I had a reader inform me that the term "Irish Twins" can be viewed as a racial slur. So I did some research. It's an insult when two people are NOT actual twins. In my story, the young witches were twin sisters. I thought that was obvious, so if it wasn't, now you know! I hope I didn't offend anyone. It definitely wasn't my intentions!

My story will basically ignore the new Thor movie. Not that I didn't enjoy it, but I started this story before it was out. Since this is an obvious AU, I hope that doesn't bother anyone too much!

Chapter 11: New Alliances

*******Where We Left off in England********

Nick outlined for Giles what he wanted to offer him and the slayers. He was passionate and detailed. Giles listened without comment.

"I can assure you that your girls would be treated with the utmost respect," Nick finished.

"I would expect nothing less," Giles said with a small smile.

Nick gave him a pleased smile, taking his words for agreement. "So you're on board?" he asked.

"Doubtful," Giles said pleasantly.

Nick was taken aback. "Excuse me?" he asked.

"I could never allow my girls to be completely under the control of a clandestine military group whose interests and/or intentions may often conflict with our own," Giles said.

"You safeguard humanity. That's what we do. There's no conflict," Nick insisted.

Giles gave him a disbelieving look. "Here's the thing. A slayer that has just come into her powers is not always aware of her own strength. Willow locates as many as she can. They are usually awakened at fifteen. They need to understand their calling, their responsibilities. Working for a government agency is not what they are meant to do," Giles said.

"Times change. This is a whole new world. Your council and slayers have been used to battling things under ground. Now we know that there are threats outside of this realm. Threats that we are ill prepared to deal with," Nick said. "Loki almost succeeded in raining down entire world wide destruction. A handful of superheroes managed to stop the tide. An army made up of women with superpowers will ensure that the next time we're invaded—and there will be a next time—we will come out victorious."

Giles stared at him a moment in silence. Finally, he nodded. "I understand your concerns. I can't say I don't share them," Giles admitted. "Buffy and I have already discussed this. However, you won't find her very willing to be a part of any military group. She had a bad experience years ago with one. Nevertheless, she would step in and lend a hand if the situation was dire."

"Good to know," Nick said, nodding. "What about your other slayers?"

"I may be able to get a handful of our more seasoned slayers to join SHIELD. Zara is former army. Kennedy has been with us for years. There's a few others," Giles acknowledged. "However, it must be understood if they're ever needed at a hellmouth, they will be allowed to help there."

"Of course!" Nick assured him.

"The hellmouth has to be always be a priority. It will seek to open. If it does, the entire world will be swallowed up. Whatever threats there may be out there," Giles said, gesturing upward, "they're not immediate. The hellmouth is a constant and immediate threat. There's another one in Ireland that is about to go active. Buffy has personally stopped an apocalypse five times. When Willow changed the nature of slayers in this world, she ensured that Buffy's burden was no longer hers alone. However, the fact that she was the original slayer holds much distinction. None is as skilled or as powerful as she. On occasion she may need to step in and lend the girls a hand. But her new job with Tony Stark will ensure that she will be around if you need her. She would never let people she cared about go into battle without her help."

Nick nodded. "I understand. She's given a lot. I'll try to keep her away from SHIELD business as much as I can," he conceded.

"I can talk to five of the girls that I think may be willing to work for the government," Giles said.

"That's a start. Are any of them here?" Nick asked.

"Kennedy is. Zara is at the hellmouth in Ohio. It will be up to Faith. If she can spare her," Giles said.

Giles nodded, satisfied. The two men understood one another. He stood up, making a decision. "Would you like a tour?" he asked.

Nick's eye widened in surprise. He got to his feet. "I'd love one," he said, smiling.

******A Few Days Later******

Tony was excited. He finally felt like his robotic eyes were ready. "I got it! They're ready!" he enthused.

"Really?" Xander asked.

"Well, they're not ready yet to be put in a human. There's a few kinks to work out, but it's coming along ahead of schedule!" he said eagerly.

"Cool!" Xander said with a smile.

"I'll get Willow to work out the kinks. I need to make another suit for Pepper. One that is more light weight but indestructible," Tony said. "I wonder if I could get Thor to bring me some new elements from his planet?"

"Is he still on earth?" Xander asked.

"Yes. He and Jane have been a part for awhile. If she's forgiven him, I doubt he can easily leave her side," Tony said.

"So who is this Jane?" Xander wondered.

"A brilliant scientist who helped him when his dad banished him to earth and stripped him of his powers," Tony said.

"His dad can do that?" Xander asked in surprise.

"His dad is possibly the most powerful being in the nine realms," Tony shared.

"Not the kind of dad you wanna piss off, I guess," Xander said with a grin.

Tony chuckled. "Well, he was and is a pompous ass, so his dad taught him some humility. He's so bad now I can't image him being worse!" Tony said.

Then, much to Xander's delight, Tony began to recount his first encounter with the god of thunder.

Buffy was sitting outside the lab looking through a magazine. She couldn't believe she got paid so much to do this.

"Miss Summers," a voice said. She looked up and saw Steve Rogers smiling down at her.

She shut the magazine and quickly got to her feet. "Oh, hi!" she said, her heart pounding. She gazed at him. He was like the most perfect man ever. She had to suppress a sigh of pleasure. "I've told you to call me Buffy!" They'd had lunch twice this week. She'd never spent any time alone with him. Clint seemed to always be by his side. "Where's you side kick?"

Steve looked confused. "Excuse me?"

"Clint. He's usually with you when you come," Buffy said. "Come by that is!" She clarified with a wince, hoping he didn't notice the innuendo.

"Oh, we are rarely together unless we're on a same mission. Natasha is normally the one that accompanies him everywhere," Steve said.

She didn't know if she was glad Clint wasn't there or disappointed. He did make her laugh, but he also annoyed her. "So what brings you by?" Buffy said. "It's too late for lunch. I already ate."

"I know. I was wondering if you wanted to work out with me? There really isn't anyone around that I can spar with without worrying about hurting them," Steve said. "Thor hasn't been around since he came back to earth."

"Sure," Buffy said. "Without Faith or one of the girls around, I don't get much of a workout these days either." She looked at the time. "I don't officially get off for an hour, but I'll talk to Tony." She went into the lab. Steve followed her.

"Tony, are you leaving the lab today? Steve wanted someone to spar with," Buffy said.

Tony smirked. "I bet he does," he teased.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Behave!" she ordered. "Do you care if I leave early? Can you stay out of trouble?"

"Don't worry, Buff. Willow's on her way up to check out the new improvements on his eye. We'll be fine," Xander said. He waved at Captain America. "Try not to hurt the big guy."

Buffy grinned. "I'll be careful with your hero, don't worry!" she teased.

Steve wasn't used to teasing, but he smiled. Buffy and Xander had a closeness and familiarity that reminded him of his old comrade Bucky.

A short time later, they were at SHIELDS' gym. Steve tried to ignore how attractive she was in her work out clothes. She was a sister in arms. He'd been trained long ago to not let anything distract him from his directive.

They kept to the mats and not the ring. Both started off easy, feeling each other out. They'd fought with swords, but they'd never engaged in hand to hand. At first both of them held back. Neither wanted to cross that line and go too far. In Buffy's experience, guys didn't like being beat. Well, Spike was the exception. It had been a major turn on for him. She flushed thinking about him. Her distraction cost her, and Steve's fist connected to her jaw, knocking her head back.

He immediately looked contrite. "I'm sorry! Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

Buffy laughed. "I'm fine. Glad to know you had it in you," she said. Then she let loose. She pushed him back, exchanging blow after blow. They were so focused on their fight that they didn't realize they'd drawn an audience. Agents all over the building heard that Rogers was in full on battle with a tiny woman with reputed superpowers. Soon the wall was filled up with excited spectators. Bets were placed.

When Buffy got in a hard kick to his mid-section, the audience let out a collective groan. That's when she looked up and noticed her audience. She couldn't resist calling out, "Don't you guys have work to do?"

"We want to see Rogers finally get his ass kicked!" one of them called out.

"My money's on him!" another called out.

"Ignore them," Steve said. They began again.

Clint had heard about the sparring match and came to see it for himself. He stood off in the corner watching. Buffy was magnificent. She was a bit more agile and faster than Steve, but he was built like a tank. Clint knew that from his own sparring with the man. He felt Steve was still holding back some, afraid to hurt the slight woman. It wasn't in Steve's nature to ever hurt a woman. He grew up in a different age. A time when women were fragile and meant to be protected.

Buffy was getting annoyed. "You are holding back!" she said crossly. "I am not delicate!"

"I don't want to hurt you," he admit with a grimace.

That really pissed Buffy off, and she increased her attack, ducking down to hit him in the stomach several times before he could move away. Then she ended her attack with an upper cut to his chin, knocking him off his feet for the first time. The audience gasped in disbelief.

Buffy peered down at him, smirking. "I heal very quickly. You can't hurt me that badly," she said. She reached down to help Steve to his feet. She ignored the heat his touch invoked. Her confident smirk served to ignite Steve's competitiveness, and he stepped up his game, pushing her back.

The audience was mesmerized. Thor never lowered himself to engage in something as basic as sparring, so they'd never got to see anyone that could really challenge the Captain. It was hard to believe that such a small woman could so easily hold her own against the man. Rumors that there were more like her out there had been circulating, so this snapshot into the woman's skill was tantalizing.

Buffy began to get a bit tired. It'd been too long since she'd really had a challenge. Killing vampires rarely challenged her these days. She decided to end the fight by a series of blows to Steve's face. He blocked a few of them, yet some hit their mark. However, he kicked out, his foot connecting hard with her stomach. She hadn't been expecting it, and she ended up flat on her back. When Steve smiled down at her and offered his hand, she couldn't resist sweeping his legs out from under him, knocking him down next to her.

She raised up on her elbow and faced him, a wide grin on her face. "Did you break a hip? I know guys your age often have problems with the hip," she joked.

Steve laughed. The woman was a delight. He raised up and said to the onlookers. "Show's over! Call it a draw!" They groaned in disappointment but started to disperse. He got to his feet. "If I offer you a hand, will you take it without knocking me on my back again?"

Buffy laughed and held up her hand. He pulled her a little too hard, and their bodies collided. Buffy's body was pressed against his. She looked up at him, trying to slow down her rapidly beating heartbeat.

Clint watched their interaction with a grim frown. It was apparent to him that Steve finally realized Buffy was a very attractive woman. He flushed and stepped away from her like he'd been scalded. Clint couldn't help but laugh. He decided to rescue his clueless friend.

"That was impressive," he said, stepping closer.

Buffy grinned. "Yeah, he's pretty good for such an old man," she teased.

"Technically, I'm still under thirty," he said. "Frozen in ice, remember?"

Clint chuckled. "It was just his plan to get out of the Vietnam War," he said.

"Buffy?" a voice said. They turned.

Buffy was surprised to see her sister. "Dawn? What are you doing here?" she asked, stepping toward her. Then she saw Kennedy. "Kennedy! When did you get in town?" she asked.

She stepped forward to hug the woman. "Didn't Giles tell you I was coming?" Kennedy asked.

"He said you would eventually. I didn't realize it was immediate," Buffy replied.

"Well, Mr. Fury isn't very patient. Zara is coming in tomorrow," Kennedy said. She eyed the two men with Buffy with interest.

"Oh, this is Clint and Steve," Buffy introduced. "Guys, this is my sister Dawn, and this is Kennedy. She's a slayer."

"You're our first slayer recruit!" Clint said with a grin, glad that Fury was getting a few. Maybe he'd calm down about Buffy and let off the incessant plotting.

Natasha came in. "There you two are!" she said. "I turned my back for a minute, and you were gone."

"Dawn's sneaky like that!" Buffy said fondly.

"I heard some guys talking about you, so I wanted to find you. Guess we missed the excitement," she said in disappointment.

"Well, we can have her spar with Clint. That should be entertaining," Natasha suggested with a wink at Clint.

"How about dinner instead? Did you guys work up an appetite?" Clint wondered. He wasn't eager to show Buffy how poorly he compared to Steve when it came to hand to hand.

"I'm famished!" Buffy said.

"The showers are that way," Natasha said, pointing. "We'll meet you out front in twenty minutes, okay?"

"Sounds great!" Buffy said. "Dawn, behave!"

"I'm not a child anymore, Buffy!" Dawn said, rolling her eyes.

"So you keep telling me," Buffy said with a fond smile. "See you in a bit." She went to the locker room and cleaned up. When she made it outside, she wasn't overly surprised that her sister wasn't there yet. Clint was, though. He smiled at her.

"You are quicker than Natasha normally is when she cleans up," he said, smiling.

"I'm kind of a low maintenance kind of girl," she said with a shrug.

"I like that in a woman," Clint said, giving her a flirtatious smile.

Buffy narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you flirting with me?" she asked in surprise.

"What if I was?" he asked, grinning.

She shook her head. "Nope. Not gonna happen!" she insisted.

He stepped closer, purposely invading her space. "Why not? You're a superhero. I'm a superhero. You're hot. I'm hot. It works," he said with a wink.

Buffy snickered. "Be still my heart! You really know how to woo!" she exclaimed, not taking him seriously. Her eyes noticed someone approaching, and she waved. "There's Thor."

Clint looked and smiled at his friend. Thor grinned and walked toward them. "Good to see you both," he said.

"What brings you by?" Clint asked, shaking his hand.

"It is time for me to return home. I thought I'd say goodbye to everyone before I left," he said.

"Where's your girlfriend?" Buffy asked. "Don't we get an introduction?"

He frowned. "She's in England doing some important work," he said.

"I take it she forgave you?" Clint asked with a teasing grin.

Thor grinned. "Of course!" he said.

"Here comes the rest of our party," Buffy said. "We're going to dinner. Do you want to join us?"

Thor didn't answer. His eyes were locked onto Dawn. He stepped closer to get a better look. "Who is that?" he asked.

Buffy looked. "That's my sister Dawn and Kennedy," she said puzzled by his behavior.

"Atali?" Thor whispered in an agonized tone. He walked to Dawn, who looked freaked at his approach.

"Buffy?" she squeaked out. Thor ignored everyone else and put his hand on her face. He turned her face to the side.

"Atali," he said again in awe.

Buffy quickly made it to his side. She glanced at Steve and Natasha who looked as surprised by Thor's odd behavior as she. "What's wrong? Why are you touching my sister?" Buffy asked.

"This is your natural sister? She was born to your mother?" Thor asked, giving her a piercing look.

Buffy opened her mouth to say yes then closed it. "Well, not exactly. I mean she's made from my blood. She was this mystical key. Some monks gave her to me to protect," Buffy admitted. "But she's my family."

Thor reached down and grabbed Dawn's hand. "I'm sorry," he said to his friends. He called out to Heimdall to open the portal. He held up his hammer.

"What's he doing?" Buffy asked, growing concerned.

"Buffy!" Dawn called in a panic. She tried to get Thor to let her go, but it was impossible to get out of his grip.

"Fear not," Thor said, looking down at her. His eyes didn't look threatening. If anything, they regarded her with both love and awe.

In a flash, they were gone.

"What the hell?" Buffy asked in stunned disbelief.

******To Be Continued******

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