Tony is at a loss. He has no idea how to make his two new traumatized children trust him. His other traumatized children trusted him prior to him adopting them. This isn't exactly familiar territory.

The twins cling to one another as if the other might disappear if they let go. And now they've run away to hide in their room because they're scared of magic. Tony buries his head in his hands.

"Wanda, maybe refrain from using your powers in front of Lissy and Harry for now." Pepper's voice is gentle as she speaks from the other end of the table.

"They do have magic. Different, but still magic."

"They looked terrified." Peter sounds from beside him. Tony looks up to find a worried expression on the teenager's face.

"We don't know what they went through before they found their way to us." Pepper keeps the soothing softness in her voice as she speaks.

"We don't know anything about them!" Harley's outburst surprises Tony. Glancing over, he sees his younger son scowling at his plate. "We've got strangers wandering around."

"Harley." Pepper's gentle tone has suddenly switched to admonishing as she frowns at their son. "They're strangers to us now, but only because we haven't had a chance to get to know them. We were all strangers to each other once."

Harley continues to glare at the table top, scowl pulling his lips into a frown. Tony sighs. Before he can speak, he hears the ding of the elevator arriving at their floor. Now it is his turn to frown.

"Are we expecting someone?"

Pepper shakes her head in answer, looking just as confused as he feels.

"Fri, who's arrived?"

"No one, Boss."

Tony's frown deepens. "Then who is in the elevator?"

"Thermal sensors show two individuals descending to the lobby, Boss."

"Thermal sensors." He mutters to himself, brows furrowing. "What about the cameras?"

"Elevator camera shows the vehicle to be empty."

The table descends into silence for a moment. Tony shares a look with Pepper. They both glance at Wanda and then toward the new twins' empty seats and then back to each other. Magic .

Both adults stand at the same time. Tony is vaguely aware of Pepper sending the kids off to finish eating in their rooms. There's some grumbling to be heard, but Tony ignores it in favor of almost jogging through the apartment and to the elevator.

"Friday, send the elevator back up, don't let anyone off."

"On it, Boss."

Tony taps his foot impatiently as he waits for the elevator to arrive. Just as the 'ding' sounds and the doors open, Pepper joins him. They both stare at the empty elevator blankly for a moment. Eventually, Tony steps forward with a hand held out in front of him. He's pretty sure he looks like an absolute idiot groping the air, but the things people do for their kids, right?

He's almost to the back wall of the elevator when someone lets out a whimper. Before he even has time to wonder where it came from, his arm is shoved aside, causing him to stumble. He watches in amazement as the twins materialize before him, a silver blanket(?) falling to the floor at their feet. Harry stands in front of Amaryllis, obviously the one who had shoved Tony away from them. His twin sister is pale as she hides behind her brother, staring warily at Tony and Pepper from over Harry's shoulder.

"Harry, Lissy, why don't you two come into the living room for a chat?" Pep's calming voice helps to lower Tony's heart rate, allowing him to focus on something other than the fact that two of his children just materialized before him.

Harry glances back at his sister before turning his emerald glare on them. Tony could almost swear that the boy's eyes are glowing . What the fuck is happening?

"We're not going to cause you any trouble. Just let us leave and we won't come back." His son clenches and unclenches his fists, keeping himself firmly planted in front of Amaryllis.

"You can't leave!"

Both the twins turn their attention to him. Green eyes glare at him in anger while brown stare back at him in fear. The air around them drops several degrees in temperature, causing goosebumps to form on his arms. Harry looks back to his sister again, Tony noticing his features morphing into worry for a moment before his brows furrow in anger once more. Static buzzes around them, causing his hair to stand on end.

Tony clears his throat nervously. "I mean, please don't leave. We swear we're not going to hurt you!"

A familiar hand lands on his arm as Pepper steps forward. "Harry, Tony and I didn't mean to scare you or Lissy. Neither of us are angry or want to cause you harm. We just want to talk."

The boy (or maybe he should say warlock?) hesitates but doesn't move from his defensive position. It's at this moment that Tony takes notice of the wooden stick in Harry's hand, almost brandished like one would a sword. Before he has a chance to even consider what it could possibly be, someone speaks.

"If we talk to you, will you let us leave?" Amaryllis' voice is small, especially in comparison to the irritated tone she took with Tony earlier this afternoon. His first impression of his daughter had been that of a spitfire, with her brother being the quieter of the two. He's beginning to realize that he may have assumed the opposite of what each twin is truly like.

"If you two would still like to leave after we talk, we will make arrangements for you to do so."

Tony's head snaps to the side, gaze boring into the side of Pepper's face. She can't be serious. Does Pep really think that he's going to let his kids walk out of here and back to whoever gave them those bruises?

Amaryllis tugs on Harry's sleeve, bringing his attention back to her. The two seem to have an entire silent conversation in the few moments they stare at one another. Eventually, Harry nods with a huff and looks back to them once more.

"Fine." Even as he agrees, the boy doesn't move. Tony watches his daughter gather the silvery blanket from the floor of the elevator before hesitantly pulling her brother forward. Harry makes sure to keep himself placed firmly between Tony and Amaryllis as the group slowly move to the living room.

Tony and Pepper settle on one of the couches as the twins squeeze into an armchair together. Tony can't help the bouncing of his leg as he stares at the children before him, examining as intently as he had this afternoon while waiting on the paternity results. It's easy to see parts of both himself and Lily Potter within the twins. Harry obviously has her mother's eyes, but most of his features come from Tony, though he has to admit that even during his wild college years his hair wasn't quite as messy as his son's. The boy (witch?) has Lily's chin as well. He's not quite sure where his need for glasses came from as neither Tony or Lily had worn them, though James had. Of course, James' genetics aren't really part of the equation, but the twins carry the man's name so he's not about to not include him as one of their parents. Besides, it'd be hard to forget a man such as James Potter…

Before he can lose himself to the memories of the handsome man and his equally beautiful wife, Tony turn's his attention to his daughter. Amaryllis' hair is not nearly as wild as her brother's, hanging down her back in smooth auburn waves, darker than Lily's red hair had been. Her eyes are an identical match to his own. She definitely inherited Lily's soft features, though Tony thinks that she might have his nose. Something about the furrow in her brows again reminds him distinctly of James Potter, but that's still not genetically possible.

"What did you want to talk about?" Harry's voice is strained, the stick still clutched in one hand while his sister's hand is held tightly in the other. Tony notes the way his son jiggles his leg in a mirror image of his own nervous habit.

"Why were you two trying to leave?" Pep leans forward in her seat beside him, clasping her hands in her lap.

Neither teen seems keen to answer the question, Amaryllis even twitching slightly toward the doorway.

"Was it Wanda's magic?"

Harry's leg bounces faster as Amaryllis flicks her gaze nervously between Tony and Pepper, biting her lip.

"Was it your own magic?" Tony's question surprises even him. He's not quite sure where the query had come from, but now that he's asked he's quite sure that he's correct in his assumptions of the twins' supposed powers.

"We-We're not-"

"Lissy and I aren't-

The kids stammer in an attempt to explain or defend themselves. Pepper holds up her hand, offering a soothing smile.

"Whether you have magic or not doesn't matter. The fact that you felt unsafe enough that you tried to flee does. Tell us what we can do to fix the issue." As she lowers her hand, Pepper takes Tony's, giving him a comforting squeeze.

"Where did she learn magic?" Amaryllis' voice shakes as she curls further into her brother's side. Tony swears that the room grows colder. Maybe he should have some guys come up to check out the AC.

Pepper glances over at him, shrugging a shoulder in question. Straightening, Tony clears his throat. "Wanda and Pietro are twins. They lost their birth parents when they were children. After the loss, they ended up in the hands of Hydra," Both twins cock their heads in identical expressions of confusion, causing him to elaborate. "A terrorist organization. Before they escaped, Hydra experimented on them. Wanda gained her powers from the experiments."

It's quiet for a few moments as the teens process the information. Then, Harry looks up once more. "And Pietro?"

"Is a speedster."

Pepper interjects at the blank expression they receive. "Pietro is able to move at supernatural speeds."

"So, they're not a witch or wizard?" Harry raises a brow as Amaryllis leans forward, seeming slightly less anxious.

Tony shakes his head. "Not really, no."

He can practically feel their sighs of relief as the twins deflate in their seats. Amaryllis glances at them once more.

"We're sorry for trying to run."

"We understand." Pepper's soothing tone even has Tony relaxing. "We'd like to ask you two a few more questions, if you don't mind."

And just like that, the tension descends once more. The twins fidget, looking ready to bolt once more. Tony gives Pepper's hand a squeeze, trying to signal for her to be their voice.

"Where did you two get your injuries?"

Tony thinks that the kids might have actually preferred them to address the other elephant in the room. Amaryllis curls in on herself as Harry nudges her slightly behind him in their chair. Staticky heat replaces the cold air that once filled the room as Harry eyes them suspiciously.

"In England." He answers finally.

Tony barely resists the urge to roll his eyes at the sarcastic response. "Who gave them to you?"

"Why do you want to know?" It seems that the more his sister tries to disappear, the more his son goes on the defensive. Tony watches in curiosity as the tip of the stick in the boy's hand begins to glow.

"We want to help, Harry. We want to know who has hurt you and Lissy so that we can make sure they are never able to again." The sternness in his wife's tone surprises Tony. He's even more surprised when she leaves him on the couch to cross the space between them and the twins. She kneels before them and slowly reaches out to place a gentle hand on Amaryllis' knee. Harry jerks toward his sister, seeming ready to rip Pepper away from her. She speaks before he's able. "Lissy, will you please tell me whose handprint is on your neck?"

The girl stares at her with wide eyes, wide eyes that even Tony can see are rapidly filling with tears. Amaryllis opens and shuts her mouth several times, though no sound leaves her. Harry glances between Pepper and Amaryllis several times before leveling the woman with his green gaze. Fire blazes behind his eyes.

"How will you make sure she's not hurt again?" His voice is hard, his eyes even harder. Tony thinks that he might even feel an ounce of fear if Harry had been a man and not a boy. Even so, he tries not to shift uncomfortably at his son's barely restrained fury. He's the one to answer for Pepper.

"Because I will destroy whoever it was."

Harry turns his full attention onto Tony, then, sizing him up. It's a tense and quiet few moments. "Swear it."

Tony stands and makes his own way across the livingroom to kneel in front of his newfound children. He holds a hand out to Harry. "I swear to make the lives of whoever hurt you two a living hell."

Harry tilts his head, staring hard at Tony. He lifts his own hand. Just before he takes Tony's, he glances back at Amaryllis searchingly. Whatever he finds in his sister must seal the deal, as the next thing he does is shake Tony's hand. Warmth fills his chest as he stares at the two children before him. A smile grows on his face. Harry surprises him with a sharp smile of his own.

Tony thinks that he might just be able to convince the Potter twins to stay with him yet.