Took me a month to write this, huh.

Chapter title is from the same song title by Sweet

Tony

He didn't bother hiding his yawn when he saw who it was.

"Why good morning to you too," Nicky Fury said, seemingly in his element with a cup at hand and legs crossed atop the coffee table.

"We don't serve free coffee here, by the way."

It was too early for Tony to deal with a smug Fury. And a smug Nick wasn't good news.

"Nice of you two to remind me I should regret giving you an entry pass," Tony said to Clint. Nat was standing by the window, amused at his reaction.

"Hey, Nat. Been waiting long?" Tony was aware that he was completely disregarding Nick and Clint. A pretty girl over them, Tony would say.

"Not really," Natasha said, humoring him. "We're patient." She glanced briefly past Tony, to Fury. "We're here for something important, after all." There was an apple on her hand now, playing with it and then taking a bite.

"Goody." Tony ambled over his storage of liquors and considered, for a moment, of taking a huge gulp and risking Pepper's scolding and disappointment later.

Wasn't worth it.

"I assume this concerns the kiddos," Tony began, sitting opposite Nick in a laidback manner. He wasn't about to feel out of place of his own tower.

"Just on the matter of their legal guardianship."

"And yet you sent them to their rooms and told them to lock up when the adults talk. Shouldn't they be here for this? I'd like them to be," Tony said a little loudly, enough for Jarvis to register it as a command.

"Not necessarily." Nick adjusted himself and leaned over, placing a folder down. "These are simply papers that you have to sign, naming you as their legal guardians. Then we're done."

Tony didn't make a move to touch the folder. "No S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that can pose as a glorified courier?" He looked up to Fury. "Unless that's you."

Nick leveled him with a flat stare. "A week should have been long enough to make a decision on what you want to do with them, and I see that you warmed them to the team. You're training them to function as a team reserve."

"In some years maybe." Tony shrugged noncommittally. "Not for me to decide."

"Ah, but hard for them to drop the superhero lifestyle. They're kids, and more than anything they want the attention to them and their abilities." Nick let out a laugh behind his cup. "Well, they landed on the most fitting guardian."

"Why thank you. I don't think they deserve to be in some rank, off-the-books facility S.H.I.E.L.D. owns either. Seems like we share the same concern."

"A shame, Stark. We could have utilized them properly for what they are."

"I don't know about that, Nicky. They're thirteen."

"Better start early." Nick sent a nod to Nat. "She did at six."

"As a professional killer. No offense, Nat."

"None taken," Natasha replied, her smile perfect and with a glint of danger. Right. Sensitive topic.

Tony reached over for the folder and idly skimmed over the fine prints. So far Nick was clueless. "So, care to enlighten me what really this is all about? You're not here for simple delivery of papers unless you are being a dick and woke me up for this alone, which, hey, I admit highly likely."

"I'll be direct: make your guests public."

"Oh, you want me to claim I suddenly have my hands on seven children, is that it? Done. I'll say I'm officially adopting them with my lovely and wonderful girlfriend." About time he killed the rumor of his former playboy lifestyle. For Pepper's sake too.

"I don't doubt that you will, with or without my pressure. But can you tell the world what they are and where they came from?" Nick folded his hands.

Tony wasn't liking where Fury was going with this. "That bit can be left out. No harm no foul."

"Sometime before, probably. Certainly not nowadays, not after the invasion. The people deserve to know what lives among them. We owe them that."

Basically, he was asking for the kids to be persecuted. Trust Fury to consider them anything but humans. Jesus, this guy needed to hear the real story, but Tony didn't think Fury deserved to know. Besides, it wasn't his to tell.

"However," Fury continued. "I've given it a thought, and I want to share it with you. There's a way to assimilate them into the current society of this world. I don't guarantee that they'll begin with complete acceptance, but sooner or later the people will move on."

Tony would regret later that he had the children hear and watch for themselves this meeting, but he firmly kept in mind that they deserved to witness this.

"Alright, shoot."

Five

He turned up the volume of the live feed. He was on edged, unable to tear away his eyes from the hidden monitor in the kitchen that Jarvis revealed for them. Stark must have triggered it subtly with voice activation in the middle of his conversation with the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director. Five was mildly impressed.

"You have these children with powers and eager to prove themselves. This country already has the Avengers as one of its special defense team, why not place these kids in fields they could serve better?

"You have a boy with super strength, another who can expertly throw knives, a girl with the power of persuasion—trump cards among the security and intelligence agencies, bureau of investigations, and the police force, training with them. Tell me why they won't love them.

"This city didn't believe aliens until recently. Nobody will be surprised anymore if you tell them ghosts are real. Now imagine the cold cases you can finally crack with a legitimate medium."

Five heard him chuckle through the speakers.

"That kid who knows what his doing with his teleportation ability coupled with his rudimentary knowledge in arms? I can see past the attitude, and I'm telling you, I'd like that to be my agent one day.

"And two heavy-hitters as reserves you can spring out to unsuspecting oppositions? An element of surprise and massive destructive force. Interesting elements to have on your side, don't you think?"

Five glanced at his siblings and, as expected, their expressions varied.

There was unrest in Luther and suspicion and hostility in Diego. They both knew the Director wanted the seven of them right where he wanted them to be: under his extensive eyes and under his thumbs.

Allison and Klaus both wore curiosity amidst their wariness. While Allison was meaning to put his ability away from her lifestyle, like Klaus, she was also searching for some way to transform her capabilities that would benefit rather than feed on the destructive habits they both formed to cope.

Ben sat sedately on Five's bed, absently scratching the cat's head wherein it murmured appreciatively. The Director's plan for him wasn't much different compared to Reginald's. They both wanted him for his powers and nothing else, not even Ben's collectedness in the face of danger nor his resilience to reign his creatures in, and nor his more versatile wits and intelligence second only to Five.

Vanya looked apprehensive. While Reginald had kept her powers locked away and had let the pressure of it oppressed Vanya, there was the Director who wanted her to use it for all it was, that when introduced to a delicate balance would produce a beautiful mix of chaos and art. Five knew that she was worried about her present state, and at the same time couldn't help but think of the hopeful future, of one day once she successfully controlled it. It would be her chance to help with her abilities, a form of redemption, for her, from when she destroyed their Earth.

If Five didn't know better, he would have thought the Director had looked into their minds and learned their inner workings and repressed self-conflicts.

Or perhaps they weren't acting so much to keep up appearances and were in fact with EQs closer to their present physical age.

Emotionally stunted indeed.

Someone edged beside Five, and to his surprise it was Luther.

"I know you don't want to play by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s hands, but I have to admit that they thought this through." He nodded to the Director on the screen. "Just when I thought we'll hardly be seeing him around."

Five supposed he thought of that too after a week of mundane routine outside of training. It must have been the Director's intention to lull them in a false sense of security within Stark's tower and around Stark's overwhelming status that was seemingly impenetrable by outside forces, namely S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority.

"Me too," Five begrudgingly admitted.

In the live feed of Stark's and the Director's meeting, there was a sudden chime and a monitor pulling up close to the liquor cabinet. Five couldn't make out what was being displayed there but the audio told of flash news.

Young sirs and ladies, may I interest you with the same news? Jarvis interrupted, to their perplexity.

Before anyone could reply, the television installed in Five's room—an appliance he was yet to turn on even once—opened and showed the same news channel.

"We're here live in National Bank where a robbery is reported to be underway in the last hour. The police are yet to receive demands, and the exact number of hostages is yet to be determined…"

This felt like déjà vu, Five realized. When his eyes connected with Luther, an understanding, which was, frankly, a first, passed between them.

"I have an idea, but I can't promise that it won't sound ridiculous," Luther said first before Five could call him out on it.

Five found it darkly amusing, really, that Luther was self-aware. He would have mocked him for it if Five wasn't thinking of the very same thing.

"Do your worst," he muttered.

Klaus

"So can you tell me how many are there?" Klaus asked the well-dressed man after a while.

The man turned out to be a professional; at least, once he got over his shock. "Eight men at the ground floor and eight upstairs, acting crowd control, they said. There are four more where the vault is. Those four got another three people with them, by the way, as personnel since the vault supposedly required three security passes… I think."

"Oh, thanks, mister. That helps." Klaus saluted him.

The ghost stared at him and blinked. "Helps what?"

"The rescue mission."

"Rescue? Oh, a part of your role?"

Klaus tilted his head in confusion. This ghost was talking a bit odd. A glance on the side of his head confirmed that he hit it, hard, which was probably the cause of his instantaneous death. Poor man.

He thanked him for the information anyway, springing on his steps as he returned to where his siblings were huddled to form a plan.

Klaus was fortunate to encounter a cooperative soul immediately.

Ben

"I'll stay by the front if you don't mind," he volunteered in a hushed voice.

Ben thought that Stark would also get in trouble if he ended up killing a human, a robber or otherwise. Besides, he could do better as a lookout.

"Me too," he heard Vanya spoke behind him. "I don't think we should risk my control, with the number of civilians in."

Ever so reasonable. Ben grinned at her.

"Seems like we're stuck together as lookouts," he whispered to her as they slipped out of their makeshift HQ, a rather spacious and empty toilet room where they first landed in a groaning heap.

Vanya

It was the first time she had been inside the 'fray', as she called it before many years ago of watching from afar through the binoculars with Dad beside her.

There were several things happening within the fray: bodies and knives were thrown aside from punches, staplers that suddenly appeared in the hands in replacement for guns, lies were given to ease anxieties, a lookout designation for the person deemed the less helpful but needed to be in standby nonetheless. Things like those.

It wasn't ideal for her to be placed in the middle of the fray else foes and allies alike could fall victim to her abrupt lashing of power. Therefore, she took the least involved position in the fray: the lookout.

She shouldn't feel the thrill of it, but she did anyway.

She now occupied Klaus's previous position in the team, and she wondered, briefly, if how, a person like Klaus who wasn't the kind to put himself in the frontlines compared to her other brothers, would handle his newfound status in the group. Klaus simply gave her a thumbs up as his way of giving his blessing. Vanya knew then that he would be fine.

Luther

"Diego and Klaus for the ground floor. We have to take it first so we can clear the way to the exits. There's the front and then the back. Opening the front will cause enough noise that will draw even the attention of those upstairs. Doesn't matter, by then Luther and I will keep them occupied." Five nodded to Luther. "I'll take you with me up there, and it'll be disorienting for a few seconds."

"Are you sure you can be precise?" Luther asked. Five normally couldn't travel with a companion, and Luther believed that Five remained strained in some way from their hasty escape from their Earth.

"Positive," Five affirmed.

Luther didn't miss the brief hesitation that flashed Five's face. While Luther wasn't the kind to take any amount of doubt, inexplicably, it was Five's doubt itself that assured Luther that they would make it.

Diego

"Are you going to be fine?" Diego asked in probably the third time in a span of five minutes.

Klaus rolled his eyes, probably counting it for himself. "I am."

"I mean…"

"Yeah, yeah. How is the former lookout going to handle himself without Ben's ghost, right? I'm not going to be helpless, Diego." Klaus was thoughtful for a second. "Actually, better if you can snatch me a gun first. Not picky on what kind, just make sure I can carry it."

"A gun?" Diego repeated. "Forgive me if I'm hesitant."

"Oh, hush, dear. I'll have you know that I got a bit of training."

"What training?" Reginald didn't even let them handle one back then. "Escapades with armed junkies aren't considered training, Klaus."

"I'm not going to be offended because the situation is dire, Diego." Klaus stretched. "Must have forgotten to tell you my time in Nam. Remind me to tell you later."

Diego was going to assume that it was Klaus's nerves talking. He reached for a knife and handed it to Klaus. "Here. Stab them with the pointy end and miss the vitals."

Klaus snorted but took the knife anyway.

Allison

The same lines of tension were not only present with Five but also with Luther.

She understood the implication and was aware of the source. It wasn't the current situation they hurried in without so much of a concrete plan but rather what would come afterward. They would stride outside and line up not unlike when Dad introduced them, sans Vanya, to the world. There would be drastic differences like the mass knowing their real names and faces after Five decided for them that they shouldn't bother with masks and the fact that people would grill on their origin. Allison left the worry at the back of her mind for the meantime.

She crossed her fingers, hoping that when Pepper saw the news, the reprimand wasn't the one waiting for them at the tower.

Klaus

He heard Diego curse when his knives were deflected.

They were behind a marble column that absorbed the bullets rained on them—the two boys who came out of nowhere sneaked behind them, as the robbers dubbed him and Diego, yelling among each other.

Diego managed a grateful look amidst his pinched expression. Klaus ducked them just in time for Diego to realize that his knives might be useless when hitting head-on rounds of larger caliber. Klaus knew little about guns aside from the standard firearms he handled in Vietnam, but he was pretty sure at least one of the men's arms looked peculiar.

"Should have whisked me a gun first thing," Klaus grumbled petulantly.

"Now's not the time, Klaus." Diego pressed his shoulder against Klaus's further.

At his urgent sweep of their surroundings, Klaus's eyes managed to catch a glimmering object on the floor a good distance away from his and Diego's location. There was a clerk nearby it and met Klaus's gaze in an openmouthed shock upon seeing who triggered the robbers.

What the fuck? Kids? Klaus could read the guy's lips.

Sorry, Klaus mouthed back, almost sheepish. Hey, can you kick that over here?

What? The guy remained incredulous.

Klaus pointed at the small handgun by the clerk's foot and made a kicking gesture with his own foot.

Are you insane?!

Klaus made a wavy hand gesture that said fifty-fifty.

"What the hell are you doing?" Diego hissed.

"I'm asking the guy over there to kick the gun over here if he's not going to use it."

Diego glanced between them in utter irritation until a bullet was able to whip past the clerk's terrified face. For the man's safety, Diego decided to shout at the clerk to kick the gun across the floor.

The clerk was too stupefied to argue and did it.

Eight bullets, Klaus checked. Good fit for his current small hands and unusually lighter than normal. He waited for the short reload period by their, ah, adversaries and moved out—more out of impulse, to be honest—of their mildly secure location to target a wrist, an ankle, a shoulder, a thigh, and an elbow which he merely grazed due to erroneous angle estimation. There were three misses in total before he was behind the distant column next to where Diego was.

Diego looked at him as if he wasn't sure whether to be impressed or not. Holy shit, he mouthed.

Klaus jerked his head to point at the remaining three. Diego didn't need any prompting and took the chance while the men were stunned by a thirteen-year-old with a gun and deft right hand.

That unexpected trip to Vietnam turned out to be useful in situations like this.

Five

Luther tackled two people down once they jumped, knocking them over with ease.

The element of surprise was effective to up to two people when the numbers should be more than that, Five analyzed as he wrenched away a sophisticated-looking weapon that one of them have. It was quite heavy for battering and proved to be effective when he landed a single blow at the back of another man's head.

Four down.

Five was momentarily distracted by the ugly crunching sound. He turned to Luther, finding him on his knees with a broken nose.

Five jumped and kicked the gut of the one that crept behind Luther as he stood.

"Something's wrong," Luther murmured, fixing his nose.

"You don't say." Five spared him a glance. "Later."

Luther was known for his tenacity, and it wasn't often that he was brought down by force. A spark flashed in his eyes as he shouldered another man and knocked him heavily against the wall.

Five dodged an oncoming hit to his neck, though his shin caught a wallop that he felt. He winced at the peculiar sensation of the strike that was akin to mild electrocution.

He ducked the kick intended for his torso and stepped back in a stance.

The man lunged to him, and Five risked it, catching him by his leg and pulled before he released and slipped back to a portal. The move put the man out of balance, and Five appeared behind him, giving him a cracking punch.

Luther was at the other end of the hall, nudging with his foot to check anybody who might be conscious still. Five leaned down to the man he previously put down and tugged on his boot and a kneepad. He gave them a quick glance over. They appeared to be ordinary tactical gear—stolen, maybe—but with added circuitry underneath. Five pressed behind a bit and was briefly rewarded with crackling electricity.

"Let me guess, this one kneed you on the face," he said once Luther came over to him.

"Can't say for sure, but yes, it was one hell of a hit." Luther raised an eyebrow. "Modified, huh."

It wasn't about completely about robbing then. Bold of these men to take the opportunity to test experimental gears and weapons—although, it wasn't so much of the latter, now that he thought about it, relying mostly on their close quarter combat skills that were higher than that of typical goons given with arms.

Luther picked up one and frowned. He looked at Five, the same kind of confusion written on his features.

Allison

For all the noise from upstairs and the ground floor, nobody from the remaining four men came up from below the vaults.

Luther and Five went down, and the former wasted to time to pry the heavy and dented front door slightly open, allowing two people at once to exit.

Allison frowned, baffled as to what could have dented the front doors from inside.

Civilians calmly milled to the entrance without any prompting from Allison. It helped that there were no children, but the almost lack of anxiety from the victims was concerning.

Allison couldn't put a finger on what was wrong, though she noticed it earlier when Klaus and Diego were hounded with bullets. The civilians were awfully restful and attentive during the whole ordeal. It wasn't normal, she concluded since then behind the mahogany counter she had hidden in.

Then there were these robbers who clustered together in one place and as if purposefully missing their shots.

"There are four more, right?" Ben said beside her, closely followed by Vanya. "Shall we?"

"Wait," she called. "There's something wrong."

"What is?" Vanya asked.

"This," she gestured around her, "feels… fake." Allison used the best word she could think of to describe it.

Ben considered her words. "There must be a good reason for you to think that way, but we can't be a hundred percent sure with three more hostages below. It does seem odd that nobody from down there heard what happened here, but they must be further below."

She hummed thoughtfully. Point taken.

"There's only one way to find out," Vanya said.

The elevator ride was filled with anticipation and musing as to what was going on. All of these were reminiscent of a staged scene, Allison realized the more she dwelled on it. But if so, to what end?

The elevator chime was a tad loud, in her opinion, and a dead giveaway if they were trying for a stealthy approach. Somehow, she expected the four men in standby when the elevator opened.

"Don't move," one of them warned in a muffled voice. Allison got the impression that it was a woman.

Ben raised his hands, bummed, while Vanya did the same meekly. This close, they couldn't unleash their powers without fatally harming them. The no killing rule must have been like treading on eggshells while balancing an egg on their noses for the two. Allison sort of felt bad that this was the first mission Vanya became part of.

She heaved a sigh. Might as well use the time to practice something. "I heard a rumor that you dropped your gun and fell asleep deeply."

Four bodies dropped on the floor, snoring.

"Oh, I thought me and Vanya will do the same." Ben whistled. "You're improving."

"I guess so," Allison allowed a smile. She wasn't really sure if it was possible to divert her intent to more than one person. "I'll tell you about it later," she promised.

They came across two men and a woman who were gagged and with their hands tied on their backs. Vanya and Ben helped them out of their bonds and told them that they were free to go.

Allison lagged behind the female. She tapped her on her arm and whispered:

"I heard a rumor that you told me the whole truth of what's going on."

The woman did as the rest went on ahead.

Fury

"Interfere and you'll make the local police force look incompetent," he warned when he saw Stark about to make a break for it.

"Relax. I'm not about to make an arrest."

"No, but you're going to beat some bad guys, is that it? Ah, yes, because the Avengers got a license to beat any criminal, a price for their efforts in the invasion. It's not something that will appeal to them, Stark, whether you saved them recently or not."

That halted Stark as he began walking away. He squinted his eyes at Fury, musing.

"I think I have an idea of what you're going for here. You waltz in after Pepper's one-week day off and waited for Thor to leave because you won't be able to explain to him properly the intricacies of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attempt of keeping affairs in order without losing your control over them—and you'd rather not have an angry god at your hands; you sent Rogers to some off-coast mission of sorts, and you never bothered with Bruce since he wouldn't interfere anyway. Then there's Nat and Clint as your lackeys. Which leaves me. News flash, Nick, I never am easy to talk to."

As expected, Stark hit close to home. Fury remained unperturbed. "I'm banking on that. You do love to expound what should have been a mere 'yes' or 'no'."

Stark frowned, crossing his arms defensively. Oh, no, he wouldn't leave without Fury elaborating on that.

While Stark was known to function with impulses, there were a couple of aspects of him that were predictable.

Fury nodded at the screen of the ongoing bank robbery and realization dawned on Stark's face.

"You didn't," Stark said, his voice low and bordering threatening.

A minute after Stark's departure, Barton peered outside. "And off he goes," he muttered.

"Agent Romanoff, pull the men out. Showtime's over."

By next morning, Fury expected two things: the public to know seven children with special abilities and reports on his desk whether how S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new and customized equipment held up.

He left a folder on the coffee table. Stark still needed to sign the documents, and with the drastic turn of events, the process should be quick.

So far, all was going according to plan.

Tony

He arrived too late to keep the flashes of cameras away from the children's uncovered faces. If anything, the numbers doubled at his entrance.

Iron Man kept up appearances and waved. When the helmet opened to reveal Tony Stark's face, however, his expression was far from impressed when he addressed the kids.

"We need to talk."

TBC