Soft sunlight filtered through the penthouse windows as Nikita woke. She lay still, taking a moment to catalog her surroundings. She could hear Clint, Darcy, and Tony moving around in the small kitchen of the penthouse, the smell of coffee permeating the room. She could hear deep breathing from Skye still sleeping to her left. Breathing too steady and even to be sleep was coming from across the room by the windows, most likely Bruce meditating. She opened her eyes and got up, joining the others in the kitchen.

"Morning Sunshine!" Tony greeted with his trademark smirk, sliding a cup of coffee over to her.

Nikita fixed her coffee and sat down next to Clint.

"So," asked Tony, "Did we have any epiphanies overnight. Any decisions?"

Nikita looked at him over the rim of her coffee cup. "I think I'd like my own apartment," she answered.

"Done!" Tony declared. "JARVIS, make it so!"

"Right away, Sir." Responded the AI. "Sir, your breakfast order has arrived."

With that the elevator door opened to reveal a rolling table full of fresh crepes and croissants along with chocolate sauce, fresh fruits, and cheeses. The smell and commotion woke Skye and pulled Bruce from his morning meditation. They joined the others in the sitting area for breakfast.

"Sir," broke in JARVIS, "Miss Potts is requesting entry to the Penthouse."

"Patch her through, JARVIS." Tony responded.

"You are now connected with Miss Potts, Sir"

"Pepper! Light of my life," Tony gushed. "No can do. This is a meeting of the Sassy Sub Club. While you have an abundance of Sass you are not, in fact, a sub. So…."

"Yes Tony, I know." Pepper replied, her voice threaded with fond exasperation. "That's why I'd like to come up and talk about what happened yesterday and how it was handled. If any of the subs on the team have concerns about their treatment at the Avengers Initiative, I need to know."

"I'll put it to a vote," Tony replied, turning to address the others. "Any objections?" He asked. The others all indicated that they had no objection to talking with Pepper, except for Nikita who remained silent, which Tony took as permission. "JARVIS, let Pepper and only Pepper come up."

"As you wish, Sir"

In a matter of moments the elevator opened and a beautiful strawberry blonde Dom strode out, impeccably dressed in a cream colored suit. She exuded authority and competence, yet her smile was warm and genuine as she greeted Tony with a kiss, "Mister Stark."

"Miss Potts," he responded with a bright smile.

She perched on the arm of the sofa that he was sitting on, placing a hand on his shoulder for balance. She greeted those that she already knew, then Tony introduced Pepper to Skye and Nikita. "Meet Baby Agent Skye and our newest Russian Assassin, Nikita."

"It's nice to meet you both," she greeted them. "As you know, I wanted to talk to you all about what happened yesterday. I understand that Agent Tyler's employment with SHIELD has been terminated. Agent Skye, had you or any other subs ever had a problem with him before?"

"No," Skye answered. "Not that I know of. Coulson makes it pretty clear that subs on the team are off limits."

"Okay. What about Captain Rogers," Pepper turned towards Nikita. "I'm told he blamed you for the altercation?"

"Yes." Nikita replied simply in a flat tone and if Pepper was at all disconcerted by the coldness in her eyes, she didn't let it show. A moment of awkward silence followed as everyone waited for Nikita to expand on her answer, but she stayed quiet.

The others realized that Nikita had closed up and become tense since Pepper had entered the room. They hadn't actually realized how much she had relaxed around them, in just the company of subs. It was a subtle thing, noticed mainly in it's absence in the presence of a Dom. Pepper was being as non-threatening as a Dom could possibly be, and there was no doubt that Nikita could have ended her life before anyone could possibly react (with the possible exception of Clint). But there was no doubt that Nikita became closed off, tense, and guarded as soon as the Dom arrived.

"Yeah, Steve screwed up," Tony injected into the silence. "But in his defense, Fury basically met us at the door, announced she had attacked a SHIELD Agent, and told Cap he was responsible."

"That doesn't excuse him from laying blame before having all the facts," Pepper asserted. "Putting that aside for the moment, what about Fury?"

Clint spoke up, "Fury doesn't trust subs he can't control. He's had a hand on my leash since day one, but subs like Bruce, Tony, and now Nikita make him uneasy. And you can bet he's working on some way to control Wanda and Pietro as well."

"So," Pepper said with a sigh, "from what I'm hearing Fury can't be trusted to treat the subs at the Initiative fairly. Which means I'll have to get rid of him"

"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" Skye asked.

"The Avengers Initiative is funded by Stark money," Pepper answered, "and as CEO of Stark Industries…."

"Yes," Tony cut in, "but it's funded by me personally, not SI. Which means I get to fire him." Tony's grin at the prospect could only be described as wicked.

"Yes Tony, you can fire him," Pepper agreed with a bit of an eye roll. "But are you still okay with Steve leading the team? I know you guys are friends Tony, but I don't know if I'm comfortable with you putting your life in his hands if he won't even protect his own sub."

"I'm not actively on the team anymore Pep," Tony insisted.

"Tony please," she responded. "We both know that you've stayed away from the team for about as long as you're capable of. It's only a matter of time before you go back out in the field again and I need to know that whoever is leading the team will be looking out for you."

Tony leaned up and gave her a tender kiss before he answered her. "He may currently be acting like an idiot, but I do trust Steve, especially out in the field."

"Clint?" she asked.

"While I agree he's being an idiot," he answered, "there's no one I would rather have leading the team."

"Bruce?" she asked next.

"Steve's a good man. I'm comfortable with him leading the team," Bruce replied.

"What about you Nikita?" Pepper asked, "How do you feel about Steve leading the team?"

"I'm not an Avenger," Nikita asserted.

"You are if you want to be," Clint corrected.

"In any case you've fought with Steve leading the team, what's your assessment?" Pepper insisted.

"His tactics are sound and he is a skilled fighter," Nikita replied in a neutral tone.

"I guess that's settled then," Tony declared. "Steve stays in command and I get to give Fury his walking papers."

"On that note, I'm heading back down to my lab since someone dragged me out of it in the middle of a project," Bruce announced with a raised eyebrow in Darcy's direction.

"I'm gonna head out too," Clint said as he joined Bruce in the elevator.

"You know," said Tony turning towards Nikita, "You could come work for SI. We could use you in security."

Just then JARVIS broke in. "Sorry to interrupt Sir, but Director Coulson and Agent May have arrived. They are currently waiting in the Common Area."

"I should go," Skye said apologetically "it was really nice meeting you all." Before reaching the elevator she turned to Nikita, "You could come work for me. Coulson's asked me to put together a team to track powered people. We want to see if we can identify and find a way to work with the good guys, and figure out a way to stop the bad guys. I'd like to hire you as an independent contractor. You wouldn't have to answer to anyone else at SHIELD and you'd be free to leave anytime. Please just think about it."

Nikita just nodded at Skye as the elevator doors closed.

Darcy, who had been uncharacteristically quiet during all of the Avengers talk, glanced over at Tony and Pepper. She was carding her fingers through his dark curls, her perfectly manicured nails scratching along his scalp. Tony's eyes were hooded, his eyelids beginning to flutter. Darcy decided that was their cue to exit as well.

"Come on Kiddo," she enthused with a meaningful glance over at Tony and Pepper. "Let's get your stuff and I'll help you get settled in your new digs."

Following her gaze, Nikita agreed that they should take their leave. She grabbed her gym bag from the bathroom and followed Darcy into the elevator.