A/N: Merry Christmas! Or whatever holiday (if any) that you celebrate. I hope everyone is happy and healthy when heading into the new year.

OOOOOOOOOOO

They loaded the kids into dark Suburbans at the front of the hotel

True, they could have out them in limos. That would have been fun for them, because it was a luxury that most of them didn't have consistent access to, of course. But they were going to the Avenger compound, right? And most of them associated that and SHIELD with spy craft and espionage and everyone knew the feds and whatever spies they were dealing with used dark SUVs when they needed to go somewhere in public.

There was plenty of excited chatter as the teens all loaded into the cars. There were a total of eight of them, as well as the chase car and the lead cars. Not to mention, when they left the city there would actually be a helicopter in the sky as air support. It wasn't absolutely necessary, of course. None of the competitors were royalty – although a couple of them did have influential parents or relatives. SHIELD wasn't expecting any problems; they just wanted to give the kids (and their chaperones) a show. Something that they wouldn't forget any time soon.

"This is incredible…"

Nico had eaten breakfast with Peter and Ned – and they'd been joined by a couple of the kids from his own team as well as MJ, who had come looking for Peter, specifically, to ask about any changes to the planned itinerary while at the compound. Peter made sure it wasn't a private matter, and then told Ned and MJ (and the other teens at their table) about the medal that Nico had presented to him, earlier, and that had sparked a bit of a conversation about their families back home.

Since these kinds of interactions were exactly the reason for having an international competition in the first place, it was a good sign that the kids – and not just Peter's table – were beginning to loosen up and get to know each other better. There was plenty of time for the competition, after all.

Eventually, though, the teachers and other chaperones came around to the various places in the hotel that their teams were congregating and let them know that it was time to gather at the front of the hotel. Chattering excitedly, all the teens headed that direction, eager to visit the compound – and once more peppering those who had been there about what it was like there. Especially Peter who lived there, and Ned who had early on made sure everyone knew that he was at the compound pretty much every weekend – and that he practically had his own suite of rooms there whenever he was hanging out for an extended stay.

It was Natasha Romanoff who stood next to the SUV that Peter was in. She had her hand, lightly, on the frame of the door as she looked at the kids in that vehicle.

"It's an hour or so to the compound," she told them. "So I hope you all peed because we're not stopping for anything."

That earned a lot of chuckles and she smirked at the way Peter rolled his eyes at that.

"Everyone ready?" she asked. When they all nodded, sha slapped the roof with her hand and looked down the line at the other cars, each with a SHIELD agent doing a last minute check with the occupants. Everyone looked over at her and nodded and she made a winding motion with her hand as she got into the front seat beside the driver. "Let's go."

Their car was the only one that had some excited cheering when they pulled away from the hotel.

OOOOOOOOOO

"We're on our way."

Nick nodded, looking at the small group of people sitting at the corner table in the lounge. None of them looked concerned at the idea of having forty newcomers heading their direction. They had had plenty of time to get ready.

Steve nodded, too.

"Director Johnson offered to send us more security…"

Nick's single eye rolled upward.

"Because a compound filled with SHIELD agents and recruits isn't enough to keep us safe?"

Steve's smile was amused.

"I told him we had it under control."

"You guys aren't worried any of these people are plants?" Barnes asked, curiously from his spot beside Steve. He'd returned to the compound the evening before but would be going back to the hotel and convention center when the kids did. "I mean, I know you vetted everyone to check who they were but a chance to slip someone into this place – if for no other reason than to get a look around? It's probably worth a little subterfuge and figuring out how to make a clear background on someone…"

"We're not worried about anyone we've been in contact with," Nick said.

"No one Peter's been in contact with, anyway," Clint added with a smug smile.

"Because none of them have set off his Peter tingle thing?" Bucky asked, looking a little skeptical.

He was still trying to understand some of those abilities that he'd been told Peter possessed. The tingle that told the boy something was up was definitely one of them. Bucky was used to trusting his gut, but it didn't seem to be the same thing as this itchy feeling Peter told him that he gets when he knows something's going to happen.

"We don't call it that," Barton said, but he was amused. Maybe they should? Just to see Peter's response to it? "But yeah."

They hadn't mentioned Alec to Barnes, yet. The whole ancient and long dead sorcerer sitting in the back of Peter's mind all the time that could read the minds and intentions of the people around the boy was probably something that he wasn't, quite, ready to hear. But that didn't mean they weren't going to take advantage of Alec to make sure that no one heading into the compound had more on their agenda than a simple field trip.

"Tony's on his way in?" Nick asked Steve, knowing that Rogers was keeping track of everything that was going on that day.

"He's flying in," Steve confirmed. "Should be here in the next ten minutes or so."

"Good enough." The former director looked around once more. "I'm going to meet the group when they arrive and go over the expectations. Steve will give them the tour." Rogers was as famous as anyone, really, and far more personable than Nick. "When the tour is over, snacks and mingling with Avengers…" – and getting selfies with those Avengers who were in the room with them, since they were willing. "Then we send them back to the hotel."

His tone clearly said and good riddance. He didn't say it, but there was no missing it and the others smiled.

"We're ready for this," Barton said.

Stephen Strange was going to be on speed dial id needed, as well.

"The pig is in his pen, out of the way," Nick continued. "Jack is with the security dogs to keep him out of trouble."

"And Nutmeg…?" Steve asked. "Where are we going to put the Flerkin?"

No sense tempting fate and allowing an alien creature that may or may not eat one of the visitors roam the corridors. He was cute, after all, and a magnet for someone who might want to pick him up and cuddle. While none of them ever felt threatened by the Flerkin, it was better safe than sorry.

"We'll put him in the control room," Nick decided. He usually ended up there, anyway, when Peter wasn't around, and their visitors weren't going to be anywhere near the control room – by design. "We can close the door and keep him in check without him even knowing we're doing it."

"Then we're set," Steve said, putting his hands on the table. "Should be an easy day."

"Let's hope so."

OOOOOOOOO

"That's Tony Stark!"

The SUV pulled into the front of the compound and the kids (and the adults who were accompanying them) were already showing their eagerness. Some – like Nigel, their youngest competitor – weren't able to hide that excitement. Or didn't think they needed to do so. The youngster was already unbuckling his seatbelt, looking out the side window at the three men who were standing on the raised porch area by the driveway.

Tony Stark – of course – and Steve Rogers. With them was someone none of them recognized, but all noticed, immediately. Tony Stark looked like a businessman in the well-tailored suit that he was wearing. Steve Rogers looked like a superhero in the Avenger outfit that he was wearing. The other guy, though, looked like a dangerous secret agent in the leather outfit that he was dressed in. Add to that the eyepatch and the rigid stance? A little spooky. Just like a secret agent would look.

"Who's that guy standing between Mr. Stark and Captain America?" Nico asked, curiously, also looking out the window. "The one in black?"

"That's Nick Fury," Ned told them, feeling smug that he was on the other side of the excited looks. He hung out with the Avengers all the time, after all. He didn't need to fanboy over them. "He's in charge at the compound."

"I though SHIELD was in charge of the compound," Rufus said, curiously.

The captain of the English team had joined them in the SUV before they'd left the hotel and had been an interesting person to talk to on the way.

"They pretty much are," Peter confirmed. "But Nick is in charge of SHIELD."

"That's awesome."

Peter smiled, but he was feeling cheerful for more reasons than because Nick looked like such a badass standing there watching them pull up. He was looking forward to spending a little time checking in with Tony.

"Yeah." He waited until Natasha gave them the nod, and then he opened his door. "Let's go say hi."

"Cool."