Hello Hello my lovelies! Welcome to my triumphant return! Those who are in the discord know I struggled to write this one. I'll explain more why at the end. But it is finally here! Huge shout out to ClaireBear for sticking with me in the discord and flipping a coin when I needed it most!

What better way to ring in the New Year! Please, enjoy!

0=change focus to a different character

00=scene change (no matter how big or small)

000=timeskip

F000=this means that we move back to the next avengers time.

P000= No this is not poo. it's moving back to the past.

Chapter 19: Playing Catch

(~James~)

Time slowed down. He felt like he was floating. The world was white. He felt weird, his head pounding. There was a tug in his chest in a direction in front of him, but he saw nothing. Something was keeping him there.

"James.." he heard someone, quiet and far away. It sounded like a woman. He strained to hear her.

"You have to—- Break—stuck!" He could hear the urgency in her voice, but only caught certain words. That tugging in his chest pulled harder. "Understand? James?" Her voice wavered more. Things started spinning. Shapes and colors came into view. Then he slammed into something and things went black for a moment.

0

(~A few minutes earlier~Tony~)

His shoulder felt like it was on fire. He'd been shot. He'd actually been shot. The power coupling had fallen somewhere. He was lucky it hadn't landed on him, otherwise Hawkeye's body would've been toast.

He had to keep his head down. Rogue hadn't stopped firing since he'd shot him. They'd almost been out of this and of course it had been Rogue that got in the way of them finishing it. It took him a second to notice when the bullets stopped flying.

"Tony, are you alright?" Thor asked. It startled him for a second to see the face of Widow there. He was grabbing him and dragged him around the table that was currently serving as a bed for MODOCs body. Tony grunted in response.

"I'll be a lot better when I'm back in my own body," he answered, trying to apply pressure to his wound. The table provided some good cover from Rogue, but not so good when several more agents entered the room. They were running out of time. The other Avengers focused on the agents, but two had noticed them. As they aimed, Thor did something Tony hadn't expected. He reached his hand out towards them and a portal opened behind the two. Mjolnir came soaring out of it, knocking one in the head from behind. As soon as the hammer touched Thor's hand, he fired off a small lightning bolt that hit the agent's gun. He grinned at Tony.

"'Fight like yourselves'" Thor quoted him. "In this or any other body, I am still the son of Odin." Off to the side, he heard James yell something about the shield.

"Think that thing can knock loose the stone?" Tony asked. Thor nodded.

"Let's find out," he replied and leapt onto the table. "This ends here!" He yelled and brought mjolnir down onto the Mind Stone. Lightning shot out and around the room. Tony kept his head down. The light coming off the mind stone grew and it became hard to look at. Tony closed his eyes and it flashed brighter. He felt weightless for a split second. Then the light died down. Feeling came back to him. It was a little warm. A slight metallic smell hit his nose. He wasn't on his side anymore, he was standing. He cautiously whispered.

"Jarvis, talk to me…"

"It appears your efforts were successful. Welcome back sir," the AI responded, filling Tony with enough relief to open his eyes. Jarvis was right. It had worked. He could see the interface of his armor. Almost everyone was still standing. They were looking around or at themselves. Even a shield agent or two was.

"Avengers sound off!" Cap said, stepping forward. The relief Tony felt that it came from the right direction. "Cap!"

"Widow! With fresh breath," Widow added with a smile.

"Hmmm…." The big green mused. Tony looked at Hulk. His hands to his face. Was he testing his breath? "Breath does stink…. Show me how you did that flip." Hulk asked, turning to Widow.

"Who knew my armor could also be a weapon," Thor mused as he called mjolnir to the correct body.

"Who knew my body could be used for target practice?" Clint said, sitting up from his place behind the table, a hand on his shoulder.

"You alright Hawkeye?" Widow asked, coming over to offer him a hand.

"I'll live. I think I'll need surgery to get the bullet out," he replied, accepting her help. He heard groaning and saw MODOC rolling over and began waking up. Falcon approached the giant baby head.

"Excuse me," he said as he punted the head across the room. It landed near the kids on the other side. Speaking of the kids... He scanned over them. Pym was still standing, shaking his head a little and checking his hands. Rogue was laying on his side, his back to them. He wasn't moving yet. Not far from them, the Shield agent James had switched with was on the ground. He was breathing but looked knocked out as well. Francis was the closest to them. His feet were stuck in goop, but he was leaning over onto the hardened goop pile. His hand was on his head. He looked like he was in pain.

"You kids okay?" Tony called to them. Pym looked over at him, gave a bit of a confused thumbs up. Francis kept rubbing his head, but answered.

"Yeah. Let's never do that again."

"Ditto," Hawkeye said, agreeing with his son. But the weird thing was, Rogue still wasn't moving. Tony looked at the ground, noting the mind stone was there.

"Cap, check on Rogue and secure him, I'll get the mind stone," Tony told him. He had a weird feeling that something wasn't right. He concentrated all of his shields on his hand and plucked the stone from the ground. He'll need to get a containment device for this one too.

"James? James!" He heard Pym behind him. He sounded not only concerned, but scared...

0

(~Francis~)

Ow...Ow...OW! His head was killing him. He blinked his eyes a second. The lights in the room felt just a little too bright. He paused after his eyes adjusted a little more. He was back in his body, but it was him... given his suspicions he wasn't sure if that'd be the case when they switched back. So was that really Pym earlier?

"Hey, is that the same goop I use?" His younger fathers voice brought him out of his mental questions. He nodded to him. "Then this should help you out." Clint pulled out a capsule from his quiver with his good arm and sprayed a substance on the goop. It began bubbling and dissipating around his legs, freeing him. Francis stretched his legs a bit, specifically his ankles.

"Thanks," He said as he rubbed his eyes under his glasses. Blinking again, he looked around the room. Pym was right, his glasses did help with his color blindness. How does that work? Was there tech in them that did this or something?

"You're welcome. Why'd you do that anyways?" Clint asked, gesturing to the slowly dissolving pile of goop. Francis looked back at the goop and winced a little. He... he couldn't answer that truthfully.

"A cable was going for Pym's feet. He just got caught in it," He answered, glancing at his younger father.

"Riiight," Clint said. He didn't believe him. Francis looked away from him.

"How's your shoulder?" He asked to change the subject.

"Not a through and through, but some time in the infirmary here and I'll be fine," his father assured him. Francis nodded, relieved that he'll be okay. He glanced around the room at everyone, focusing on Pym. The kid was looking at James. For some reason, he looked knocked out. He knew James and him had gotten some good hits in, but nothing solid enough to cause a knock out even with all they just went through. However, with the way Francis was feeling during the first switch and now after the switch back, the switch back could've knock it out of him...but...was he breathing?

Pym was crouched next to James. Francis started towards James, his heart pounding.

"James? James!" Pym seemed to catch onto what Francis did. He was shaking his shoulder. His back was to them. Francis couldn't see right, but as he got closer it became even more apparent. He didn't see the rising and falling of his chest. Cap made it before he did, and turned him over. Francis froze when he saw his face. Red lines around the eyes. They also appeared on his chest, leading to a power symbol.

"What the hell is that?" Were the only words he could bring himself to say. It looked like… some kind of circuitry. He locked eyes with Cap. He looked just as alarmed by this. He saw the other Avengers coming over in her periphery, but he couldn't take his eyes off James.

0

(~Tony~)

Tony had felt a jolt go up his arm when he'd grabbed the mind stone. It only lasted a moment. He imagined that if he wasn't using his shields on his hand that would've felt very differently. He brought his faceplate up and stared at the stone a moment, feeling a slight tug in his mind. It was hard to believe that such a little stone could cause so much damage. Then again, the time stone was the same size and that had cause considerably more chaos. He snapped back to reality when he heard Francis' exclamation. He turned around, setting his eyes on Rogue as the other Avengers began to approach them. He saw the reason for his exclamation too. Ro-... James' face had faintly glowing lines around his eyes. That wasn't something he'd expected to see. However, that wasn't the only thing he saw.

Between the body and the unconscious SHIELD agent he'd been possessing, he saw something. It was...James? But he was in some tattered jeans and a white shirt. His body looked bruised, scratches on his arms. His hair was a mess. He looked frozen in a a really freaked out facial expression and... was that a hand on his shoulder? Where was it coming from?

The reason neither James nor Rogue were waking up was because James wasn't back in his body. He was stuck between.

The hand wavered in and out in visibility. Then it suddenly looked like it couldn't keep a grip. And James slipped away from it, practically sling-shotting back into his body. The second it hit, the glowing lines on his body brightened. He started breathing again. Tony was left staring and wondering what the hell he'd just witnessed.

The boy's eyes started to flutter open. Blue. Pym let out a breath of relief. James looked unfocused and incredibly confused. He put a hand to his head and groaned.

"Ow..."

"James...?" Francis asked cautiously.

"... I think you bruised my arms. Good hit," James answered back, rubbing his eyes. He looked like heck, even after finally returning to his body. The glowing calmed down, falling to less noticeable light levels but still above what it had been before James' return. Francis visibly relaxed and offered James a hand. He looked up under his hand and stopped rubbing his eyes, accepting his help up.

As he was helped up, Tony saw something extra again. Given the appearance, it had to be Rogue. He was flickering in and out behind James, looking exactly like his body, down to the lines and what Tony could now clearly see was a power symbol. He was standing completely straight with his eyes closed and head down. It was creepy.

Was he actually seeing this? His mind worked through the possibilities of what was happening and what had happened so far. James had woken up as soon as he shot into his body. It had to be real. He moved closer, glancing at the flickering image of Rogue as he did.

Noticeably, James rubbed his neck, where the bruises were on the SHIELD agent he'd previously inhabited. He could probably psychosomatically feel it still. He also glanced passed Francis at the unconscious young man.

"Is he okay? I didn't exactly take great care of his body while I was in it," James asked. Tony looked over at the young man. Jarvis scanned the body, finding a pulse and vital signs.

"You kept him alive. He'll be fine. We'll get him to a hospital," Tony informed him.

"Good… you should probably restrain me while I'm… me," he winced again. Behind him, he thought he saw the see-through Rogue twitch. "Things don't take long anymore…"

"But, you're you now… can't we keep you this way?" Pym asked, hope in his eyes. James was, notably, avoiding meeting his gaze. "We can, right Mr. Stark?"

"Maybe… he's already waking up isn't he?" Tony asked, glancing behind him again. James didn't answer, which was enough for Tony. He placed his hand on James' shoulder. "Then let's get you somewhere safe while we can." James nodded.

"Good idea, Stark," Fury's voice interrupted them from the door. "We'll get him and MODOC into a holding cell. Nowhere safer than here at SHIELD."

"Yeah that's not going to happen," Francis said, taking the words right out of his mouth. Fury didn't know the situation here. If Tony could help it, he'd keep it that way. Shield was the last place he wanted to leave James.

"Excuse me?" Fury said more than asked. He clearly didn't take kindly to Francis' words or tone. Cap stepped up, trying to defuse the situation.

"While he didn't say it as well as we'd like, we stand with Francis on this sentiment. You can have MODOC but he stays with us," The soldier said firmly.

"It wasn't a request. He and MODOC attacked our base. He helped him mind control all of us and by his admission it had been his idea. He's a threat and one I intend to keep my eye on," Fury stated. At these words, the agents he'd brought with him aimed their weapons. Tony heard a nervous chuckle from Pym on his right. He glanced back at the kids. Francis and Pym were ready to defend their friend. James looked nervous and... worse, behind him he saw the image of Rogue. He was opening his eyes, slowly and looked around. The movement held a mechanical feel to it that didn't look right. Rogue looked a little confused, but the look quickly vanished. He zeroed in on James. The second he did, the circuitry glowed brighter. James winced and closed his eyes tightly. They were running out of time.

"Fury, I know we don't always see eye to eyes, but it's better if he comes with us. You can keep MODOC. In fact, it's better if you do. But for EVERYONES safety, he's coming with us," Tony said with urgency in his tone. The tension was so thick you cut it with a sword.

"What aren't you telling me, Stark?" the head of Shield asked.

"A lot, but I don't have time to get into an explanation right now. Just trust me Fury. We just saved you guys!" Tony replied. Nick stared at him, seeming to consider it. Seconds felt like hours. Behind him, he heard Pym whisper in a concerned voice.

"James?"

"I'm fine...headache," James answered, not as quietly. His tone of voice told them something else entirely. Tony broke the staring contest between him and the director of Shield to glance back at the kids. What he saw solidified that he was anything but fine. The image of Rogue was gripping James tightly on the shoulder and pulling back. The look in his eyes was one of pure rage. Given how little emotion Tony had seen Rogue display, this was a little terrifying. He could only imagine what it was like for James to be fighting him right now. He locked eyes with Widow and Cap. His face must've said it all, because Widow spoke up.

"If you don't trust him enough, trust me. You took a chance on me when you could've killed me. That means a lot to me, Fury. So trust in that same instinct that caused you to spare me. James needs to come with us. Now." She said, stepping forward so he'd looked at her. Fury glanced Widows way.

"Fine, but on two conditions. You tell me what's going on once you get him there," Fury said firmly.

"What's the other condition?" Hawkeye asked suspiciously.

"The mind stone stays with us too." Tony felt his grip on the stone tighten. He felt a tug somewhere in his mind. He couldn't let Fury have the stone. He needed it... to help James. He had a feeling this could be the key to his condition.

"No deal," Tony replied.

"Tony!"

"Stark, this isn't a negotiation. It's either MODOC and the stone or MODOC and the kid. Those are your only choices," Fury told him. Tony took a second to formulate his response. As he opened his mouth, he felt someone grip his wrist.

"Shit," Francis said as Tony turned to see who it was, he knew it was too late. James was the one who had his wrist. A static almost surrounded his body. The image of Rogue still had a grip on his shoulder. He had one eye shut and the other open. The one he could see was still blue, but turning red slowly. He mouthed something that looked like 'sorry'. Then the static spread out. Rogue looked like he was pulling on him, hard. The static burst and the image of James he'd seen earlier appeared once more. He landed roughly, laying there for a moment. As he did, the image of Rogue flickered out. James' eye turned fully red.

"I've got a better idea," He said. His grip intensified ten fold. A warning from Jarvis came through his speakers. His armor's integrity became quickly compromised. The metal dented inwards, not a lot, but just enough to put pressure on his wrist. For a second, time slowed down. He charged the repulser in his other hand. The other Avengers, kids included, moved in. The agents began to make their move. And Tony locked eyes on Rogue. Despite his predicament, he had a smile on his face that could only be described as sadistic. Behind him, James was watching on in horror. Time snapped back into place when the armor integrity dropped by 5%, but it was enough. The pressure was too much on his wrist and he was forced to open his grip, releasing the mind stone. "How about I take the mind stone?"

"Not a chance," Tony brought his other repulser up, but Francis beat him to it, firing Pym's stingers at Rogue without hesitation. It worked. Rogue let go, stumbling back a bit. The stone clattered to the floor and chaos ensued.

Rogue regained his balance and dove for it. Agents did as well as the other Avengers. In seconds the stone was being knocked around on the floor. No one could seem to keep their hands on it.

"Don't let Rogue get a hold of that stone!"

0

(~Pym~)

This was pure chaos and they were right in the middle of it. Everyone was going for that stone. He couldn't keep his eyes on it for more than a second. Unfortunately, he was also down to hand-to-hand again. He and Hawkeye hadn't had a chance to switch weapons yet. At one point he had to shrink down when an agent nearly collided with him.

From his vantage point in the air, he finally spotted the stone again. It got knocked to a corner of the room. He flew up to it, growing back to normal size as he picked it up. The second he touched it, a huge jolt went through his arm. He heard yelling, screaming, the sounds of electricity. He shut his eyes, feeling the stones' power coursing through him. He saw a series of events. There was a playground, with kids running around. A young girl with brown hair and eyes was running around. She was being chased by a boy with red hair who was smaller than her. They were laughing. Then the scene changed. Fire. Everywhere seemed to be burning. Robots flooding the streets. One was flying through the air, holding something that was too far away to make out. Then, he saw a house, burning, walls knocked down. It was mostly reduced to rubble. The whole neighborhood seemed to be in the same state.

"No…" a female voice drew his attention to his left. A girl was there, with long brown hair, wearing a school uniform. She had to be a teenager. No more than four years older than he was. Her eyes… there was something familiar about them. Behind her was a man in his twenties, wearing… was that an ant man suit? But… it looked different to the one Tony had designed on the iron ant man…

"I'm sorry, Hope," he said to her. "But we need to move. If Ultron finds us we're next."

"But… he's my baby brother… I'm supposed to protect him," Hope replied, her voice breaking.
"I know... I know, but if one of the bots find us then he gets the suit and no one will be able to stop him. We need to go," The man said, he clearly hated having to pull her away. Pym also noticed that he was holding the hand of a small child. A little girl that was almost hiding behind him. After a moment, Hope nodded and he was able to lead her away.

The scene shifted again, now showing a girl who looked to be around James' and Francis' age. Her hair was a reddish brown and cut and styled in a short bob. Her eyes were brown and she wore a red t-shirt and jeans and a black glove that covered her entire left arm. She was cowering in a corner, her eyes trained on something Pym couldn't see. A robotic voice sent a chill down his spine.

"Do not resist." The scene changed as the girl screamed. Then images flooded his brain. He couldn't keep up or even process any of them due to the speed at which they came. Between them, he was able to recognize glimpses of something. Code. Thousands and thousands of lines of code. He did his best to try to memorize at least some of it. The images began to fade away and all he saw was the code. Some lines morphed, changing into what looked like small stones? One by one the infinity stones took shape. He recognized the mind stone, but not the other four.

Then a sixth stone appeared. It was green and gave him a much more ominous feeling than the others. Like it could see him or was staring into his soul. A shadow fell over them, the green stone shot away from the others. A silver colored robotic hand closed around the stones. An all too familiar pair of red eyes and glowing red mouth appeared behind it.

"NO!" Pym practically screamed, dropping the mind stone and scrambling away from it. He just stared at the stone, his breathing panicked. What was that? What did he just see? He could hear the chaos still going on around him, as if no time had just passed. His head just couldn't stop his mind from reeling. A hand entered his line of sight that was clothed in a red glove. Pym's heart leaped into his throat as Rogue took hold of the mind stone. He couldn't even open his mouth to warn him. Rogue gave him a victorious smirk.

"This is over," he said, raising the stone up. "Enough!" He yelled and the world went black.

0

(~Rogue~)

"Finally," Rogue said as Pym fell over. He looked around the room, watching the shield agents and several Avengers dropping like flies. The mind stones power flowed through him. It was almost intoxicating in its feeling. Threatened to overwhelm him for a moment. Strangely, it also felt familiar. For some reason, it reminded him of when he first fully went online… he shook his head.

"Rogue..." the person who spoke sounded like he was struggling. Turning to look, it was Captain America. He was on his knees, trying to fight the power attempting to force him to join his friends. "Let him go.."

"Of course you'd still be fighting this, stubborn old man," Rogue shook his head. He went to activate his shield, but pulled his hand back when he felt something sharp poke him. He looked at his gauntlet for the first time since switching back, seeing a gash in the side of it. He remembered James coming at him with his fathers shield and vaguely remembered it connecting. His blood boiled. He bent down to stare Cap in the eye, his voice holding nothing but malice.

"By 'let him go', I'm going to guess you mean James. No, I don't think I will. Especially after this little stunt," he held up his arm with the broken gauntlet. "I'm never, hear me, NEVER letting him even come up for air again. He's not going to exist anymore. I hope you said your goodbyes. Your son is dead." He grinned, watching Cap's face flash with pain and then twist into anger. The captain reached up for Rogue, but the mind stone was still releasing its power to the room. It slowed him down, so Rogue was easily able to step back. He held up the mind stone, focusing more of its power on the soldier. The captain was clearly trying very hard to fight it, but under this reinforced onslaught he soon fell.

Rogue looked around at his handiwork, a satisfied smirk on his face. Everyone was down, SHIELD agents and Avengers alike. Pym in the corner he had been in when he'd found the mind stone. Maybe he'll save the kid for last. After all, if he hadn't started screaming, Rogue wouldn't have reached the mind stone while everyone was distracted. His eyes landed on Hawk and there was some satisfaction in seeing the Barton boy in the same predicament. Partner or not, Hawk had been getting on his nerves since Ultron sent him here. Then he spotted the Captain's shield. It wasn't far from the injured agent James had swapped with. He'll need something to use as a backup with his shield out of commission until he could fix it. Walking over, he picked it up and got an idea.

He held the stone up to the shield. He felt the vibranium of the shield start to resonate with the frequency being emitted by the powerful object in his hand. He waited a second and dropped it on the midpoint of the star on the shield. For a moment, he felt its power leave him, but it quickly returned once it hit the shield. He concentrated hard on it staying there and strangely enough, it did. James' fathers shield just became the perfect conduit for the stones power. It wasn't as overwhelming as before. He smirked to himself and slid the shield on his arm before he started moving. With this, there was no way he'd lose. And while he was at it, he was going to take advantage of this.

He stalked towards one of the Avengers, the Falcon. He'd been the one to give James the shield. He wanted him to pay for that and pay slowly. He lifted the shield in the directions of his target. Falcon was lifted into the air, the mind stone's power surrounding him with a blue glow. He watched as the Avengers' eyes began to flutter open. He wasn't quite focused or aware of what was happening. Rogue watched him carefully, waiting for him to figure out what was happening. He met eyes with him and grinned as the realization set in. He focused on that power infiltrating the flying Avengers mind and tearing it apart piece by piece. It took a lot of his focus, but it worked. Falcon started screaming in agony. His heart started to pound.

"Rogue! Stop!" Francis yelled from his left. Rogue glanced over at him. He was struggling to stand, his eyes heavy, but he was fighting the tiredness. In his periphery, he saw more slow movement. The others were waking up. "You can't kill him."

"Watch me," Rogue said with complete confidence, ignoring the tugging he started feeling in his mind.

"No! Falcon... I grew up with his family! If you kill him, I and others could cease to exist!" Francis told him, practically pleading with him. He tried to get to his feet but fell back to his knees. Rogue just smirked at him. He heard something powering up. He brought the shield around, keeping his concentration on the Falcon. He felt the impact of a blocked blast. Wasn't from the direction of Francis. Glancing to the side, he saw Tony had his hand raised. It was shaking. He glared at him and focused extra power on Tony.

'Drop your hand, Tony' he thought. It echoed in his mind. It felt like a stare off for a moment, a match of wills. Unfortunately for Tony, he had an infinity stone on his side. In seconds, his hand dropped. Then a painful blast to his side caused him to gasp and lose some of his concentration. Falcon dropped a little in the air. He looked to the side, in time to see another blast fired by Francis with Pym's stingers. It hit him again and he stumbled, dropping Falcon as his concentration slipped. He whirled around to face Francis. At that moment, he didn't care who was in control. He didn't care that Hawk lied within Francis, nor did he care if he'd done that to keep his cover. He'd stopped him from killing an Avenger. He aimed the power towards him. Francis' arms started to shake. The same glowing aura that had surrounded Falcon a moment earlier began to appear around the younger Hawkeye.

Not this time! James' voice echoed in his mind. The power that was meant to be directed at Francis backfired, sending Rogue backwards. The force of it made him land not far from Tony and close to the door. He took a second to regain his composure.

What the hell was that? He thought as he pushed himself up, rubbing his head. He blinked a moment. He actually felt a little light headed. He heard movement and saw that the avengers, minus falcon, were getting up. It seemed his influence from the mind stone was disappearing from them. Pain exploded in his head for a moment and then dissipated a second later. He winced from it and glanced at the stone.

You might want to run. James said in their shared mind. He could practically hear the smirk in his voice. They're not going to be happy with you after you hurt Falcon. Sure you can attempt to use the stone against them again, but even MODOC was unsuccessful in his attempts and he had both the mind stone and shield on his side. Plus the avengers didn't know which way was up when they were body swapped. You think you'll be able to take them on now?

He hated it, but his other half had some points. He only just got hold of the mind stone and while he was able to direct its power, it's clear he understood very little about it. He may have to consider it. A growl drew his attention over to the side. While some Avengers were still recovering, Hulk had gotten to his feet and he didn't look happy. In fact, the level of rage present on his face Rogue had only seen one other time.

Shit. He thought. Hulk let out a roar and charged at him. On instinct, he raised his shield. When Hulk's fist connected, a wave of the stones' power emanated from it, sending the monster and Rogue in opposite directions. Rogue landed just outside the door, hitting an agent as he did. He rolled a little before coming to a stop.

As he pushed himself up, he felt a jolt from his arm and suddenly he wasn't standing in the hall anymore. He was in a place entirely unfamiliar to him. In front of him, he saw a large looming figure sitting on a throne. He took in the sight. He was tall, with purple skin. He looked powerful and had a golden gauntlet, a real gauntlet, on one hand. His eyes were drawn to a glow in the center of the gauntlet. Another stone. He could feel its power radiating outward. Power that, he had a feeling, would probably rip a normal man apart. Movement brought his attention back to the owner of the gauntlet. He was staring directly at him.

Rogue was back in the hallway. He blinked rapidly and looked around, trying to decide if this was real or not. It felt real, but what was that? The sound of a gun being cocked drew his attention back to the hall corner. Fury.

"Put down the shield and put your hands behind your head. Now," the head of SHIELD commanded. Rogue almost found it comical. Did he really think a gun would scare him into submitting? Yet, his heart was pounding. He smirked and then, probably reading his mind, the stone let out a pulse, pushing Fury back. It gave him space in the hall to run and he took it. He needed time to figure out how to properly use the stone and his instincts told him that running was the best way to get that time.

0

(~Francis~)

Francis pushed himself up slowly. Rogue hadn't had the chance to do much damage to him before that blast had sent him backwards, but he felt sore from everything. His mind was still a little foggy as well. He focused on the Falcon. His heart was pounding and he felt a surge of anger well up within him. The winged Avenger wasn't moving.

'No...nonono. Not again.' He thought as he forced himself to move. He made his way towards Falcon. As he got closer, he started to make out that he was still breathing. He reached him and checked his pulse. It was there, not super strong, but he was alive. He pulled back his mask so he could better check him out. Memories came back to him in waves. It was hard to see him like that. He heard someone stop next to him.

"He's alive," He informed them.

"Thank God," Cap said. Francis didn't look at him. He was shaking. He'd almost lost Falcon again. Not only that, he almost broke a promise for the second time. He couldn't go through that again. The captain bent down and carefully picked up Falcon, eliciting a groan from the injured Avenger. "I'll get him to the infirmary. The rest of you need to find Rogue. He's still got the mind stone." Right. Rogue. He's made his friend's life a living hell. Nearly killed Falcon. Then attempted to do the same to him. Francis' felt his blood boil. He was so angry. Angrier than he'd ever been. This was deep... That pit in his stomach roared to life. Unlike before when it felt like he was losing himself, he felt more determined than ever. Like that piece was back and working with him hand in hand. He stood up.

"Yeah, right," he said darkly. Cap didn't seem to notice and began running out of the room. Clint followed him. He felt someone grab his arm. Looking over at who it belonged to. Pym. He looked scared. Almost as scared as the day they faced Ultron, or the day they found out James and Azari were missing. His anger was extinguished a little at the sight.
"What is it, Pym?"

"..." He hesitated to answer, looking confused more than anything else. "I saw something. I touched the stone and I saw things," He whispered. Before Francis could ask what he saw, he heard Hulk cough and groan. He looked to the side and saw the monster sitting up.

"Ugh, that thing packed a punch bigger than a gamma explosion," he said. It made Francis and the other avengers pause. That wasn't right. Hulk didn't talk like that.

"Hulk?" Tony asked more than said. The big green paused and turned to look at him. He looked very confused.

"No.. why would you-" he cut himself off when he looked at his hand. He stared at it a second before it sunk in. "What?"

"Banner?!" Tony said, sounding more sure but also more surprised this time.

"Odin's beard!" Thor exclaimed.

"This isn't good is it?" Widow asked.

"No it isn't. Has this ever happened before Bruce?" Tony asked. Bruce shook his head.

"No, never. I always revert back to my own body when I'm in control and visa versa when the big guy has the wheel. I didn't even know this was possible," he pushed himself up and looked at the rest of his body. Francis could see the gears turning his head.

"I guess anything is possible with the mind stone," the young archer said, surprised himself. Tony sighed.

"Unfortunately, we don't have time to dwell on it. Caps right, we can't let Rogue keep the mind stone. We need to keep him on the ship. If he makes it back to the city with that thing there's no telling what he'll do," Tony said.

"I'm already ahead of you, Stark," Fury said from the hall. Almost on cue, they heard slamming and mechanical sounds all over the ship. "Lock down. Rogue won't be going anywhere."

"Don't be so sure…" Pym's grip on Francis' arm got tighter. Francis turned to him, tuning out what Tony had been saying. He somehow looked even more terrified. Was it because of Rogue? Was Pym afraid of facing him? Francis, after a moment of hesitation, placed his hand over the top of Pym's. He squeezed it lightly, trying to reassure the kid.

"Don't worry. We'll find him and I won't let him hurt you when we do." He told the shrinking boy. He meant it too. Pym nodded, but still held a bit of a seat in the headlights far away look. There was something else. Francis would have to address it after they took care of Rogue.

(~Tony~)

"Don't be so sure Fury. The kid is like an escape artist. If there is a way for him to get out of here, even the smallest one, he'll find it," Tony informed the head of Shield. Knowing Rogue the lock down will probably only slow him down, not stop him. James may be able to fight him, but he said he couldn't stay in control for long so even that wasn't buying much time.

"Then we'll get to him before that happens. I've already got my able men searching for him. He won't be getting off this carrier." Fury assured them. Something about the way he said that….

"And we'll catch him ALIVE. Right?" He asked pointedly to be sure. Fury looked at him, probably judging how serious he was about that.

"We'll do what we can," The man replied. That wasn't very reassuring. To make sure Fury was held to it, The Avengers will have to find him first and quickly.

(~Rogue~)

Hopefully he was right about the direction he was going. He needed to get to the hanger. If he could get off this ship, he could buy himself time to figure out this stone and what happened back there. Maybe he can even use it to find one of the other stones. Two infinity stones would make him even more unstoppable.

Turning the corner, he saw the hangar up ahead. He grinned to himself, but that grin quickly vanished when the door to the hangar slammed down. The sound of more slamming echoed around the Tricarrier. He brought his gauntlet up before remembering that it was busted and Jocasta likely wouldn't be able to help him until it was fixed. He approached the door and touched the screen to find out what was going on. The screen flashed red as the words ACCESS DENIED: LOCKDOWN IN EFFECT came up. He glared at the computer for a moment. Lockdown, of course they'd put that into effect. He can't use his gauntlet to hack it either. He was flying blind this time.

"Freeze!" He rolled his eyes and turned to face the agent, crossing his arms.

"Don't you idiots learn anything?" He asked rhetorically. Apparently not, because they started shooting almost as soon as he stopped talking. He brought the shield up again. The bullets hit his shield and he felt one hit near the center. Another wave got sent out. He was pushed back into the wall by it, but so were the others.

And then it happened again. He wasn't standing in the hall, but back on that rock. The purple man once again looked at him.

"Who are you?" He asked. His voice was deep and held an air of authority to it. Rogue crossed his arms. He didn't do well with authority.

"I could ask you the same question." He stated. The purple man scowled at him.

"It'd be wise to answer me," Thanos stated, glancing down at his Shield. "and to tell me how you came to possess one of the Infinity stones." The power of his own stone radiated off him even more. Rogues' heart started to pound. Fear? He wasn't used to being afraid. He'd only felt it that one other time when AIM had him in that capsule.

"...My name is Rogue. I have this stone because I fought to get it and clearly it is screwing with my mind right now." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. The other looked him up and down, sizing him up it seems.

"The stone is connecting us for reasons we do not know yet. However, the fact that you are able to wield such an item... you may be of some use." He stated. Rogue didn't like the way he said that but he didn't have a chance to dwell on it. There was another flash and he was back in the hall, surrounded by the agents. He rubbed his head. That wasn't good. He needed somewhere to hide so he could figure this out.

(~James~)

Where was he? He wasn't on the ship anymore. He was outside. The air smelled crisp... clean or at least cleaner than he's used to. It was bright and sunny. There were hardly any clouds out. He felt warm. Had to be some time in summer. He took in his surroundings. He was outside a house... no... not just any house. It was his house. He remembered it. He hadn't seen it for over a decade, but he still recognized it.

"Have fun you two!" His moms voice came through the door as it opened. His father stood in the door. Not in his Captain America uniform, but in normal clothes. Shield on his back, an old bomber jacket on, and holding the hand of his son. Of him. As a four and a half year old.

"We will," his father called back. Younger him was bouncing up and down with so much energy…. So much life.

"Bye Mommy!" He'd called back with that little hand wave all kids do. James smiled to himself. Watching him and his father walk down to the car and get in. He'd missed times like this. He'd give anything to be learning to drive that car or how to change a tire or anything normal now.

The car faded away. Turning around, he saw that the house did too. They were at a park now. A playground was close by. His dad was teaching him to throw a football. He was a little clumsy back then so it wasn't going great. From the corner of his eye, he saw a little girl sitting by herself, building a sand castle in the pit. It seemed he wasn't the only one who noticed. Younger him had as well. In fact, he stared at her for a good few minutes. He pulled on his dads shirt edge, getting the captain to kneel down to him.

"Can she play too?"

Cap looked at the girl and then at his son. He gained a smile and nodded.

"Sure, why don't you go ask if she wants to join us?"

Toddler him nodded rapidly and ran in a clumsy fashion to the girl. She'd looked up in surprise after he stopped, almost tripping in the sand.

"Um... hi?" She said slowly, staring at him with wide brown eyes.

"Hi! Um... me and my dad are playing a game. Do you wanna play too?" He asked between breaths and stumbling over his words. She blinked a second.

"Sure? I gotta ask my grandma though," she said.
"Okay! Where is your grandma?"

"On the bench over there," She pointed at the bench where an older woman was sitting, watching the interaction with great interest and a kind smile. "Gramma, can I play with him and his dad?"

"Who is your dad, young man?" Her grandma asked James. He pointed to the captain who was walking this way.

"He is!" He said excitedly. The elderly woman turned and looked at a his father. Steve smiled and offered a hand to her.

"Steve Rogers ma'am. My son had just seen her playing by herself and wanted to see if she'd like to join us," he explained. Her eyes lit up and she gladly shook his hand.

"Of course she can! I remember you. My daughter speaks so highly of you,' She said with a smile. His dad gained a look on his face.

"Who's your daughter?" His fathers voice began to waver. The scene blurred. He heard the woman answer his question, but he couldn't make out what she had said. He closed his eyes as the world warping was disorienting. When he felt like it was safe enough to open them again, he saw that he was back in the trap of his own mind. But something felt different this time…

He looked up at the screens, seeing where Rogue had them. It looked like they were running. His other half then ducked into a bathroom, making sure the door was shut behind him. Judging by the glimpse he caught of himself in the mirror, he looked freaked the hell out. Something was wrong. Did it have to do with the mind stone?

Then he realized something else too. Looking at the screens and controls... he didn't see Rogue at them. Usually, no matter what the body was doing or who controlled it, both could be seen at the controls by the other. But he was just gone now. There was no doubt that he was the one piloting things though. He then looked down at himself. He could still see the bars of the cage but... they looked weaker, more fragile somehow. His hands held a slight glow. They didn't look very bruised anymore. For the first time in a long while he felt somewhat... okay?

He looked back up at the screens. Rogue was staring in the mirror... staring at him. He wasn't in the cage anymore. He could see the whole room if he moved right. The was... a frame of black blocking his view of certain things. And staring back at him was Rogue, who looked just as surprised and confused as he did.

"What the heck..." They both say in unison. They stopped and stared in silence, taking in the appearance of each other. Something was different here... James realized... Rogues eyes had blue flakes in them, shining through their normal deep red.

"I've gotta be losing it. This thing is screwing with my mind," Rogue mumbled, shaking and rubbing his head.

"Our mind... and ditto," James reminded, running a hand through his hair. He needed to think this through. The mind stone was affecting both of them, clearly. Rogue looked like he did after AIM had them in that shield. Weakening and scared. It was a sight to see and James would be lying if he didn't enjoy it just a little bit.

"Shut up, I don't care about correct wording right now," Rogue replied.

"You tried to kill Falcon and Francis. I'm never going quiet again asshole," James glared at him. He felt some power surge through him, feeling stronger. At the same time, the mind-stones glow brightened and Rogue developed a small blue aura from it. Rogue looked down at the stone and then back at the mirror. The thought crossed his mind and James heard it.

You can control the mind stone. What? James could use that? Is that what had happened when he'd felt that surge when Rogue had turned on Francis? He'd made the stone backfire... He looked at his arms and body. That same aura was around him. His bruises and scars were disappearing. His clothes looked less dirty and disheveled. He couldn't just use the stone... It was healing him. Healing his mind in the places Rogue had targeted for over a year. They locked eyes and James smiled. The world warped a second and the borders faded. He could suddenly see around the entire room. James smirked as he locked eyes with his reflection. Rogue.

"You're right, I can use the mind stone," he said, relishing in the surprised and somewhat fearful look on his face. "And I'm going to use it to get back to the Avengers and find a way to get rid of you once and for all." He turned from the mirror. Nausea hit after taking two steps to the door.

"I'm not gonna let that happen," He heard in his head. His legs locked up. He fell down to his knees as pain blossomed in his head. "I control your body. I control the stone. And I control you." The stones glow brightened.

"Not. Anymore."

0

(~Francis~)

Francis practically marched down the hall with a purpose so strong it surprised him. Pym was sticking by him like glue. He didn't mind that. Kid clearly needed to stick close right now. They were all sticking together this time. After the fiasco that split them up, they probably didn't feel comfortable going out of eye sight.

He focused on following the others and noticed that Bruce and Tony were talking to each other as they led the way. He couldn't make out what they were saying. He wondered what they were talking about.

0

(~Tony~)

"It's going to take forever to comb this place. Rogue could be long gone before we even get close, along with the mind stone," Tony grumbled to himself. He kept picturing that flicker of James he saw just after Rogue had taken control, that horrified look on his face. Wearing those tattered clothes and having those bruises... That was the kid he was wanting to find here and get him away from Rogue if he can.

"I've actually been thinking about that, Tony. Remember when Aim was after him and we intervened?" Bruce interrupted his thoughts. Apparently he'd heard Tony's grumbling to himself. He glanced back at Francis and lowered his voice before continuing. "And they also came after Francis when we didn't even know he existed. They had to have a way to track them."

"That much I've figured Bruce, where are you going with this?" Tony asked, letting his face plate raise so he could look said man in his eyes. Which were higher than he expected since he was in hulk form. Hopefully finding the mind stone will help with that too.

"I know you figured that, but you said it yourself before we got here that the blocking frequency tracking wasn't going anywhere. It's unlikely that's what they used to find them- ow," he'd bumped into the wall, leaving a small dent in it. He wasn't used to that body. "-but AIM is on board the Tricarrier. Heck, MODOC was the Tricarrier. He was in the computers. Maybe some information from him got left behind in the system," Bruce suggested. It got Tony's wheels turning. MODOC had also been targeting Rogue pretty hard from what he'd been told. Hawkeye had also had some trouble when traveling with Pym and Francis. MODOC May have used the same tracking method to find them throughout the Tricarrier.

"You make a good point..." Tony said. If they could find out how MODOC had done that it'd make finding James a whole lot quicker and easier.

"If we find a control room, we can search the files and see if MODOC left anything behind. It could help with this whole situation," Bruce said. Tony nodded in agreement. It all hinged on Aim being dumb enough to download the tracking into Shields system or them being lucky enough that MODOC left some pieces of himself behind. Both seemed better than what they were doing now. He looked back at Natasha.
"Widow, you know where the closest control room is or a place with major computer access?" He asked, no longer speaking in low tones.

"As long as the layout isn't changed from what MODOC did. There's a computer lab not too far from here," Widow replied.

"Great, take us to it. Bruce and I had an idea," Tony informed her, not wanting to explain further with Francis here. He didn't want him to know what they were doing, just in case that scan proved to be problematic. Widow looked him up and down for a moment, trying to read him. Whatever she found doing so seemed to satisfy her. She took the lead and in no time they were at the computer lab. Tony took one computer while Bruce took another a few computers down to accommodate his size. They wasted no time looking for that long shot, though Bruce was struggling more than him. Hulks fingers weren't very conducive to using keys. It looked like he gave up typing himself after a minute. Tony on the other hand began tuning out everyone and thing around him, including Francis' confused comments on why they were there. Shield had a vast amount of knowledge stored in its system. It took a minute to narrow down what they were looking for. They got lucky. Tony spotted a line of code he recognized and followed it. He nudged Bruce and pointed at it so he'd see it too. They both worked to uncover where the code belonged. There they found a program. Delving into it slightly, he saw that it was very similar to the one Tony had used to trace the frequency of the time stone. He brought up the program in his armor, made some adjustments and three dots showed up on his armors interface. From what he could tell, two were in the room with them. He glanced at Francis and Pym. Francis was impatiently looking at them and down the hall. Pym nervously tapping his foot. One dot moved when Hawkeye Jr. started pacing. This tracker wasn't just tracking Rogue, it could track all the kids. That's how they found Francis as well. He turned and pulled up multiple security cameras on the computer, making sure to cycle through them too fast for the others to really get a good look. He needed an excuse. He could explain to the other Avengers later.

"Jarvis found something. Rogue managed to avoid most of the cameras, but one caught him ducking into a restroom not too long ago. Jarvis didn't say anything about him coming back out. Dollars to Donuts that's where our guy is," Tony lied. Rogue was in the restroom like he said and the dot hadn't moved.

"Then let's get him back," Widow said. Francis was already out the door.

00

(~Rogue~)

The ground shifted, the world warped. He kept going from seeing the screens to seeing the bathroom through James' eyes. It was incredibly disorienting, but he wasn't giving up. James hadn't put up this much of a fight since the fourth or fifth time he'd come online. However, this time, he felt like he was losing. He felt the stone's power and grasped it like a lifeline. He knew James was doing the same though.

After some more switching perspectives that left him feeling like he'd be sick, there was a loud 'pop!' In his ears. Rogue got thrown back, seeing nothing but darkness…. Then the screens.

He was back inside James' mind.

Had James won? Had he finally beaten back Rogue like he'd wanted to do for so long? He heard a sound to his side. Turning to look, he saw James, looking just as confused as he did. The blue aura still surrounded him. Looking at his own hands he saw the same aura, but not as bright.

"What just happened?" James questioned as he pushed himself up. Rogue looked at the screens, but only saw black on them. Searching his database, he came to one conclusion.

"We overloaded ourselves with the mind stone's energy. We both fought so hard for control of our body that it couldn't handle it and we passed out," He replied, sitting up. He rubbed his head. That nauseous feeling was dissipating.

"That explains the pop sound I guess," James stretched. "How long do you think we'll be out?" Rogue shrugged. Was it his programming glitching or were things around them changing?

"Probably not until one of us wins," Rogue replied. He was right. It looked like the area around them was becoming unstable.

"Okay, great. So let me have my body back and we'll be alright," James said pointedly. Rogue rolled his eyes.

"Yeah right, cause I'm actually gonna do that. You do remember who you're talking to right now right?"

"Yeah, the asshole who hijacked my body so he could kill my parents before I'm even born," James snapped back. With those words he suddenly found the mental ground around them rising up. Cracks formed, things became shaky. It nearly knocked Rogue off his feet. This couldn't be good. He caught himself from falling and finally looked from his surroundings to his host. James was just as unsteady on his feet, but the blue glow surrounding him had grown. He realized why the ground had become so unsteady. The mind stone, while powerful out there, had to be even more powerful in this mind landscape so to speak. James was using its power here to affect the terrain around them. He wasn't sure if he meant to or not, but regardless Rogue needed to get his guard up. He didn't know what the other could do in here, but he needed to be ready for it. "You do realize how stupid that is right?"

"I'm not STARTING with Captain America and Black Widow. I'm ENDING with them. Hawk can take care of whichever is still alive by the time I'm done," Rogue countered, though he knew what that meant. He'd cease to exist. He didn't want that, but he wouldn't stop it either. It's one of the reasons he was designed. It's a core part of him.

"You think that's better somehow? The outcome is still the same in the end!" James stated. The ground shook a second, opening a crack between them, making its way towards the corrupted other. He jumped to the side, landing on a more high up portion of the mental battlefield. "I don't get it! You won't let MODOC kill me. You fight like hell to keep me alive. You eat and occasionally even sleep. When someone puts a gun to your head, you pause. I've felt your fear in dangerous situations before!"

"What's your point, Rogers?"He interrupted. He didn't like where this was going. He acted this time, using the stones abilities to bring up areas of the ground and send them flying at his adversary. James managed to dodge all but one of them, landing pretty roughly on the ground with the rock on top of him. He wasn't down long, but it had bought Rogue a moment to take some breathing room. Granted it caused pain in his chest area to flare up, but that wasn't the only thing there. He felt like there was a pressure in the air. A vacuum that wanted to suck him away to somewhere he wouldn't like.

The ground around where James had fallen shook. After a moment, it blasted back, sending smaller rocks flying everywhere. His host pushed himself up, little bits of rock falling off him as he did.
"My point is, You clearly have a sense of self preservation. You don't WANT to die! So why are you going along with a plan that will end in our death?" The broken soldier had asked. Rogue paused at the question. He hated to admit it, but he'd hit a nail on the head. He'd asked himself this once or twice recently. He kept coming back to the same answer, that he wasn't about to say out loud especially to James.

"I'm a program, James. It's not about what I want. I can't want anything! It's about reaching point B from point A. I can't do that if I die too early!" He said to cover what he was really thinking. As he did, he sent more boulders James's way. This time he was able to dodge all of them. For a second he felt himself sliding backwards, like something was pulling him again. He gripped onto a nearby land mass to ground himself.

"Something tells me not to believe you," James replied.

0

Outside the bathroom door, the remaining Avengers were ready for anything. They didn't know what awaited them on the other side. With Rogue being in control of the mind stone, they weren't taking any chances. The other avengers looked back at Tony. He nodded.

"He's still in there," Tony confirmed. He still hadn't moved. He didn't like this. Rogue didn't seem to like staying in one place. Something had to be wrong. Thor stepped forward and opened the door quickly, hammer at the ready. He paused in the doorway. Tony shifted to the side to see why.

Rogue was on the ground. He looked passed out. Caps shield was still attached to his arm. The stone glowed brightly in the center of the star. What had happened?

Francis rushed forward, pausing for a second once he got close. He stared at the body. Once he was satisfied with whatever he was doing, he bent down to check for a pulse. The second he touched his friend, the stones glow brightened and released a quick flash. It was blinding, Tony took a second for his eyes to adjust back to normal from it. As they did, he saw that Francis had collapsed next to James. Pym took a step forward to check on him but hesitated.

"Don't touch him," Banner said. Tony scanned Francis which didn't do anything in the head area, as expected, but it did tell him that his heart rate was at resting rate.

"He's okay, looks like he went unconscious," the billionaire informed them. Pym sighed with relief. "The mind stone must've done it. A defense mechanism while Rogue is out." He'd like to believe it was James, not Rogue using the stone. Something told him this was much more complicated than that.

"But that doesn't answer why he'd be out in the first place," Widow stated.

"I think I can guess," Pym said quietly. He looked nervous. Tony looked at him. He'd moved to the other side of his friends, further away from the stone. He was close to them but wasn't touching them. "In the scramble to get the stone, I found it before Rogue did. When I tried to grab it, it felt like it was trying to drown me in images and information. I had to let go to get it to stop, which is when he grabbed it. Maybe it's doing the same to him, but it took a while since he has it attached to Captain America's shield."

That.. made more sense than anything Tony could come up with. Though now he was curious to know what Pym had seen. Especially to see if it matched up with some of the things he saw. Might have to table that for another day.

"Sounds plausible," Banner said.

"The question now is, how do we get either of them out of here without touching them?" Tony wondered, trying to figure out the dilemma. On the one hand, the situation would make it more difficult for Shield to take him or the stone anywhere. On the other, the Avengers were in the same boat.

0

The vacuum sensation was getting stronger. Rogue gripped onto the land mass as best he could. This couldn't be the end.. could it? No. It wouldn't be. He wouldn't let it. His programming whirled to life. The ground shifted again, moving and changing from a rock laden land to a place reminiscent of the training rooms he was all too familiar with. James was forced to move further back as obstacles and cover appeared.

"Really? You think this is better?" James called to him, his voice echoing. The vacuum eased off him, but it still lingered. He wasn't going down without a fight. "I remember these training sessions too, you know. I saw it through the screens and even lived some of it. This wasn't blocked off from me!"

"You're right, but I was the main one running these things. It's my playing field," Rogue called back. He looked to his left. A chest was there that contained a gun. He pulled it out and looked out of his cover. He didn't see James yet. The playing field actually looked bigger than he was expecting. He couldn't see the edge of the wall farthest from him. He started strategically moving from cover to cover, searching for his host.

He heard footsteps, echoing from somewhere on his right, but when he turned, gun pointed, he didn't see anything.

However, he definitely felt it when he was kicked in the back. He fell forward, twisting to land on his back. He gripped his gun to keep hold of it. His attacker grabbed it too, pushing it to the side and trying to affect his ability to aim it. James glared at him from the other side of the gun. His hands gripping it just as hard as Rogue was.

"Why... wont.. you.. just... disappear!" James groaned out between gritted teeth. Rogue felt that vacuum sensation get marginally stronger.

"I could ask the same of you," The parasite stated, gathering his strength and pushing against the gun. He lifted his knee to push against James and was able to reverse their positions. For a moment there, no one spoke. It became a battle of wills.

0

"I have an idea," Bruce said, examining the floor as close as he could get to the unconscious boy.

"We're all ears," Widow said. Bruce tapped the floor, hearing a metallic sound coming from it when he did.

"I can bend this, create a kind of hammock around them and carry them to the jet," He replied. Tony glanced at the floor. It was metal. But bending it could create a number of weak points. If that happened they'd be back at square one. They didn't have a better option though.

"It's better than anything I've come up with. Go for it. We'll take him to the hanger. If Fury knows what happens when any of his men try to touch them then he won't be able to stop us. If it comes to it we'll hijack that jet again. One thing that is not happening is him staying here," Tony said firmly. They all nodded in agreement. Bruce took a deep breath and positioned himself a couple of inches away from the unconscious boys. He placed his hands along the cracks where the metal sheets were. After looking around the two and taking another breath, he gripped into the seams and pulled. The metal was crushed around his grip but held firm enough for him to pull up and take the boys with it. He folded it carefully to make it easier to carry. The shield made it a little snug but it seemed to work.

"It seems to be holding up… we better hurry," Bruce stated. They didn't question why. They just started moving. Pym shrunk down and tried to fly ahead. Tony and Widow took the lead. Thor was in the back. Hulk in the middle. They made sure to have enough room that Banner could keep from touching the boys and causing another disaster. They made it to the hangar doors, but they were shut from the lockdown. Pym's little light flew around the keypad a moment before his voice came through on their comms.

"Their lockdown is complicated but I think I can crack the door," He informed them.

"How complicated?" Thor asked.

"A step or two above the maintenance hatches back home. It won't take long but I can't promise I won't trigger something given how paranoid this Fury guy seems to be," Pym answered. Maintenance hatches? Where did these kids live?

"Fury would definitely have some kind of back up," Widow stated. Tony sighed.

"Go for it. We can handle whatever Fury throws at us," He gave the bug boy permission.

"You got it," Pym said and the light disappeared into the panel through a not-as-secured crack. Tony turned from the door to check the halls.

"Tony, do you have any way of actually helping them?" Widow asked. He glanced at her, trying to gauge her expression. But he could only pick out one emotion. Worry. He wanted to tell her that he did. That he'd be able to cure what was wrong with them the second they got back to the tower. However, he didn't and he couldn't. Widow would be able to smell the lie from a mile away.

"No, I don't. Not yet anyways. I'm hoping to find something once we can get them back. Something that doesn't involve the mind stone. I don't think prolonged exposure to that thing is healthy for them," He answered.

"Probably not, but what if that is the only way to help them," Widow asked. Tony didn't answer her. He didn't know what he'd do then. But he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

"Stark." Fury's voice came from behind him. Tony turned, ready for a fight, but instead he just saw Fury's face on the screen above the keypad Pym was working on. He let his faceplate raise up.

"Fury. We got Rogue. Care to let us borrow a jet?" The billionaire asked with a healthy dose of sarcasm in it.

"Not particularly," Fury said.

"Well you'll have to. No one can touch Rogue-"

"Wanna bet," Fury cut Tony off.

"He means that literally," Widow said before the head of Shield could start making demands.

"When our newest member tried he got knocked out. The mind stone is protecting him. If anyone else tries they'll be in the same state," Tony explained. Banner spoke up then.

"Even I had to pick them up with the floor," The professor stated. Fury raised an eyebrow on the screen. For a moment no one spoke.

"We may not have much time," Thor stated.

"Which is why-"Fury didn't even get to finish. Another face popped up on the screen interrupting them.

"Fury, please. Will an explanation let them get through?" Captain America asked, sounding frustrated with the situation.

"Maybe," Fury said, shifting on the screen. Tony figured he'd crossed his arms. He'd seen the look that followed that action many times.

"He's my son. He's not doing these things of his own volition and Tony is the only person who can help him," Steve stated. There were very few times any of the Avengers could say they'd seen the director of Shield surprised, but this definitely counted as one of those times. That was not the explanation he'd expected. The silence lasted for a few bats before he'd spoken.

"What? How Rogers? You haven't been out of the ice long enough to have a kid that age."

"That's more complicated, but it's true. Please Fury. We need to get him back to the tower so we can help him," Steve asked. He was almost begging but the look in his eyes said this was Fury's last shot. It was this or they do this by force. Tony felt the same way. As Fury opened his mouth to reply, the door opened. At the same time, some Shield agents came from down another hall and aimed their guns at them. Pym flew out from behind the panel.

"I got it!" Came through the comms. The door opened to the hanger but no one moved. "Oh..."

"Stand down men," Fury said from the speakers. The Shield agents hesitated a moment before obeying the order. A loud sound from the hanger indicated that the outer door was open as well. The lock down seemed to be lifted. Tony looked back at the screen.

"Thank you, Fury," Cap said, sounding relieved before his face disappeared from the screen.

"Get out of here before I change my mind and one of you better give me a longer explanation when you get back," the Director said.

"We will," Widow said before Tony could say anything that was on his mind about that. She took up the lead and they trickled in behind her, still keeping Hulk in the middle. Bruce had to duck very carefully under the door to get through without hitting the boys. Although Tony still heard a slight thud followed by a mumbled 'ow..'

Natasha headed for the jet they'd taken to get in there. They didn't trust Fury to land the Tricarrier back at their quinjet right now. Tony didn't say another word until they were all on board the jet. Like before, Natasha flew. Banner took up the majority of space in the back. Tony, Pym and Thor were crammed up front. It wasn't until they were in the air that anyone spoke. A call came through from Cap.

"Did he keep his word?" The soldier asked.

"He let us leave and we have James. So so far, yes. He did," Tony stated. He wasn't ready to believe this was over yet, but for now they could take a breath. "I'm glad he at least saw reason. Or was shocked enough by your explanation. Whatever the case."

"Good. When you told Fury about what happened, you said one of ours went down. Who?" Cap asked. Tony raised an eyebrow. He could've sworn the soldier had joined the conversation after he'd said that.

"Francis. He checked on him as we opened the door and was knocked unconscious. We didn't want to risk it with anyone else," The billionaire informed him. The soldier shook his head. A loud voice interrupted anything that he was about to say.

"WHAT Happened to my SON?" Clint yelled from somewhere off screen. There was a beat of silence as those words washed over them.

"He'll be fine, Hawkeye. We're bringing him back to the tower," Widow interjected, shooting a quick glance back at the two unconscious boys.
"He'd better be," Clint replied.

"What of Falcon?" Thor questioned.

"They're still checking him over. I'll give you an update once they're able to tell me anything more," Cap answered. Tony nodded.

"Alright. Stay in touch, Cap. And if Fury tries anything on any of you still there let us know. We'll come running again." Cap nodded and then signed off. Tony mulled something over a second before looking back at the still conscious young avenger. "Pym…" the teen looked up at him from his seat.

"Yeah?" He questioned.

"How is it that Cap, the guy who still has trouble with a tablet just playing flappy bird, managed to come into the conversation with Fury at that exact moment? And how did he hear about Francis before he joined the call?" He asked. Pym gave him an innocent grin, but he saw that sparkle in his eye. He smirked. "Good job, kid."

Tony couldn't be sure, but it seemed like after that, Pym was beaming the whole way back to the tower.

Haha! Finally. FINALLY HE'S BEEN CAUGHT. Remember how I said 'Stay tuned to find out if Rogue can somehow get out of this situation.'? I jinxed myself with that. He was supposed to get caught at the very beginning here. Instead he goes 'If I got the mindstone I could get out of that room'. When I tell you I nearly screamed. A friend of mine can attest and she's the one who helped me with a work around. So Rogues stubbornness plus life plus me writing an actual proper book is what delayed this chapter. But it's here! It's out and I'm already working on the next one.

2025 is here with a fresh start, a shift in story and so many plans to come! Stay tuned and Happy New Year!

Join the discord for regular updates! discord . gg / 5UKBwMAnJw (spaces removed)

~December 31st, 2024~