Ascendant

"Alfred! Matthew!" Arthur shouted through his nephews' door as he worked on pulling his sweater-vest over his head. "School boys!" There was a bit of squeaking and then the creaking of the twins' bunk-bed followed by the thud of feet. Satisfied, the man bobbed his head and waltzed down the hall to his brother-in-law's room. Knocking on the older man's door, he yelled;

"Francis! You have that big meeting with the director of super human affairs at ten today! It's nearly eight!"

No answer.

A flash of green later, the door cracked against the wall and his fellow super cried out, "'ey!" Smoothing down his messy hair, Arthur could care less what his brother-in-law had to say about his course of action. Bounding down the stairs, the man got to work at setting the burnt toast, runny eggs and questionable fruit salad down on the table. Putting together his plate, the blond grabbed the paper and began to read the latest article about the Warlock's latest escapades and heroic deeds. Snorting as he looked at a picture, Arthur had to wonder how a simple hat and upturned collar could keep countless questioning one super's true identity.

"Aw!" Alfred moaned flopping down in a chair. "Why'd you make breakfast?"

Not looking up, the uncle grunted; "Ask your papa why he came home at one in the morning last night."

Tugging back his chair in a way that caused it to screech against the tiles, Francis plopped down and turned his nose. "I won't be eating this."

"Fine by me food-snob!"

Stopping mid-poke of the salad, one of the twins asked; "So pops, where were you last night?"

A caustic eye later, the bearded man flipped back his hair and sighed. "Papa was busy brushing shoulders with benefactors and could-be-benefactors..."

"Did you get any new investors papa?"

Everyone's head turned. Arthur chuckled and patted the seemingly empty space beside him. "You're invisible love." A moment later, a pink faced Matt appeared.

"Sorry."

"It's alright mon chou," His father cooed. "And oui, I found several new benefactors who are 'appy to 'elp our cause..."

"With men like that CEO of that weapons manufacturer in Turkey, Adon-Adan? Adnan*! With dudes like Adnan carrying on with their campaigns across the globe to lock us up, it's a good thing you get all the funding you do!" Al exclaimed waving his fork around for emphasis. "It's like really awesome that you do that for us dad!" Sipping his coffee, Francis shared a look with his brother-in-law, his sons saw him just as much a hero as they did their uncle...but that was because they thought he was normal and using his wits to get the men to agree...if they knew he was using powers to manipulate them all into giving up fat checks and periodic donations, would they still think him righteous? Good? Or would they believe he was just as bad as Adnan? Ivan the Terrible or Girl Yaga?

Running his finger through the ring of condensation left by his coffee mug, he tuned back into the dailiness of the world. Soon, he realized he was watching his two sons bicker over who would drive to school today. It was a soothing balm to his heart see that despite it all, they were regular boys with problems like who would drive the car, maths exams, rows with friends and what sport to pick up in the off season of swimming (Al wanted to give American Football a go and Matthieu hockey). Smiling, the blond man thought sadly of the day when they took over Arthur's mantle as hero of the Sister Cities, London and Paris, and he would have to explain his job in the mess of supers and normals.

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"Ivan!" A teenager's head turned, the girl smiled.

"Yes Natasha?" The teenager inquired; turning away from the vase of flowers he had been arranging. She looked to them. They were a group of brown faces surrounded by yellow manes—her brother's favorite. And her least.

Natasha sighed. "More sunflowers?" Finger brushing over the yellow petals, he nodded.

"They always seem to die so quickly, why do you think that is?"

The girl toyed with one of the knives she kept within her apron and thought of the bleach in the "kitchen" of their hideout. "Maybe they don't like the cold, brother," she answered. Purple eyes considered her, then the flowers and slowly, Ivan appeared to make up his mind.

"We should move." Natasha thinned her lips.

"Where brother? To sister's? She wants as little to do with us as possible. We are lucky she agreed to keep the boy for us at all."

The teenager's shoulders slumped and he shrugged. "I just want to be somewhere we can see flowers and it is not so cold all the time, don't you?"

The girl liked the cold. And the starkness of the world they had carved out for themselves; no bright colors to make her eyes water, no sharp bird trills to give her splitting headaches, not a single scent could overwhelm her nose here and the cold was so much more bearable in comparison to the itching heat. However, despite it all, she loved her brother more and wanted him happy despite all the discomfort she faced. So, with a great smile, she swept into the room and hugged him around his middle.

"I want you to be happy brother...but this is our home, isn't it? All of those people wold never believe the U.S.S.R is a serious cause if we just up and abandoned the towns we occupy, would they?"

His purple eyes dulled and Natasha was left to wonder just how serious he was about carving out a little world for supers like them. It had seemed like a dream until—well, they were making their niche now and if Ivan would stick to it, they might have a home of their own by the time they were thirty. Turning on her heels, the girl said;

"I'm going to make dinner, do you want anything in particular?"

He smiled and bunched the flowers a little more. "No cabbage tonight, I'm sick of it."

"Yes brother," Natasha agreed. Walking out, she nearly bumped into Toris; stumbling back, she glared at the illusionist. "What are you doing standing there?" The plain-faced boy flushed and dropped his gaze to his feet. Putting a hand on her hip, Natasha tossed back her hair and demanded for a second time; "Well Toris? Do I need to have brother get an answer from you?"

The elder flinched and the girl was proud. Despite all her brother's faults, he could instill fear in rebellious village boys. He would one day make a fierce General (just like old Winter). After a moment, the brunette pulled himself up straight and shook his head. "No, no," he told her. "Your brother called for me a little while ago actually...I think he wants to do a raid later."

"I see," The blond smiled. "Tell him if he's sick of cabbage we need to find a cow or pig to bring back for slaughter!"

Blushing for a reason the girl cannot decipher, Toris bobbed his head. "Of course Miss Natasha," he whispered as he walked around her and into her brother's room. Beginning to hum an old children's tune beneath her breath, the blond pulled out her favorite knife and wondered if she should whet it in preparation for the coming mission. Tapping her chin, she came to the conclusion the answer was yes. Laughing to herself, Natasha murmured;

"Oh I'm going to have so much fun."

I'm not even finished with Then I was Young and Unafraid and here I go again! A new, even more complex Hetalia story. And this one, as if it isn't obvious, will be heavily AU and hold a vast range of characters. I hope the multitude of characters will keep everyone's interest and not bore people!

Before we get much farther, depending on the response to the first chapter, I'd like to give out a prize one-shot to every fifteenth reviewer (so reviewer fifteen, reviewer thirty, ect.) and this will exclude previous One-Shot winners of other stories as well as winners of this fic.

*Adnan is Turkey's human last name and for future reference, I will list nations and their human names every chapter where a new character is introduced so there is never any confusion as to who I'm talking about (because some characters are not as popular or don't have set human names) and so, without further ado:

Characters-

Arthur-England

Francis-France

Alfred-America

Matthew/Matthieu-Canada

Natasha-Belarus

Ivan-Russia

Toris-Lithuania

(Mr.) Adnan-Turkey

Thanks for taking the time to read this and please review!

P.S. Check out the poll on my page if you have the time!