Chapter 40: And It Had All Been Going So WellNotes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextPeter ducked a punch towards his face. Spinning he kicked the thug across the alley and into a wall while grabbing the second thug's arm and flipping the man over his head into the ground. Two quick webs and they were incapacitated. He narrowed his eyes, triple checking everything was secure. Fifth organized mugging he'd stopped today. He clicked one of the disposable beacons for Yuri on the forehead of mafia thug number one.
Nodding, he jumped up, catching the wall and climbed quickly up the side to the roof. He hit his comm. "The mugging report on twelfth is handled."
-"Tony's back. We're waiting for you at the tower."- Darcy's voice was clipped.
His mouth tightened. He didn't bother replying, just took off running. As he reached the edge of the roof he lept, throwing himself towards the tower, shooting a web to swing himself forward. It didn't feel fun today.
Peter swung through the window. He barely did more than pull his mask off. "Did you find anything!?"
"No." Tony was worn, nearly haggard as he dropped an array on the table, it's hinges opening as it folded itself out. "Any residual readings of whatever that franken portal was, are gone."
Darcy plugged her computer in and started to download the data. "I'll give this to Jane." She looked up. "Rhodey will get back with the west coast readings when?"
"Eight hours." Tony bit out.
Darcy threw a screwdriver at the wall. It clanged loudly. "Fuck." She ran a hand through her hair. "The portal he used to get away. It shouldn't exist. It's a disgusting overpowered fake. It's unstable and an amature attempt at creating an Einstein Rosen bridge."
"Not of Earth or Asgard. Which leaves us unable to identify where that tech is from.." Tony agreed, he sneered at the image of the golden circle that had created the portal that had sucked away their sister. His daughter. "Just punch a hole in the fabric of space, not like that could swallow a planet."
Darcy gave an aggravated nod. "It's a shitty knock off of an einstein rosen bridge by someone who doesn't know what the fucknuggest they're doing."
Peter glared at the screens all frozen on different surveillance angles of Daisy. "Anything from SHIELD? Dr Simmons isn't getting back to me." His jaw tightened.
Darcy shook her head. "Hunter went to contact them because he remembered an inhuman with future visions who died. He hasn't come back yet."
They all snapped their heads around to Natasha striding into the room. He couldn't help it. "Did you find anything?"
"You all need to calm down." Natasha eyed them. "This Noah needs her for something. You're no good to her if you're too exhausted to think."
Tony turned. "We're not all so heartless we can be calm when our family has been kidnapped by aliens."
"Daisy is a powerful inhuman, a highly trained agent, and one of the best hackers on the planet. If there's a chance at escape she'll take it. And we know this Noah needs her for something. I'm being practical." Natasha shut the door behind her as she walked the rest of the way in.
Peter's brow furrowed. "How do we know he won't hurt her?"
"Dendrotoxin soaked toy to incapacitate without injury, clearly planned out grab, he attempted to establish a non-hostile rapport, and he didn't just drag her off. He caught her and carried her through the portal. That all says care was taken to keep her intact." Natasha raised a brow at them all. "He wanted her unharmed and as non-aggressive as possible. That's good, it means torture and murder are unlikely, at least in the short term. But it means we have likely a week at least before she'll be in real danger."
It was...it was something. Peter unclenched ever so slightly. He didn't…. "Are you just here to tell us to sleep?"
"No, I got word from a source in SHIELD." She tossed a thumbdrive to Tony. "Agents Coulson, May, Simmons, Rodrigez, and MacKenzie were all taken last night as well. No footage of that one, but I have the initial reports. They all vanished from a diner. Except for May who never checked into her hotel last night."
Darcy caught what was wrong about that first. "Wait, that's her entire old team except for Fitz."
"Fitz went MIA following what is believed to be a lead at around five am this morning." Natasha eyed them. "Whoever this Noah is, he's picked very specific individuals. None of whom would be easy to hold."
Tony crossed his arms as the incident report came up on the screen. His eyes skimming the material. "No reference to a 'prophet' in this one."
"Hunter was looking into that. As was Wanda." Darcy didn't mention Wanda's powers meant she was frighteningly competent at hitting every known location of alien citizens in the city and ensuring they were being honest about whether they had any knowledge or not.
Peter looked at Natasha. "Why do you think they were taken?"
"I'm not sure." Her eyes turned to the screens. "It's not coercion. This Noah knows too much about his targets for that." She seemed to notice the lack of understanding on their faces. "If I wanted Daisy to do something for me against her will I'd have taken you or Darcy to hold as hostages to ensure she complied. Coulson could stand as leverage against the majority of the team. But not all of them, and he's a spy. Not an ideal hostage."
Natasha seemed to frown ever so slightly. "If I had to guess, I'd think he wanted their specific assistance. That he believes once forced to confront what he needs help with, they will comply of their own free will. But that seems unlikely. Daisy would have been conscious for hours by now. All of them would be. And every SHIELD agent knows how to get a message out with only minor tech available. None of them have sent out any type of message."
"Which means they can't." Peter finished for her. Afterall, Daisy had been training him. Learning how to signal for help, to indicate if he was in danger, that had been one of the first lessons. He felt a sick pit in his stomach.
Darcy went pale. "If they were in space how much harder would it be to get that sort of signal out?"
"Can you get Thor here?" Tony turned on her immediately. "Is that something you can do yet?"
She straightened. "Yeah, I can do that. I don't care if I have to drag him here by his stupid cape myself."
////
Hunter stared at Fitz. He had not flown to the west coast, hunted down Fitz, helped him chase down an alien, held said alien at gunpoint, met a creepy kid who drew the future, all of that for this. "Your plan is what?"
"I'm going to put myself into cryo-sleep so I can get to the others." Fitz's face was frighteningly set.
His eyes flicked to the bald alien who had kidnapped their friends. It was only slightly concerning he had no idea where the other one who'd taken Daisy and probably May was. "Shouldn't we talk to someone else? I mean the Avengers are a hive of hornets. I mean Daisy's girlfriend is a terrifying witch who was looking awfully murdery when I left. Don't you think one of them might have a better idea?"
The bald alien spoke up. "I will be accompanying Leopold Fitz. His and the SHIELD team's mission is vital to the survival of the species."
"Yeah that doesn't make me feel better buddy." Hunter stared at Fitz. "You're sure about this? Can we even trust this bloke?" He jerked a thumb towards the alien. "Cause I don't wanna be the one to tell everyone this is the plan for saving the team. Did I mention the terrifying witchy girlfriend and want to be megalomaniac of a mad scientist sister?"
////
Jane didn't comment on her best friend's manic intensity as they prepared to send Pietro and Wanda to Asgard to drag Thor back with them. Instead she stepped to the twins, she'd already ensured the math was correct afterall. The rest was Darcy calibrating and adjusting the tech. No, for all she missed a lot of social cues, even she knew that the twins weren't ok.
It might have something to do with the fact Wanda's eyes were red and she was leaking tendrils of red mist. Though really Jane was going to have to convince the girl to let her take some readings because she had theories about what that mist was. But anyways, Pietro was jittery in a way that made his edges seem to blur here and there. Their heads were bent together as if they were speaking quietly, but their mouths weren't moving. Altogether it pinged as wrong even to Jane. Ian was scared of Pietro after the coffee incident and Erik, bless his heart, wasn't wearing pants. Which left Jane as the one who had to...wade into emotional social waters.
Jane cleared her throat. "You do know we haven't transported a human since the Pietro incident?"
"We're aware." Wanda's voice was tight, her accent thick in a way that hinted at danger.
Jane was...unsure of what to say to that. It wasn't a theoretical integer. Maybe she needed to get out of the lab more? "You may need to convince Heimdal to return you with Thor. We will open the portal on the hour every hour. And we've managed to increase output to...the portal will stay open slightly longer now. But we don't have Daisy to keep it wedged open."
Pietro spoke up. "Thank you for the warnings, but we are going. We will find Thor and if necessary incapacitate and drag him back with us."
"Ah...he's really quite nice. He should agree to come back without violence." Jane hedged carefully.
Pietro winced slightly. "I apologize, he is your boyfriend."
"Former." Jane felt her chin tipping up slightly. "I told him I needed a partner who was here, he went home and has not sent word. I said I wouldn't wait for him again. He doesn't have a relationship to come back to." She noted the look in Pietro's eye. "But he is still a hero. He should come back to protect Midgard if it is asked of him."
"I do not care what he is. We need him, so we will bring him back with us." Wanda's eyes literally flashed red as she stepped into the portal room. Her brother on her heels.
Jane sighed, she gave up. This was why she prefered to stay in the lab. She stepped back to where Darcy was. "Are we ready?"
"Yes." Darcy flipped it on.
Jane handed Darcy a poptart. "We're going to find her."
"I just...she's my sister ya know?" Darcy looked at her, blues eyes wide with helplessness.
Jane took her best friend's hand. "Thor will help. Erik and I adjusted everything so if anyone makes a portal like that again we'll know about it." She couldn't keep her disgust at the shitty excuse for a portal out of her voice. Damn thing was a gross failure to even comprehend the beauty of what it was failing to attempt. It insulted science with its existence.
Darcy twitched slightly. "Daisy is the one who handles just..this sort of thing." Her eyes were misty. "It's so stupid, it hasn't even been a year but…"
"She's your sister." Jane replied. It wasn't a bond she exactly understood, she was an only child herself. But she saw it between others and she knew to Darcy it meant the world. That the trio were bound by not just blood but love as well. Jane needed something that wasn't astrophysics or was going to cause Darcy to actually lose it and start crying. "Should we be worried for Thor?"
"Big Guy can handle it." Darcy leaned against her, fuzzy knit hat scratching at Jane's cheek. "I'm still mad at him for leaving."
Jane nodded, wrapping an arm around Darcy. "So am I."
////
Natasha just waited as she watched Tony creating a computer program with FRIDAY. She had no doubt it was highly illegal. She knew enough to know it was for improved facial recognition using cameras he shouldn't have access to, while hunting for Noah. It would help. So she didn't say anything.
"I can feel you judging." Tony's voice was snide as he kept working, eyes not even leaving the screen.
Natasha raised a brow. "I left messages with my contacts. If anyone hears something they'll let me know." She stepped forward. "How does the new alert system work?"
"If his face is spotted on a camera anywhere, everyone is alerted. Closest person to him is informed they are the closest. He can't hide on this planet forever." Tony almost knocked his untouched glass of scotch with his elbow as he grabbed a tablet that was resting beside it.
Natasha wasn't sure she'd seen him too upset to drink before. "Steve is at the children's hospital. It'll keep the media's eyes off of us for a few hours. He's already talked to Hill. He'll handle the pony show. If he stops being able to handle it alone Pietro and I can step in."
Tony looked over his shoulder at her. "What?"
"Steve didn't want to risk you turning down his offer to help." She stepped closer, eyes running over the coding, pretending she couldn't see this reaction. "Daisy is important to all of us."
Tony opened his mouth, it undoubtedly would have been something snarky and have ruined any sentimentality. Fortunately for everyone there was a beep on screen. Both of their eyes snapped to where the screen was showing an alert. On screen was security camera footage from the foyer of the tower.
Natasha was pleasantly surprised when Tony looked at her as they stood outside the interrogation cell.
His face was dark. "You question him."
"Not going to make a quip about me working for the enemy?" She eyed the very pissed but focused Darcy who Hill was strategically standing by. It would seem Natasha wasn't the only one worried about pre-meditated murder by Stark.
Tony's eyes glinted. "I'll kill him."
"Well then." Natasha easily stepped past everyone and into the room. She eyed the alien Noah. He was...unnaturally calm.
He blinked as he looked at her. "Hello, I presume you are here to question me?"
"I am." Natasha didn't ask her next question, it would be interesting to see how he responded to silence.
Noah's hands remained flat, not a single physical tell. It was like he was wearing the skin of a human and was unsure of how to move in it naturally, thus choosing not to move at all. "You were looking for me. Being made public would make my work difficult. I request that you desist from this."
"I see, why don't you answer some questions and we'll see about ceasing our pursuit before it becomes public?" She added some credence to the possibility that his species had required Daisy's help. He was far too calm, clearly he did not believe he had done anything wrong.
He gave a short slightly stiff nod. "Very well, I find this agreeable."
"Who and what are you?" Natasha crossed her arms leaning against the wall. The implied threat that he was wasting her time would probably be lost. But interesting to see if it was responded to.
Without so much as a twitch of reluctance he replied in the same banal tone. "My earth name is Noah. I'm a sentient Chronicom from a planet which revolves around a star in the constellation you know as Cygnus. I was sent here 30,000 years ago to observe and record the evolution of your species. What you would call an anthropologist."
"I see, and where is Quake and the rest of the SHIELD team you kidnapped?" She pushed off the wall stalking closer.
His head cocked to the side. "You cannot retrieve them. They no longer exist as part of this time stream."
Her eyes narrowed slightly, she had a really bad feeling about where this was going. "Time stream?"
"Yes, they are in the future. I do not know why, but the prophet spoke. It is required to prevent an extinction level event for your species. We are only permitted to interfere to prevent extinction of the species we are observing." He explained in that same dry and unemotional voice.
Natasha hoped someone had physically grabbed Tony. It was the only good reason for him not crashing through the glass. "And they are able to return once the threat to extinction is removed?"
"I do not protect the prophet. I do not know." He blinked at her.
////
Darcy grabbed Hunter and dragged him into the room they were watching the interrogation from. "What the fuck took you so long?!"
"Hang on I got held up." And he did look exhausted and frankly ready to keel over. His eyes stilled as they spotted exactly who was in the interrogation room. "Oh thank god you got one of them."
Darcy did not release her hold on his arm. "What do you mean one of them?"
"There's two of them and just like….right first things first Daisy and the rest of them are fine."
She couldn't help it, she sagged. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Tony doing the same thing. Darcy's grip on his arm fell away. She patted his shoulder and hit the com. "Nat we need you for a minute."
Hunter dropped into a chair. "It's been a fucking day." He rubbed at his face.
Darcy leaned against the wall. "Yeah well it's been fantastic over here." Her sarcasm bordered on actual venom.
"Right sorry." Hunter started as Natasha closed the interrogation room door. "I had some guesses when that loony went on about a prophet and Daisy listened to him. So I went out to SHIELD HQ to talk to Fitz, only then I had to hunt him down."
Hunter ran a hand through his hair. "There's an inhuman kid who sees all of time at the same time. Kid's kinda fucked if you ask me, she can barely keep track of when in her life she is. But Daisy ran a mission to help her dad right before Bob and I left. Somehow the alien anthropologists found her and have been interrupting her drawing of the future. So when the kid draws the SHIELD team in the future, alien anthropologists kidnap the team and send them to the future."
"Is there a way to get them back?" Darcy felt her voice waiver.
Hunter winced. "Sorta? That's what took so long. Fitz and I kinda sent him and one of the alien anthropologists to the future to help. But future drawing kid has drawings of the team back in the present. So we kinda know they get back?"
"You're joking." Tony grabbed Hunter by the front of his jacket and hauled him up. "My Daughter is lost in fucking TIME and you think a child's drawings are enough!"
Darcy caught her father's arm before Hill or Natasha intervened. "Dad, drop him." She looked at Hunter. "How worried should we be?"
"It's SHIELD, so 50% chance of the apocalypse, 50% chance of survival and no one knowing the planet almost ended." He straightened his jacket. "But short of cryo-freezing more people to help them, it's done."
Darcy sucked in a breath, her eyes closing. "Correct me if I'm wrong. But short of inventing time travel what's happened is done. Daisy and the others are in the future, we have reason to believe they'll return, and two of the most brilliant scientists in the world not working for SI are with them." She nodded to herself. It was shit. It was so much shit she couldn't even. But it was par for the course with the super hero nonsense. "Do we know when they'll be back?"
"I've got the drawing." Hunter pulled a folded up piece of paper and unfolded it carefully. It was just regular printer paper with crayon on it. But it showed Quake punching a...rhino maybe? In the face while next to who was clearly Spiderman. It certainly wasn't something that had happened yet.
She grabbed Tony's shoulder. "Ok, that's flowers. Flowers means spring." Darcy swallowed, her mouth felt dry. "We can invent time travel if they're not back by June. That's bullshit unreasonable but we could do it. Jane almost invented it by accident anyways. We finish the bridge and we're half done with time travel." She opened her eyes staring at Hunter. "What future apocalypse did they get sent to go stop?"
Hunter winced. "Um… I mean it's kids drawings and I have like photos of them but uh...the planet cracking like an egg? But also there were some blue people enslaving humans. So I think they're stopping the genocide of humans by slave owning aliens post planet cracking like an egg."
Darcy's fingers dug harder into Tony's shoulder. "Right. We're in the past. If they're not back by June we fix everything. Just they're alive. Daisy is going to be fine. Evil blue aliens. SHIELD eats up and spits those out for breakfast." Her eyes snapped to Hill. "They do right?"
"This is...unprecedented." Hill surprisingly looked like she was in control somehow. "But portals to other planets worked out for them. I trust that this team will make it back."
She nodded, if she repeated it enough maybe she'd believe it?
Notes:Ok, for those of you who haven't watched AoS a quick breakdown of the AoS plotline that just happened. So in s5 of AoS the team gets kidnapped by the Chromicoms and sent to the future to save humanity from extinction. In the future humanity has been enslaved by the Kree after the planet was destroyed. Over the course of their time in the future they find out that Daisy is the one credited with destroying the planet. Its very terrible, no one has a good time. But they succeed, and then come back.
Chapter 41: Time Travel Is Definitely a Bad Idea?Notes:Sup, angst is here to stay.
And yes this is kinda early....I don't know, I felt like posting and figured why not? It's only like twelve hours early. In other news I think this fic is going to end up around 57 chapters. Fingers crossed that number doesn't change as I finish drafting the last few chapters. (I re-watched Infinity War for this fic...jesus christ that movie is worse than I remember.)
Chapter TextMay Parker's heart ached as they sat around the table. She was grateful Darcy was home instead of crashing in her apartment at the tower. Daisy's empty chair was starkly apparent. It loomed over them as they ate. The food tasted of nothing to May, and it likely tasted the same to the others based on Peter's listless poking and Darcy's glazed expression as she stared at the table. The usual happy chatter was gone.
She just repetitively took bites of her food. The call to tell her work that she'd be taking the week off had been one of the easiest decisions of her life. "I called the school, you don't have to go tomorrow."
"Huh?" Peter looked up from his plate seeming to blink back ever so slightly.
May hated seeing him like this again. It was somehow worse that he wasn't angry, just...empty this time. "I called the school, you don't have to go."
"I...thanks." He resettled into staring listlessly at his food and poking at it with his fork.
She wanted to scream that it was unfair, to cry, to do something. But nothing would make this better till Daisy came back. And May refused to believe anything different even if her heart ached with the possibility she wouldn't. The injustice of it though. She'd had to watch as her nephew, who was as good as her son, lose his parents, as they'd both lost Ben. And she… she couldn't make it better. So she had to believe Daisy was coming back.
She took another bite of the flavorless dinner. Because there was nothing to say.
"May I be excused?" Peter's voice was soft.
May nearly startled at that. They'd never been a family to require permission to get up and leave after a meal. "Of course."
He got up and dumped his uneaten food into the trash before putting his plate in the sink.
And May...she got up and caught him gently as he moved to walk past them. She held him to her. "She'll come back to us. I promise." A part of her believed what she said, and a part scoffed at it as idealism. But he needed to believe it more than she did. "We're going to get through this."
Peter nodded against her shoulder. "I know." His voice cracked slightly.
She hugged him tighter.
May held a cup of tea cradled in her hands. She needed to check and see her kids, that they were safe and in bed before she went to sleep herself. Padding up the stairs she paused as she heard something from Daisy's room. With a slight frown she pushed open the door. "Wanda."
"Ms Parker?" Wanda brushed at her face. "Sorry, I shouldn't be here."
"Oh honey." May stepped into the room, carefully avoiding the circuit board on the floor, and sat down next to Wanda on the bed. She reached out resting a hand on the girl's back. "You're always welcome here. And I know Daisy would never mind you using her room."
Wanda nodded, her eyes misty. "Sorry. I know...she's coming back. I can feel Hunter and that alien's certainty of it. But it doesn't help."
May felt tension uncoiling at Wanda's words. She trusted the girl, if Wanda said Daisy would be back, she'd be back. Thank god. She would have laughed normally at the startled look on Wanda's face as she clearly got an impression of her thoughts. "I'm not as used to all this as the rest of you." She shrugged, it was just how it was. "Should I be expecting your brother tonight as well?"
"Probably." Wanda admitted. Her eyes turned to the floor, red whisps escaping between her clenched fists. "I hate this! I can't do anything, I went to Asgard! But Thor isn't even there right now! And Odin would only promise to send an available warrior when he could spare them. Which is useless! We went to another world and what do we have to show for it? Nothing. Pietro and I are always trying to do something and then we never do anything helpful. We just make it worse."
"That's not true at all." May shifted so she was hugging the girl. "Come on, let's get some tea and call that brother of yours. You can tell me all about Asgard."
Wanda made a sound in the back of her throat. "It's stupid but I was excited to tell her I got that job at the coffee shop. And finals for my classes are next week."
"That's wonderful!" It really was. May tightened her hold on the girl. She saw the same history of loss written on Peter's face written on this girl's. She waited till Wanda was looking at her. "I know my niece loves you. And she's not the only one. You're a part of this family. I expect to see you studying for finals at the kitchen table. Understood?"
Wanda stared and then lunged, burying her face into May's shoulder, a sob barely audible as she shook against her.
Gently rubbing her back, May sighed. This family was made up of people who'd lost too much. It wasn't how she'd expected her family to grow. But it was how it had. And she wasn't letting this rip any of them away from each other. She'd just have to bring up the air mattress and put it in Daisy's room for Pietro. It would seem she needed to keep all of the kids close for a while.
////
Darcy flopped onto Peter's bed. "I'm staying here tonight."
"Huh?" Peter jerked away from his laptop where he'd been staring at an empty word document.
She pushed the giant stuffed spider off the bed. "I'm sleeping here, you can't make me get out."
"Oh….ok." Peter just sort of blinked at her. But then he fell serious. "Are we really going to get her back?"
Darcy gave a sharp nod. "Even if I have to rip a hole in the fabric of reality to drag her vibrating ass back home."
"Ok." He sucked in a breath and then seemed to settle somewhat. "What can I do to help?"
She propped herself up on her elbows. "You're going to need to protect the city. I know Daisy has been running everything, keeping the training wheels on. But I don't think you can keep them."
"But I could help with the time travel!" Peter protested.
Darcy shook her head. "Kid I've got a doctorate and short of building the tech it's not like I can do it. This is a Jane and Erik issue, maybe some Tony. But you're not ready for that yet. But New York needs you. Hell Yuri is going to need you. You guys just took down the mafia, that's… you need to be Spiderman."
"I...fine. I can do that." He nodded decisively, his face unnaturally serious. "What do we tell people about Daisy? I mean they're going to notice Quake just isn't around."
Darcy sat up all the way. Fuck. "If anyone asks she's helping SHIELD. Director Mace will back us. He won't want to admit some of his top agents got kidnapped. Kyle's already keeping his mouth shut, we just have to make sure he knows to keep it shut till we get our sister back."
"So are we getting the air mattress out for you?" He looked at the twin sized bed and then at her pointedly. But it was good, both of them were looking less like zombies.
She couldn't help it, she yawned. "Naw, we can squish. It'll be just like when you got clawed."
"Uh...that's kinda weird?" He seemed to see something on her face though. "Just no complaining if I elbow you in the kidney or anything."
Darcy huffed, her eyelids feeling heavy. "No promises. I just...not letting you out of my sight for a while."
"Yeah that...that sounds good." Peter rubbed at his nose.
It was...Darcy was relieved not to have to have this fight. She doubted she'd have been able to sleep without knowing he was safe and there. Because her family was...she'd always been distant with her mom. Too independent, too young, too smart to be codeled. Marching to the beat of her own drum before most people stopped just repeating their parents. That plus her mom working her ass off as a single parent and a distance had formed. She loved her mom, even loved Brad in an abstract sort of way. But this family here was...it felt different. Vital. She didn't know what she'd do if she lost them and that scared her.
"Thanks." She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Darcy woke up to an elbow in the gut, drool in her hair, and a bruise on her shin from getting kicked. It was comforting. She closed her eyes and just...enjoyed the feeling of not wanting to keel over from exhaustion. There was a snore next to her head. Darcy rolled her eyes, and then shoved Peter out of bed.
He let out a yelp as he hit the floor. "Wha!?"
"Up and adam baby bro." Darcy climbed out of the bed. She ruffled his hair, ignoring the indignant squawk.
Darcy trudged downstairs. She needed coffee stat. As she reached the kitchen she only paused briefly at the sight of Pietro leaning against the counter sipping at a mug of coffee. It made sense if she gave it two seconds of thought. "Morning."
"You're beautiful as always." He blurred and then she was holding a mug of coffee and he was back to where he'd started.
Breathing in deeply she sighed in contentment. Opening the fridge she grabbed her sugary creamer no one else liked and dumped it in. She took a healthy sip of coffee and groaned in relief. Thank Thor for coffee.
Darcy's eyes opened and focused on the speedy idiot also in the kitchen. "So, what do you want?" She raised a brow pointedly.
"What makes you think I want anything?" His typical smirk was more subdued, but there was relief in the normality of it all.
She leaned against the opposite counter taking a swig of her caffeine. "Alright Road Runner, your sister still asleep?"
"Hmmm." He acknowledged. "She hasn't slept since it happened." Pietro fell serious. "You're going to have the kid keep protecting the streets, yes?"
Darcy eyed him. "Yes?"
"What can I do to help? I have firefighter classes to take. But when I'm not training I can help him out." And he clearly meant it.
Her shoulders slumped. "That would be great. I can get you hooked into the comms. You're mostly set up anyways."
"Good." He shifted slightly. "Wanda will help too when she can. But with classes and her new job." Shrugging he looked slightly helpless. "I'll have more time to help."
Darcy pushed off the counter. "Why?"
"Why? Because your family gave my sister a place to belong. That is a debt I cannot repay. Because our sisters are in love and that makes us family. Because I like you all and would do it just for the friendship I feel for your family. Because Daisy would kick my ass if she came back and knew I could have helped Peter and I did not. Pick which you want." Pietro's head cocked to one side. "Do you think so little of me that this surprises you?"
She stepped across the kitchen till she was in his space. "I didn't mean it like that. I know you're a good person. I wouldn't be fucking you occasionally if I didn't."
"Fair." He grinned.
A third voice cleared it's throat. "That's quite enough of that." Aunt May stepped in looking between them. "And there's a teenager with enhanced everything in the house. If you don't want him knowing I'd suggest keeping that in mind." She patted Darcy's shoulder as she moved to refill her own mug of coffee.
Darcy felt her cheeks flushing. Shit. Well that cat was out of the bag. "Right, we'll keep that in mind."
Aunt May looked at Pietro with something akin to pity. "Good luck with Tony."
Pietro actually winced. "That will be...a conversation that does not need to happen. Yes?" He looked at Darcy for help.
"I mean it's not like we're dating." She shrugged, it wasn't like she controlled Tony and the man probably hadn't slept at all last night, unless Pepper had tranqed him. Darcy frowned. "I'm going to have to tranq him today or we're going to have explosions in the lab."
Pietro seemed to realize she was being serious. "Your family is very odd."
"But we're all supes hot so it's all good." Darcy grinned. She grabbed the box of poptarts. "May, I'm probably going to spend the night at the tower tonight. We're outlining the time travel project and honestly knowing everyone we're probably going to end up in a science binge."
May stepped to her and kissed the side of her head. "There will be a plate of dinner for you in the fridge if you change your mind." She looked at Pietro. "And more than enough for you and your sister. I expect all three of you here at least four times a week."
"Yes ma'am." Pietro gave a lazy salute.
Darcy softened, she understood what May was doing and...it was important even if she had no doubt it'd be irritating in the future when she wanted to stay in the lab. But she wasn't going to let this turn her into Jane. No thank you. Science gremlin of the lab was not her future. Sister kidnapped by aliens and sent to the future or not. "I'll be here. Can't leave the kid thinking he can get away with anything can I?"
////
Steve stepped into Hill's office. "Do you have time to talk?"
"No, but unfortunately I think whatever you want to talk about I need to hear." Hill looked over her computer and gestured him in.
He shut the door behind him and awkwardly perched in the chair in front of her desk. Steve was almost positive she'd chosen the chair purely because of how uncomfortable it was. "I need to keep the media off Tony."
"The PR department can help if you want to cut ribbons, do interviews and kiss babies." Hill looked away from her computer. "That's not what you meant though."
Steve shook his head. "You said you had leads on Hydra in the government but that they weren't vulnerable enough yet. Send me after them. If we drag Hydra out of important positions it'll keep people focused on that." His eyes narrowed. "And it needs to be done."
"The political chaos of the Accords is just dying down. This could bring some of it back." Hill offered him the chance to change his mind. They both knew he wouldn't.
He leaned back in the chair. "Then ask Darcy. But I think she'll agree we need to step on some ant hills. I don't fully understand what the media department is doing. But I do know that Tony and everyone making a time travel device isn't something the media should find out about."
"No. No it's not." Hill sighed. "Well then I suppose we better start with Hammer Industries. They received a life line of financing six months ago. We have reason to believe-"
"Are you going to tell Tony why we're leaving?" Natasha asked.
Steve nearly jumped out of his skin. "Nat! Don't do that."
"Just keeping you sharp Rogers." She slid into step besides him. "I called Vision, he'll watch Bucky at court for you while we drag the last remnants of Hydra out."
He nodded. "Thank you."
"Good to know even a fossil like you can get your head out of your ass." Her lips twitched.
Steve stopped and looked at her. "I don't care what differences Tony and I have. This is his daughter, of course I'm helping."
"Are we taking the Asgardian the twins dragged back with them?" Natasha asked, but her face said enough. It was more than enough to know she knew she'd been wrong, and her obvious subject change was as good as an apology from her.
He considered the question. "Well...Sif would certainly be attention grabbing."
"I'll let Hill know." Natasha looked viciously pleased at the chance to work with the lady Asgardian.
Steve had every intention of asking the woman for a spar himself. "Let's go make a splash."
////
Bucky carefully carried the tray of coffee into Astro lab. He purposely avoided Tony's line of sight as he passed out the ridiculously overpriced beverages. Lab work wasn't supposed to involve Stark. Yet here he was. At least there'd been no attempted murder? And he was only here for a few hours before he needed to feed the cats.
"The way I see it, the problem is we don't know which theory of time travel is correct and we can't know which theory is correct without testing it which is...problematic." Erik was frowning as he looked at the large empty white boards that had been wheeled in earlier. If he was wearing pants his words would have probably had more authority.
Dr Foster waved her hand. "We're talking about future time travel. That avoids most of the theoretical pitfalls."
"Janey has a point. We're not changing our own past." Darcy accepted and then clutched her coffee monstrocity like a lifeline.
Erik grumbled. "But it's our future we're changing."
Tony interrupted. "Look, it's a causal loop we're breaking." He pointed at the series of children's drawings taped to the wall. "Let's just invent this. Consequences be damned."
"Isn't that how we got Ultron?" Erik asked looking at Tony in sheer exasperation. Apparently the new antipsychotic drugs were helping there.
Bucky politely slipped out of the argument on the ethics of time travel. He had his own desk now. Also lots of papers to translate from scribbles to actual English. Why did modern people write like illiterate lunatics these days?
Bucky looked up as Ian slumped across his own desk across from him. This was...he was supposed to say something wasn't he? "Are you injured?" yes. That was normal. Probably. He missed the Hulk room where he just had to talk to cats.
"This is how they had to have felt before they invented the atom bomb." Ian raised his head slightly and then let it thunk against the table.
He wanted to swear, the intern wanted conversation. "Right…."
Ian just groaned as if Bucky had said something that could be agreed to. "And normally Darcy keeps them from getting carried away. But this time... she's helping with the world ending science. If our theory is wrong we could end up destroying reality itself! Though if we do that at least I can't be arrested. I'd have a break down if I went to jail."
"It's prison." Bucky wanted to take his words and shove them back down his throat. But it was too late the intern was looking at him. "Jail is where you go before your trial, prison is where you serve your time."
Ian gave the slightest of nods and then whined, his head hitting the desk again. "I can't do prison! And time travel is a terrible idea. We barely understand what we're doing with the portals."
Quite frankly it all sounded like science fiction gibberish to Bucky. And not having to worry about killing anyone or stopping the end of the world was part of the whole lab tech assistant gig. He wasn't even sure if this was hazing or exaggeration? And it wasn't like he was going to put one toe between Tony Stark and his missing daughter. No thank you. Self preservation instincts were coming back. "I'm...sorry?"
"Yeah." Ian sat up and then flopped backwards his spine bending as he slumped in the chair. "It's such an honor working for Dr Foster and Dr Selvig but...time travel...it belongs in Dr Who."
Bucky very carefully didn't mention he had no idea who Dr Who was. Also why would time travel belong inside of a human doctor? Did people hide terrible secrets to technology inside doctors now? No. Hydra would have had him kill and cut the man open. Maybe the intern was intoxicated?
Chapter 42: When a Month Feels Like a YearNotes:I have a surprise road trip tomorrow so new chapter tonight instead of in the morning. Though at this rate Saturday evening is going to end up update time instead of Sunday morning...oh well. In other news I really think this fic is going to end at 57 or 58 chapter wise. I'm almost done with the draft. You guys have no idea how excited I am to be able to work on a new project. Not that I don't love this one...its just been a while to spend on one project.
Chapter TextOne Month Later
Wanda stared at the customer over the counter. She desperately wanted to grab their venti, non-fat, half-caf, double pump of sugar free caramel and force it down the woman's throat. "I'm sorry, is there something wrong with your drink?"
"The moron at the register misspelled my name! It's Catherine with a 'C' not a 'K'!" The professional looking woman was just barely not screaming. "And I wanted one pump of caramel not two! It's too sweet now. You need to just redo it all."
Her eye twitched. It would be so easy to lift and then toss Catherine out the window. Honestly it almost felt worth it. Wanda's smile grew, it felt plastic as she imagined throttling the woman. "I'm so sorry you're not satisfied with your drink. I'd be happy to remake it for you." The pep in her voice was actually disgusting.
"Just get it right this time." Catherine sneered.
Wanda was a Hydra experiment. She was enhanced to the degree she could bring down the entire building on their heads. She'd thrown a rotten tomato at a general's face when she was a teenager! "Just one minute." She grabbed a fresh paper cup and remade the drink.
A roiling rage that was licking at her bones with it's flames was filling Wanda as she watched Catherine take a sip of her new drink.
"Passible." Catherine sniffed. "Honestly what your generation think you're doing." Her eyes hit the fake neck tattoo that curled around the edge of Wanda's jaw all the way up to her ear. "It's no wonder you're working here with that monstrosity on your neck. Honestly." Fortunately for Catherine's continued survival she turned on her heel and marched out of the coffee shop.
Wanda's hands clenched and then unclenched. She grabbed the next coffee cup waiting for her to fill. Her fake smile turned on the next customer. "Hi, sorry for the wait."
Wanda's nose wrinkled as she stared at the crackers she had in her lunch box. Processed food was just...gross. But it was what she had. She took a bite. This was a shitty, shitty day.
"You survived the Dragon! Good job." Amanda of the cash register dropped down across from her at the rickety table in the break room. "Damn woman finds something to complain about every time. Sorry I fucked up her name, I wasn't even thinking."
"She's a regular?" Wanda missed her training shift, she'd been on during closing shift. So few customers.
Amanda scoffed while pulling out a deeply inedible looking sandwich out of her bag. "Comes in everyday. She's a paralegal two blocks up. Acts like she's a damn partner at the law firm."
"Joy." Wanda could feel the sarcasm on her tongue.
Amanda snorted. "You get used to it. 'Sides, the other customers will tip after one of her tantrums so it's all good." She waved her hand. "Don't worry she's all bark and no bite. I can't wait to see her face if she finds out you're getting a law degree."
"With my monstrosity of a neck tattoo?" Wanda raised a brow, her voice dry.
Her coworker snickered. "I think it's rad as hell. I've got some ink on my back, but sticking it on your neck like that is ballsy as hell."
"My girlfriend thought it would suit me." Wanda picked up a second cracker, it was hideous. She wasn't falling asleep on her school work and forgetting to pack lunch again.
Amanda wiggled her eyebrows. "Girlfriend huh, well just so you know sneaking your girlfriend into the storeroom, to make out while on shift, is a no-no. That's how you got this job, Rob got caught with his flavor of the week. So don't do that, cause you're already way better than him."
"I'll keep that in mind." Wanda set the cracker down. She was going to just go hungry, it wasn't worth eating this. "She's out of town at the moment so it wouldn't be an issue anyways."
Amanda dropped her elbows on the table. "That's too bad, but still nice you have someone. I'm eternally single."
Wanda had a moment of 'oh no'. She was a god damn super hero...being a civilian was… the Starks had ruined her. She was used to insanity not...civilians wanting to talk about dating issues. God help her.
"So what do you think of Spiderman and Quake? I think they're so dreamy…" Amanda asked, eyes lighting up.
Purgatory, this was purgatory. "Yeah they're...something alright."
"It's just so romantic...It's weird Quake hasn't been around a lot. Do you think she's doing something for SHIELD?" She asked.
Wanda forced back her...she was trying to be ok with things. "I'm sure that's why she's gone."
"Right? I mean they couldn't have broken up! They're the 'It' couple! Like it's so romantic, she left a dark and dangerous life to be a hero with him. And they're always there for eachother and protecting each other. I mean I've never had a boyfriend who was that willing to show how much he cared for me in public. It's dreamy." She wistfully sighed.
Wanda bit back her instinctive humor at the Spiderquake thing. But also she disliked that narrative, it devalued Daisy. "Quake was a hero before Spiderman. She just moved from being a hero in the shadows to being one in the light."
"Yeah, she's pretty awesome. Did you see those battle scars she's got? I mean I know in her interview she showed her stomach scars. And like mentioned some of them, but seeing them when she did that ninja run was...wow. Totes badass!" Amanda agreed, nodding emphatically.
Wanda softened slightly, she knew she was being too hard on her coworkers. Sure most Americans felt soft and privileged to her. But that was a good thing that they hadn't suffered being trapped in a power struggle like her and Pietro. And Darcy had specifically been using the media to sell Spiderquake to endear them to the public. Not to mention it wasn't Amanda's fault that a solid ten percent of customers made her empathize with Ultron's point of view. "She really is."
"You just think she's cute." Amanda's eyes sparkled. "No shame, she's totes hot if girls are your thing. I just wish we knew what Spiderman looked like, other than fit as a fiddle. Man's got to be fine."
Wanda couldn't help her lips twitching at that. Peter was many wonderful things, a grown man was not one of them. "What if he wears the mask because he's hideous?"
"With a body like that his face could look like a butt and I'd be down." Amanda wiggled her eye-brows. "Dirty, dirty things."
She actually laughed at that. It was so ridiculous and she just...it was hilarious. So ok, maybe this wasn't too terrible...her timer went off. More customers...she took it all back. It was purgatory. Tony Stark deserved this, she did not.
////
Tony sneezed. "Well I'd say excuse me but well." He slid his phone into his chest pocket. With a theatrical sigh he looked at Noah. "Now I'd ask if you minded but I don't really care, you owe me some answers."
"Tony Stark." Noah looked up from his case of antique pocket watches. Which, anthropologist alien working in an antique shop. Irony. "I was expecting you." He pulled out a childs crayon drawing. It depicted what was clearly them in the antique shop.
He brushed the front of his suit. "Creepy." Tony picked up one of the watches. "So I've been thinking, you've been tight lipped on what this 'end of the world' threat the SHIELD team is supposed to be stopping, is. Which is odd, why not just tell us? Unless you're trying to create a stable causality loop. One that leads to the end of the world."
"My actions are already determined. I have only done what is required to prevent extinction." Noah closed the watch case.
Tony flipped the watch in his hand between his fingers. "Cute, now what is this extinction event?"
"Few families have accumulated as much power as yours." Noah was unnaturally still. "Fate already is in flux. Now the Stark legacy is in the hands of The Heart, The Queen, and The Destroyer. It will be worth recording what the children of Iron will accomplish. To destroy the planet and cause the extinction of your species or to save it."
His blood felt cold in his veins. "None of my kids would destroy the world."
"As you would never destroy the world?" Noah asked blandly.
Tony's teeth clicked. "Well, I never said I was perfect. Wait, no I did. My bad." He set the watch down on the counter. "What do you know about Thanos?"
"The Mad Titan?" Noah's face shifted, it might even be fear, also might have been gas. "He is inevitable."
He clucked his tongue. "How do we stop him?"
"I do not know that, the prophet has not seen it. Earth is not fated to survive long enough for The Titan to arrive." Noah flattened his hands on top of the glass case.
Tony tossed the watch at Noah's face. "Well, you're of remarkably little help. Maybe smile some more? Lose the creepy pod person impression." It was just depressing that that didn't get so much as a twitch of a reaction. "You're not good at this whole 'human' thing are you?"
Tony leaned back in his chair staring at the screen before him. "What do you think Pepper, think the alien pod person is right?"
"Well it's easy to see what he's saying. What are you going to do?" She laid her hand on his shoulder.
Tony rapped his fingers on his holo-table. "I don't care what he says, Daisy isn't going to destroy the planet. That girlfriend of hers, or the kids would stop her. Hell, she'd never do it while anyone she cares for is on this rock." His eyes narrowed. "But we can prepare for what's coming."
"Preparing doesn't involve putting the entire planet in a suit of armor does it?" Pepper sounded, almost, mostly glib.
He rubbed his goatee. "No, I think it's time we do what the Spawn has been suggesting. We make the world governments pull their own weight." Tony flicked his eyes up at her. "Kicking important people in the pants is a speciality of mine after all."
"Political involvement?" Pepper sighed. "I can make some calls. It's certainly doable."
Tony shook his head, lips curling into a smirk. "The Spawn's work with arch technology, let's sell some of it. On the condition that the countries that buy it agree to have easily mobilized military units for rapid response to planetary invasion, and cooperation with the Avengers in the case of alien invasion. Cheap power, they just have to play ball."
"You hate sports metaphors." Her voice was dry.
He spun in the chair, his hands coming to her waist. "They're lazy and unimaginative. What better for politicians?"
////
Darcy twirled a screwdriver between her fingers. She was...useless towards the mad science Erik and Janey were doing. Mad science Tony gleefully joined in on every evening. Which no time machine building for her...at least yet. She stared at her miniature arch reactor. "Do you think the new reactor is patent ready?"
"Uh...can it be used as a clean energy nuke still?" Ian asked from the stack of science fiction he'd been tasked to read for possible realistic issues with time travel. He'd developed a distant 500 yard stare of horror.
She rolled her eyes. "Obviously I fixed that issue dingbat. No I mean it could still take out a city block, but almost identical output. I'm not sure I can get it any safer."
"I thought your batteries were the ones that could take out a city block?" Ian blinked at her.
And he wondered why they broke up besides him being dull as dirt. "I fixed the battery issue, I cut the power they hold in half and built in a redundancy to prevent explosions. Like weeks ago, keep up. We're talking about the new arch reactor. I've been improving it so it can be used to power more than a few buildings. Honestly just using that shit for suits and one building is a crime."
"Right...yeah….I remembered that." His eyes flicked away from her, his cheeks heating.
Darcy considered whacking him. Nope, she needed a break. Without Bucky there to glare at Ian, it was like his brain to mouth filter failed. And she was going to crack something if she kept having to watch other people work on time travel while dealing with Ian forgetting everything anyone told him due to panicking over possibly destroying time itself. Just...she was going to start panic inventing. Which was bad. Probably.
She stood up sharply. "Sugar and caffeine are calling my name. Later losers." Darcy traipsed out of the lab.
As she hit the elevator she frowned. "FRIDAY, where's Hunter?"
"It's his lunch break. He is currently with Ms Morse." FRIDAY replied.
Darcy considered that. Whatever, she was just going a block down to the good coffee shop. It'd be fine.
It was not fine. Darcy flicked her wrist, her taser unfolding into her hand. Aiming at the first para-military sort who'd just jumped out of a fucking van, she shot him. He went down twitching. She ducked out of the way of a fist, tasing the goon said fist was attached to. And then took off down the road hitting her panic button.
Her feet hit the pavement as she sprinted. "Oh Thor, less donuts." She wheezed as her breathing turned heavy.
Darcy yelped as someone grabbed her from behind, lifting her up, her feet kicking uselessly in the air. She twisted, slamming her elbow into the goon's face. He dropped her. She landed sprawling on the sidewalk. Rolling to her back she raised her taser and shot goon number three.
He keeled over with a high pitched whine.
She scrambled to her feet, her back hitting the wall, there four goons left and they'd caught up. She had two more charges left on her taser. "Fancy seeing you here. Here for the huckleberry chai latte too?"
"You're going to pay." Lead goon's hand twitched towards his unconscious companions.
She might have used too high of a setting...naw, the setting was perfect where it was. "Sorry, no can do. Unless you take Visa or IOU?" Darcy's eyes narrowed and she shot the goon that had just lunged. He hit the concrete at her feet. "One more step and I'll fry all of your asses!"
In the end she'd only had the one round left. She'd used it but well...those self defence classes weren't really aimed at surviving kidnapping by paramilitary goons. And she'd given the one who'd finally gotten the bag over her head a terrific black eye. Also nearly bitten his finger off when they had taken the bag off so they could gag her. Sloppy forgetting to gag her first. Amatures. Darcy was purposely not thinking about her own brand new black eye. Or the fact breathing was difficult with at least one cracked rib. Tasing goons make them angry….who knew.
The van rocked as they went around a corner too fast. The sound of sirens following them seemed to practically radiate through the van. Darcy curled against the side of the van. Her panic button would lead superheroes right to her. And the cops were clearly doing their job today. It was going to be fine.
"I'm not getting paid enough for this!" A goon snarled as they went squealing around a corner.
A different goon replied, his voice sharp. "Well if the brief had been better researched, maybe half the team wouldn't be unconscious on the sidewalk!"
"Tasers aren't legal in New York!" The first goon half screamed as they hit a pothole, the entire van jolting violently.
Second goon growled. "And how did you miss the fact the Stark with boobs can throw punches? Advanced self defence should have been easy to find when you googled the bitch!"
"I'm not the one who selected the job without asking questions! THIS ISN'T WORTH SIX MILLION!" Goon one was full on screaming now.
Darcy would dearly love to mention something about how quick they fell to panic. Alas, the gag. Also her hands being tied behind her back.
There was a thud, on one side of the van. And then the sound of metal being ripped open.
"FUCK!"
Wheels screeched as the brakes were hit. A solid arm wrapped around Darcy's waist, and then she was swinging with a wonderfully familiar sensation.
It was just seconds later and her feet were hitting solid ground. Familier hands ripped off the bag. She blinked at the sudden light and sighed in relief. Peter half ripped the gag out of her mouth, and actually snapped the handcuffs in half.
Darcy lunged forward, throwing her arms around Peter's shoulders. The feel of the suit, the weight and presence of him more comforting than she'd imagined. "Thor I thought I was done there for a minute." She tightened her hug.
He hugged her back just as tightly. "Don't do that to me! You can't leave too! It's not allowed."
"You got me. I'm not going anywhere." Darcy buried her face in his shoulder. Thor that had been too close. Far too close.
////
Pietro paused to press a kiss to the crown of his sister's head. She was bent over her massive text. Their bond was pulsing with her frustrated determination. He knew better than to pull her away. Throwing herself into school and work was how she was avoiding dealing with the fact Daisy was missing. At least it hadn't been a break up or murder. Those would have been harder to deal with.
He zipped into the kitchen as the kettle whistled. Sorting through the boxes he found some of Wanda's favorite tea and dunked it into the waiting mugs. He poured the water in. Leaning against the counter he considered. Tomorrow was his first day at the fire academy. A few weeks and then he could start on the job training. So what to do with his last evening before training got going in earnest?
Pietro removed the tea bags. With a flicker of movement he stopped by Wanda's side sliding his mug into her hands.
"Thank you brate." Wanda looked up, a slight spark in her eye.
He grinned. "Do you think you'll miss me tonight?"
"Go, we both know you're worried about her." Wanda raised the tea to her lips, blowing at and seemingly realizing it was still too hot to drink.
He folded his hands behind his head. "Fine, fine. Please get some sleep at some point tonight."
"I promise, you as well." Her lips were pulled up in an amused smirk, some of the heaviness that had clung to her lifting, if only for a minute.
Pietro snickered, and then ran. He could microwave the tea he'd made for himself later. Sitting quietly at home with tea wasn't really him anyways. He even managed not to outwardly react to Darcy's massive black eye when she opened the door. Instead he just grinned. "Well hello lovely lady."
"Your flirting is getting worse." Darcy waved him in.
As he breezed past her into the apartment he noticed her shoulders softening. He paused as he stared at the food. Wrinkling his nose he shook his head. "No, kidnapping or no kidnapping you are not eating pop tarts and chocolate milk for dinner."
"Well if you want to do the delivery run Road Runner." Darcy traipsed back to her blanket pile.
He put the pop tarts away in a burst of speed. Then he paused and tilted his head. "I think it's a chinese type of night."
"This is why you're my favorite." Darcy let out a sigh, it didn't miss his notice the longer he was there the more she relaxed.
Pietro took off for the restaurant a few blocks over. As he went to wait for the order to be filled he called Peter. His foot tapped anxiously as he waited for the kid to answer his cell phone. "Kid, why is your sister in the tower and not with you and Ms May?"
There was a beleaguered sigh. -"Because she wanted to 'improve' the taser. Also I don't think she wanted Aunt May to you know...worry. Which is…"-
"Ah, I'll deliver your sister and take out in thirty mintutes. She can't stay mad at me for that long over it." Pietro accepted he would be back to just friends for a few weeks. Eh, he could live without benefits. "Think you could pull out the air mattress? I demand a rematch at Super Smash Bros."
-"If you didn't pick Sonic everytime you wouldn't lose."- Peter mocked before his voice went back to just sounding tired. -"Air mattress is already pulled out in Daisy's room."-
He felt a pang. To lose a sister, even if not permanently was...he didn't even want to think of it. "I'll add some potstickers to the order for you. Thanks kid."
-"I'm not a kid."- Peter grumbled. -"I'll let Aunt May know."-
Pietro winced slightly. -"If I get tased for this I expect ice and sympathy."-
Peter fell into giggles. -"Good luck."-