When it happened, they truly had been caught off guard. Nobody had been prepared, but that was exactly what they had wanted.

It was another week later, when the nerves of introducing Tony to other children and taking him outside of the palace (with less security) had started to fade.

T'Challa had been busy, so Natasha had taken Tony out. He was with Aba right now, both were by some flowers, holding some lady bugs on their fingers. She had been very pleased, though she didn't show it, that Tony was coming out of his shell. When he had first been changed, before she brought him to Steve, he was so shy, he wouldn't move or say anything unless he was talked to.

Seeing him talk to Scott, even if he got nervous for a bit, about Disney movies, draw flowers with Steve, read with T'Challa. It gave her hope that if they really couldn't find a way to change him back, he'd still be able to be happy and grow up better than he had in the past.

Natasha was relaxed for once, she didn't expect it to happen. Maybe it was because Wakanda was such a secure, independent country, or maybe it was just being around happy, innocent children; who had no need to be afraid.

But it was too late to try and change it, as the sound of gunshots rang through the air, shooting around the children. They screamed, several gunshots landing right in front of them. The gunshots moved in, Aba, Tony, and the other kids all ran away, until they were crowded together in fear.

Natasha had jumped out of her seat, but froze. They had rounded up the children, she was afraid that if she tried to fight that they would get shot, Tony could be hurt. The other parents around her sobbed, some trying to run forward before being stopped by others. Natasha placed her hand on her thigh, pressing the distress button on her communicator. She didn't know what this was, she needed help.

Then, the criminals appeared, their bodies surrounded in black, with large guns. You couldn't tell what they were, not a single sign on their entire body. They surrounded the group of terrified children, guns raised at the panicked adults.

"Citizens!" Once gargled voice yelled out, voice echoing through the deadly silent park. "We are not cowards, we will kill if you do not meet our demands," He said, his voice turning deadly serious.

Grabbing one of the children, and placing the back of the gun to their head, he yelled,"WHERE IS THE WINTER SOLDIER!?" The child was sobbing, painfully loud. Natasha felt fear. They were after Bucky, why did they want him? How did they know he was here!?

Nobody moved, because nobody in Wakanda had known that Team Cap was being hidden here. There was confusion, a wave through the crowd of it. But nobody said anything.

"Is nobody going to save these children?" The man asked,"Does nobody have anything to say?"

When nothing was said, just only more sobs from the child. The man shrugged and sighed. "Fine, I guess we'll just go through until someone wants to save them," He said, and went to pull the trigger.

Just as he did, a small black blur flew through the air and landed on the ground, exploding in the air, the smoke bomb covering the area. Landing in front of her was Steve, T'Challa, Clint, Sam, and Scott, all in their uniforms.

"Cap!" Natasha yelled,"They rounded up the kids, Tony's with them! They're going to kill them!"

"No they won't," Clint said, protectively and with a fatherly tone. "We won't let them"

The soldiers had run out of the smoke. One ran straight into the before being punched straight in the face by Steve.

T'Challa quickly said,"Natasha, Clint, Scott, with me. Steve, Sam, protect the kids, get them out of here"

The fight began. The soldiers didn't seem to know what to do with their leader down, and instead tried to shoot at attackers and innocent bystanders that were trying to run.

Steve and Sam ran over to the group of terrified children, barely able to see them. But they could see Tony's red hair, hiding against the older Aba. When he opened his blue eyes, they seemed to be glowing. When he saw Steve, his eyes widened. "Cap'n.." He whispered, recognizing him from the stuffy.

The other children shuddered in fear, before Sam said,"It's okay kids, we're going to get you to a safe place" In that moment, Sam didn't see Tony, he saw another terrified child, and he knew he needed to get them all out.

T'Challa knocked down another soldier, sending them crumbling to the ground. Natasha was with him, using her widow's bites. "They're here for Barnes, they took the kids hostage because of it," Natasha declared.

"They're not going to get him," T'Challa declared,"We're not going to let anyone go through that again" Whether he was referring to the events that occurred when Steve realized Bucky was still alive, or the struggle for him during the Accords, she did not know.

The leader had sat up, seeing the destruction that had happened since he'd fallen from the smoke bomb. He looked over, and saw Captain America. So they were here, their employer hadn't been lying.

He discreetly crawled over to a nearby weapon, a large and dangerous rocket launcher. There was a building next to the group trying to escape, a tall one. He pulled up the launcher and shot, the rocket flying and smashing into the building.

An explosion rocked the building, causing nearby people to scream. Then, the building teetered, falling towards the group.

Natasha could only turn with T'Challa, gasping as the building fell at an alarming speed. "CAPTAIN! WATCH OUT!" The children and heroes turned around, and the two adults then moved, trying to cover the children with their wings and bodies. T'Challa and Natasha watched the building fall in horror, running over as fast as they could, only to freeze in shock, as a glow of blue filled their vision.

Sam and Steve had been prepared for the impact, but it never came. They heard the crashing, but nothing hit them. The children had stopped screaming, and their closed eyes were invaded with blue. Steve blinked, opening his eyes and turning to look up. Surrounding them was a glowing blue dome, a shield. The man looked around, but he didn't see anyone who could have done this..

Then, he looked down at the children, and realized who it was. It was Tony. His hands were held together against his chest, and glowing a bright blue, along with his teary eyes. Tony had made the shield, Tony had saved them, Tony had powers.

"Tony.." Steve had whispered in shock, watching the child shudder and shake, yet still keep the shield up. His glowing blue eyes stared at Steve with fear.

The lead soldier of the group and his other soldiers stared in shock as well, he had not been expecting something like this. He knew their target was Bucky, that's what the higher ups had wanted. But a child was more easily influenced, easy to control. And with as much power as the child had..

He then took his communicator and declared,"Change of plans, grab that kid, this is an opportunity we can't pass up"

The soldiers instantly moved into action. The leader moved, shooting another rocket, and making the children scream. Tony jumped, feeling the effect of the rocket against his shield. The shield fell, and the soldiers moved forward.

The children panicked, running in all different directions. Steve attacked one of the soldiers quickly, and Sam went after another one. A soldier, meanwhile, snuck through the bushes, jumping and grabbing the kid by the back of his shirt

Tony screamed in horror as he was lifted off the ground, kicking his legs and flailing his arms to try and get away. These bad people were trying to hurt Cap'n and Sam. They were going to try and hurt him too! "No no NO!" Tony yelled out,"Let me go! LET ME GO!"

Another surge of power ran through the child, and the soldier screamed as a blue blast from the small child hit him, turning into a large electric current, sending the people around it flying. The soldier felt the pain course through his body, Sam and Steve tumbling along with the red headed child, who crumpled in the grass, and didn't get up.

T'Challa and Natasha quickly ran over. Natasha ran to Tony, picking up the small child. He was limp in her arms, scrapes on his face, and bruises on his little body. She picked him up, and ran away from the fight. All the other citizens had escaped, Tony was injured, he was a child, she needed to get him away from the soldiers.

The others fought, and it seemed the soldiers came ill prepared. Aside from the first stunt, nothing too dangerous happened, but several of the criminals got away, including the leader. T'Challa was already angry, but this just made it worse.

To say he beat the shit out of those soldiers would be an understatement. The ones who didn't escape were beaten and bloody, before being taken into custody. The second they were gone, the heroes vanished as fast as they could. They didn't want anyone who hadn't already seen them to notice them and possibly cause T'Challa trouble.

They returned to the palace after splitting up, unsure if the soldiers had left people behind to watch them. T'Challa got back first, moving quickly to the hospital wing to try and find the two redheads.

Steve was right behind him when his nurses led him to the room. Tony looked pale, with bandages on his small body. Natasha was next to him, running her gentle fingers through his messy hair.

"He has powers.." Steve whispered obviously,"He saved us.. Why didn't he ever tell us about this before?"

Natasha looked at Steve like he was stupid. "Have you not been paying attention the entire time he's been here, Rogers? Have you not seen the signs?"

Steve didn't respond to that, staring silently. Natasha then frowned and said,"Steve, he was abused. Howard hit him, Howard hurt him. The man you knew was not the one Tony knew. I doubt that he would take kindly to finding out his son was some type of mutant, he wasn't a very friendly with them. Tony was scared to tell us, all because of Howard."

The blonde frowned, guilt building up in his system. Before he could say anything, however, the child on the bed began to shift slightly. Tony's little nose scrunched up in pain, and then his blue eyes began to open slowly. The kid seemed a little groggy at first, looking around the white room wearily. However, the second his eyes caught sight of the three adults at his bedside, he panicked.

Tony let out a panicked shriek, scampering as close to the wall as he could. His skinny arms hugged himself tightly, his eyes glowing in fear. Natasha's trained eye saw the slight glow of Tony's eyes, and the terror encased in them. "Tony, baby," She began gently,"What's wrong?"

Tony's eyes flickered towards her for a split second, before returning to Steve. Natasha frowned, following his gaze. Oh.. Steve is still in his suit.. She realized. She turned back to Tony, watching his eyes fill with unshed tears. "M'sorry.." He whispered,"M'sorry.. Please don't hurt me.. Din't mean to.."

"Didn't mean to do what, little one?" T'Challa's deep voice cut into the conversation. "What do you think you did wrong?"

"I used the Bad Thing.." Tony whispered, his eyes never leaving Steve's person. "D-daddy said that.. That if I ever used the Bad Thing, that Cap'n America would punish me so bad I wouldn't ever use the bad thing again.."

The child's breath hitched, as if finally admitting the words his father told him was the straw that broke the camel's back. "M'sorry! I didn't mean to! I didn't! I'm not bad! I can be good! P-please don't hurt me!" The child begged, his voice seemed to send spikes of hot pain through everyone's hearts with every word he spoke.

Natasha turned her head to the side, as she hastily muttered,"Говард, черт возьми, ублюдок, тебе повезло, что ты мертв." Then, she turned back around, moving to try and comfort the little boy. But he wasn't having it, he simply buried his face deeper into his own arms, sobbing more.

For a minute, Steve watched helplessly, until he realized something. Wait.. If Howard used me against Tony.. Then there's no reason why I couldn't fix this situation. He firmly decided.

"Tony," He began, wincing at the violent flinch the child gave before looking at him. He ignored the twisting of his heart, and continued,"Your father was wrong, you're not in trouble. I would never punish you for using your powers. They aren't a bad thing, they make you very special."

Natasha's bright eyes looked towards him, and though they remained blank, she was truly thankful that Steve had said what he had. Almost instantly, confusion crossed the little boy's face. He sniffled for a moment, before he asked,"Special..?"

"Yes, little one, it's very special," T'Challa continued quickly, moving to sit next to Tony's other side. "Your powers saved many lives today, and you protected yourself from the bad people who tried to hurt you," He declared,"If you had not used your powers, many people could have died."

Tony's eyes were wide, taking in everything the adults were telling him with amazement. "So.. I was good?" He asked hopefully,"I'm not bad?"

"Of course not, Tony, you are more than just good," Natasha declared,"You were very brave, малютк, and we're all very proud of you."

"P-proud?" Tony croaked in shock, his eyes filling with hope. "Of me? Really?"

"Yes, really," Steve declared, smiling gently at the kid. Suddenly, Tony scrambled across the bed. He jumped off the edge, his arms wrapping around Steve's neck and his legs around the man's waist. His face buried itself in Steve's chest.

"I knew daddy was lying," The child declared,"Cap'n Merica' is too awesome to hurt kids."

There were a lot of things that needed to be done thanks to this new development. Tony's powers needed to be examined, Tony's body was in need of recovery, Wakanda's security needed to be checked, the attackers needed to be found, and so much more.

But for now, the three adults were willing to just be with the child, and help nurture that fragile heart with the strength and courage he already proved he had. They could have sat there forever..

However..

A familiar woman suddenly walked into the room, and said,"Your highness, someone is here.. You must speak to them immediately."

Okoye's tone was enough to make T'Challa nervous. He looked at Natasha, who gave him a small nod. Then, at Rogers and the child in his hold. Tony's curious blue eyes seemed to sense his nervousness, and glowed with reassurance.

"Of course, I'm coming," He promised,"I'll be back soon Tony, I promise." Tony nodded in return to his declaration, and whispered,"Okay.."

Okoye and T'Challa quickly left together. The woman seemed nervous, and it made T'Challa grow tense. He realized where they were heading, it was the conference room. Who could possibly want to see him right after his country was attacked?

They walked through the door, then, his soul froze, and his dark eyes widened. Oh no.. How had he not thought of this?

Sitting on the other edge of the conference table was Thaddeus Ross.

"King T'Challa.. Please, have a seat, we have much to discuss."

Unknown Location

"And that is what happened, sir," The soldier explained, his hands clasped behind his back and staring at the form of his boss in front of him, who was staring at the screens, all of which showed the battle that had occurred in Wakanda earlier.

At his leader's silence, the soldier grew nervous. "I.. I apologize for the lack of judgement, sir, I promise it won't happen again," He declared, lowering his head.

At first, his leader didn't respond. He made a noncommittal noise, pressing a button on the holographic screen. "I have a question for you, soldier, and answer me honestly," He demanded firmly.

Slightly surprised, the soldier quickly answered,"Yes sir."

"Answer me this.. If you had spent hours searching for an old, certain type of mineral, but found a brand new, even better mineral than the one you had been searching for already, which would you go for first?"

The solder thought for a moment, before he replied,"Um.. The newer mineral, sir. You could always search for the old one once more, but the new mineral could be taken away, and you may never find it again."

"Do you see where I am going with this, soldier?" The boss asked again, his head turning to face the soldier. The man in question flinched, but quickly nodded, afraid of what may happen if he didn't answer.

The leader turned back around, and looked back at the screen. "Cancel all searches for the Winter Soldier, I want that child now," He demanded.

"Yes sir!" The soldier said quickly, turning and running out of the room to go and inform the rest of the organization.

Meanwhile, the leader remained staring at the screen. Displayed on it was the image of the red haired child, with the amazing blue power glowing in his hands. "So much power in such a small being.." He whispered to the image on the screen, his hand tracing the image ever so gently. "Ah.. Yes.. You are perfect, little one.."

"With your power, we'll be unstoppable."