some semblance of peace over the last two years, but the world is far from perfect. The usual panic and rioting eventually faded, and various organizations around the world started struggling to fill the power vacuum left after the fall of Ultron's regime. It didn't work. Now that the chaos has somewhat... lulled, we've returned to the traditional Avengers style of peace-keeping. Eventually we received intelligence stating that an anonymous person was attempting to build some sort of doomsday weapon. That person was eventually 'identified' as the Black Skull. His doomsday device wasn't a weapon, per se, but a portal. Though time. Which was how we got here. Does that just about cover everything?"

"Not exactly, but we'll roll with it," muttered Steve, his eyes staring off in the direction Natasha had vanished.

"Quick question," said Peter aloud. "How the Hell did he build a freaking time machine!? I mean, what would you even use to power something like that?"

"A Tesseract," whispered Tony, realization flooding him. "That's why you said that he'd use it to power Ultron. He didn't steal it from Asgard, he brought one over from the future!"

"But I thought the Tesseract opened portals through space, not time," wondered Peter.

"If he had the technology to pierce through the dimensional wall, then he'd really only need the Tesseract for power," replied Tony thoughtfully. "It would be like shooting an arrow at the dimensional wall, with the machine being the arrow and the Tesseract as the bow. In which case, it wouldn't be so much a time machine as a dimension transference machine. Which comes with its own set of problems, but woah! This is totally intense!"

"What do you mean by 'it's own problems'?" asked Francis, suddenly alert.

"Well, since it's two separate dimensions, there are two separate time streams. Meaning, time has been passing in your dimension at the same time as in this dimension. Maybe the speed of time elapsing is different, but it's still passing in both dimensions."

"So what you're saying is that if we get back to our own dimension, it won't be at the same time as when we left?" clarified James.

"Exactly. Just like how anyone traveling over from your dimension won't be able to arrive at the same point you did, or before. They would have to arrive from this point in time, forward."

"Excuse me," injected Ororo quietly. "Are we just accepting the fact that these to boys might be your children already, because I'm still trying to wrap my head around that one."

"Of course we are!" replied Tony with a laugh. "Besides that fact that it's totally amazing and I'm pretty curious to know if I every have those thirty super-model wives I've always wanted, I ran their DNA when we first picked these two up. I was bored so I had Jarvis do a scan and see if they matched up with anyone. They did. You wanna know who?"

"Fair enough."

T'Challa shook his head before slumping into his seat. "This is more than I can handle in one day. Please, leave me to... make sense of this. For now though, I would like to keep you close. I'll agree to your request for help against the Black Skull. I'll have rooms made up for each of you. Rest well. We'll have much to discuss come morning."