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Chapter Text

     Today was the longest day of my life, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me introduce myself; my name is Anjali de Jong; I'm nineteen years old, a child prodigy, and I just got the biggest shock of my life. I'm Tony Stark's daughter. Anyway, I was sitting at home waiting for the offer for the job I applied for with Stark Industries; when I heard someone knocking on my front door, it was odd since I wasn't expecting anyone today. So, I got up from my desk chair and walked to the door. As I walk up to the door, I feel sparks coming from my fingers, so I take deep breaths to calm down.

      Otherwise, I'll set the house on fire and reveal my elemental powers. It's not that I don't have control; it's more like getting nervous or anxious; fire is my defense mechanism. When I'm angry or frustrated, water will explode from the plumbing or other water sources. I look through the peephole before opening the door since I'm alone in the house. What I see is the strangest thing I have ever experienced. I notice that the man is wearing a four-piece suit in the middle of the summer. It's ninety-nine degrees' outside with humidity, so it's not the brightest idea. He's also standing ramrod straight. No one does that unless they have great posture. I unlocked the door, curious as to know why he was there. I step outside, and he looks as though he'd seen a ghost of the past.

      "My name is Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D.," he tells me authoritatively. "My name is Anjali de Jong, and what does your organization want with me?" I ask as calmly as possible. "Well, S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't want anything from you. I'm here to escort you to New York and take you to Avenger's Tower," he said in a less authoritative voice. "Why?" I ask in an apprehensive voice. I can't help but think I'm in trouble. "Well, when you applied for Stark Industries, we ran tests on your D.N.A., and you have a paternal match to Tony Stark," he says in his sincerest voice. I feel myself start to get upset. "What the hell are you talking about?" I yell at him, starting to panic. "I think we should go for a walk," he says calmly. "Fine, but let me put on shoes and calm down," I tell him as I walk back into my house. "Alright, and please keep an open mind about what I have to say," he says sincerely. "I will," I tell him in the calmest voice I could muster as I walk back into my house to my room.

      I start thinking about what Phil has told me so far. I know my dad isn't my biological father; it didn't matter because he's the one who raised me. I've wondered who my father was in recent years, but I never thought it could be Tony Stark. I mean, she has never mentioned that she knew him whatsoever. As I put on my socks and shoes, I start to get angry, and the sparks from my fingertips are back, and it looks like the start of lighting. I have to calm down, so I don't destroy the house. My emotions trigger my powers. So I do the breathing techniques that my guru Elaina taught me last summer while I was in Asia, learning to use and control my powers. It takes me a few minutes to calm down enough to not make anything explode, whether by water or fire. I walked out the door with my phone, wallet, keys, and water jug for the walk.

      "Sorry I took so long. I had to calm down before I did this," I tell Phil apologetically. I felt sorry that I took so long to come back and not let him into the house to wait, but if I had, both Mom and Dad would know he was there. I want to know what he has to say and decide for myself. "It's not a problem; I understand entirely," Phil says in a friendly tone. "Thank you," I say nicely, knowing the news he'll tell me isn't something he doesn't take likely. We walk down the street I live on, and he tells me that when I applied for college classes for computer sciences in High School and passed with A's in those classes. Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D. were interested in giving me a position in their agency, but I applied for S.I before S.H.I.E.L.D. could approach me with a job. "Well, I knew I wanted to invent things but not directly with the government, sorry," I tell him. "I understand, trust me," he says, opening up a little. As we walk around the neighborhood, he explains how they ran my D.N.A. through their databases, that my Mom was a nurse with S.H.I.E.L.D. after college, and that I am Tony's daughter.

       Apparently, around July and August of 1999, my Mom and Tony were at the same conference for technological advancements in medicine and hit it off. My parents weren't married then, so I don't blame her for that. "When we found out. Tony and I thought it would be safer with him in New York at Avenger's Tower, but I told him that one of us should discuss this with you and let you decide for yourself. "Thank you. I appreciate that," I say sincerely. "You're welcome," he says sincerely as well. We walk semi-silently back to my house, we talked about my mom being a good agent and how Tony is excited to meet me. As we walk up the driveway, he tells me that I have 48 hours to make my decision and pack my things if I decide to go. I will think about it carefully and ask how I could contact him. "Here is my card; call when you have decided, and we'll come to pick you up," he says, smiling at me. "Thank you," I say in appreciation. "No problem," he tells me, pulling me into an embrace. I hug him back, having already decided

Chapter Text

In the hours that I received the news of my parentage, I started packing my belongings and telling Mom and Dad that I was moving to New York. I'll tell Mom the reason is that I got the job with Stark Industries, but I'll tell Dad the truth since he has always been on my side when it came to this. He comes home as I'm packing my suitcase with my essentials and sorting out my clothes for donation. I yell, "Hey, Dad." When I hear the door close and listen to him, I walk towards my room. "Hey, sweetie," he says happily. I know he's excited for me; I will miss him very much when I leave, but I know this is the right thing. "Do you need any help with packing?" he asks apprehensively. "No, but thank you, Dad," I say.

"I'm glad you're going to do this; you deserve to know your biological father and get to invent things that will improve the world," he says confidently. "I'll visit you," I say, smiling at him. "I know you will. Do you want to go to a bon voyage dinner?" he asks. "Sure, just let me freshen up and get a jacket," I tell him, moving towards the bathroom to brush my hair and put some perfume on. I squirted some In the Stars perfume and rubbed it in. I took the bottle and hairbrush back to my room and packed them away. I put on one of my favorite hoodies. The hoodie is a Harry Potter one with Gryffindor's crest; I feel like I will need some of that Gryffindor courage tomorrow, and it's comforting. I grab my phone, wallet, my keys and put them in the hoodie pocket. Although I have pockets, I like to have most things in one place rather than in different areas of my person.

I feel as though the start of my journey has begun. As my Dad and I go to dinner, I can't help but start to think about what Tony will be like instead of the facade for the press. I mean, I feel he does that to hide from people who could hurt him, which I can understand. I hope to break down some of the walls he has built over the years. The dinner was at a Golden Corral since that was the easiest thing to do for this kind of thing. We talked about what was going to happen tomorrow. I will call Phil and tell him I'm returning to New York with him. I will call both Mom and him when I get to New York. As we finish eating, I notice that someone is looking at me, and I think it's a S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent or an Avenger; well, in this case, it could be both.

It's a man in his late thirties to mid-forties; he has dark blonde short hair with a fade. He's wearing a t-shirt and jeans, but he doesn't look comfortable and looks like he's watching the whole place like a hawk. I figured Phil would assign someone to watch over me just in case. I appreciate it since I've been watching my back since I returned from Asia last summer. A rival clan ambushed the clan I was training with because they found out about me. They hated benders of the elements because of an event 3,000 years ago. I managed to escape and get home, but I've been living in fear of them because they tortured Elaina and I for days without mercy. So ever since I came back, I have been having nightmares and episodes of panic attacks because of my P.T.S.D. When we leave, I hold on to my Dad to feel grounded. "Are you okay?" my Dad asks as I put my arm through his. "Yeah," I say. When we get home, I finish packing and try to sleep for a while, knowing I won't sleep a full eight hours.

The next morning

To say I was expecting her to call today wasn't what I was expecting. I didn't think she'd phone at least until tomorrow, but I guess she had already made up her mind but needed time to pack and say goodbye to her parents. She called me at eight-thirty a.m. and said, "I want to go to New York and meet my Dad and the rest of the Avengers." I told her I would pick her up at ten-thirty to plan her protective detail. I called Tony to tell him about her decision to come. To say he was excited was an understatement; he was trying to prepare everything for her. He was very shocked when he found out that she was his daughter. It's not that he didn't want her; he didn't know about her. I'm not surprised since her mother was excellent at hiding her tracks when needed. As I gather my team, I tell them that they will protect her with their lives since she is a daughter of one of our own, and they all say, "Yes, sir."

As we headed out, I noticed Clint was waiting to tell me what had happened the night before. "Clint, did everything go alright last night?" I ask in a serious tone, even though I had only talked to her yesterday, but I feel like she is one of my family."Yeah, but she noticed me; it was odd that she did," he says, crossing his arms. "How was it odd?" I ask, concerned, putting my hands in my pockets. "She looked straight at me like she knew I was there to keep her safe rather than harm her," he says in an impressed voice. "Well, that's strange; maybe she's looking over her shoulder because of something that happened a while ago," I say, taking my hands out of my pockets and crossing my arms.

"I guess we'll have to wait until she tells us because she has to be able to trust us first," I tell him clapping my hand on his shoulder. "I know Phil, but I feel that she's going to change everything for the better; I just know that she's one of the missing pieces to our family of Avengers," Clint said as he moved closer to hug me; knowing he needed the comfort, I let him. I love this man, but I can't tell him because I'm afraid. I know it'll crush him if I die again. After letting go of each other, we head out to the cars to pick up Anjali, then go to the airport and New York.

They arrive two hours after I call Phil, and I'm already ready to leave. I waited in the dining room with my luggage by the door to see them when they got there. During the two hours, I told my friends and family members that I was close to that I was leaving. My friends wanted to come by and say goodbye, but I told them no because there wasn't enough time. They were a bit upset but understood that it was for the best. As they pull up in the driveway, I bolt to the door to meet them outside. I grab two of my duffle bags, so they don't have to bring out everything themselves. I wave to Phil as he gets out of one of the S.U.V.'s. "Hey, kiddo, is that all of your stuff?" Phil asks as he approaches me. I laugh as I say, "No, this is only half; I have two more big suitcases inside." "Okay, go put those in the back, and I will get those suitcases," Phil says, walking towards the front door. "Thank you," I said, going towards the S.U.V. with the duffles. As I got to the trunk, I heard a door open, and someone came toward me; as soon as he came into view, I realized it was the agent who had been watching over me last night.

He holds his hand out as he introduces himself. "I'm Clint Barton. Can I help you load those into the trunk?" he asks while I shake his hand, having already put down the duffles on the asphalt. "Yeah, that would be great," I said as I looked to see if Phil needed help with the suitcases. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself; my name is Anjali de Jong," I introduce myself to Clint as we put my duffles in the trunk and go towards the house to get the last suitcase. "I know, but thank you for introducing yourself so that I can pronounce your name correctly from now on," he says as I get my big blue suitcase; Phil had gotten the black one. "You can call me Angie or some other nickname if you think that will be easier for you," I say as we walk back to the S.U.V.'s. "I probably will, but right now, I'll call you Anjali," he said as we put my suitcases away and got in the S.U.V. to leave.

I fell asleep on the way to the airport in Houston. It was towards the outskirts of town, so it took over an hour to get there. I had a terrible night because of the horrific nightmares I had. I had dreams of what happened to me last summer, and I woke up sweating bullets down my face as I tried to calm down; it was that bad. I went to bed around eight-thirty, so whenever I wake up, I'll have had some sleep when I wake up. That was around four-thirty this morning, so I got up and exercised, practicing the fighting style I learned last year and others I had learned this year. I did yoga as well to strengthen my core and flexibility. I took a shower around six-thirty to be clean after my workout. Clint woke me up as we approached the airport. It's one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s private airstrips. As we approached the plane, I noticed that all the S.U.V.'s beside ours stopped. "Clint, why aren't they still with us?" I ask as the plane's back ramp opened up for us.

"Not all of them are coming back with us, and there's only so many cars we can fit in here," he said as Phil drove up the ramp and parked it next to a red convertible. "Ah," is all I could say to that. "Why are we going in such a big plane?" I ask in awe as we drive into the hold of the plane. The plane is massive; it could hold a hundred or more passengers at a time. "Well, we needed a way to get the vehicles here and other people on your protection team here," Clint says as we get out of the S.U.V. and go towards the spiral staircase. As we climb to the passenger hold, my ancestors start nagging my subconscious to talk to them. I message that I'll visit them tomorrow once I've found somewhere suitable to speak to them. I usually talk to them at least two to three times a week to learn how to control my powers. Going between our world and the spirit realm is one of my abilities. I didn't discover this until I escaped because of the extra boost. I was able to escape. I go into a trance, and I can talk to my ancestors and relatives that also had my abilities.

As we walked into the passenger hold, I gasped as I looked at the plane's luxury. I sit on one of the couches part of the layout and buckle up. Clint sits on the couch across from me and looks sadly at me like he knows what I've gone through. "Anjali, did something happen to you?" Clint asks me in concern. "Yes, but I want to tell everyone at once instead of repeating myself multiple times," I say as I stretch my legs across the couch to lay down. "I understand that. Are you going to tell everyone when we meet them," Clint asks, leaning forward to look at me better.

"Yes, I am," I say as I drift off. I usually fall asleep while traveling; it's just something that always happens, and since I had a bad night, it was more likely that I would fall asleep during the flight. I slept an hour and a half during the three-hour and twenty-five-minute flight. I felt a little bit more relaxed than I was earlier. As I woke up, I noticed that Clint was still there as he was earlier. "Hey Clint, why are you still sitting here?" I say as I pull myself up into a sitting position and stretch. "I'm watching over you because I'm concerned about what you said earlier," he says as he leans forward to come closer. "I can understand that I would be if somebody had told me that," I say as I put my feet on the floor. "What did happen? I noticed the scars on your arms," he says, pointing out the visible ones.

"Well, last year, before I graduated from High School, I discovered I had elemental powers and, at the time, were controlled by my emotions. They aren't managed as much by my feelings as they were. So after I graduated, my Mom gave me a letter from my grandmother, and she wrote that we could control elements and use them when we fight in the Standifer family. It skips a generation, and she knew that if my Mom had children, she would pass the ability on to me since I'm the only one she had. She also told me to go to Asia and train with the Gyatso clan to control my powers. My grandmother also gave me money to get there. I would get back by other means.

But anyway, I trained with my master Elaina; she taught me first how to control my abilities that weren't through emotion. I had two accidents with fire and water. I blew up a water fountain because I was annoyed with my band director and other band members. After all, they couldn't do what they were supposed to, and I was heading to the restroom. I was walking out, and one of my section members was boasting about how he was better than everyone, so I accidentally made the water fountain explode, and he got the brunt of the water that came out. When I said the water main must have burst because of something caught in the pipes, the school believed me. It turns out there was something in the pipes that could've caused the explosion, but I know it was me," I say as I get up to get some water to show him my water bending.

I fill a glass with water, bring it back where we were sitting, and set it on the table. I concentrate on making the water into different shapes and showing Clint how to heal with the water. "I can also treat wounds with water but only does so much. I also had an accident with fire, but it was during chemistry. It was a lab that involved Bunson burners, and I somehow bent the flame to burn someone's hair. It wasn't a lot, just a few inches, but they got in trouble for not ensuring their hair wasn't in the way. I was still frustrated by earlier events that day. It wasn't the same day as the water explosion but the same week, and that band member was boasting again that day, and I just couldn't let it go. So the teacher didn't do labs that involved Buson burners or flame for the rest of the year," I say, and I produce a flame in my palm.

"Wow, that's pretty cool, but what happened to you to get those scars?" he asks as I extinguish the flame in my palm. "Well, two months into my training, we were ambushed and captured by the Black Lotus clan, a rival clan, and thought what we could do an abomination to nature. Elaina and I were trying to see if I could bend the earth and air. I can control them but not well enough to show you. But anyway, they knocked us down to the ground, put special handcuffs on our hands so we couldn't bend, and blindfolded us. They took us to the cave system they like to use as a lair. I slipped multiple times because of the moisture of the cave. They would roughly pull me back up and hit me in the side. I think they most likely broke my ribs; they were that strong. Elaina and I tried to fight against them, but it was useless. They put us in a cell. They would give us food at least once a week. They would take me to a room every few days and whip me to make me weak. They also tortured me in other ways, but it's too painful for me to say aloud right now. I haven't healed mentally enough to tell anybody," I say.

I rub my hands over my arms. Clint comes over and pulls me into an embrace. I hiss a little as he brushes against the scars on my back. They get sensitive at times. "Sorry if I hurt you," he says, adjusting his arms around me. "You didn't; the scars on my back get sensitive at times," I tell him as I pull out of his embrace. "Anyway, one day, Elaina and I formed a plan to escape. We memorized who took us to our torture sessions and chose the day with the weakest and most dimwitted guards. So we ensured it was the right guard before we knocked him out and snuck out of the caves, but Elaina got caught.

I wanted to go back, but she told me to run to civilization and find the Kamar-Taj for help. That's what I did. I was always looking over my shoulder in case I got followed. It wasn't until I got to civilization. There were a few incidents where I almost got captured, but I could use smoke and fireworks to get away. When I reached the compound of the Kamar-Taj, I was exhausted. I hadn't slept in two days. They took me in, and a man called Stephen Strange healed what he could with the Ancient One. He also told me what month it was. I had been there for three and a half months. The next few months were excruciating because of the pain and trauma. Doctor Strange treated my injuries and trained me in their fighting style.

I didn't want to learn their magic at the time. As soon as I felt ready to go home, I asked Strange to create a portal to Houston. I gave him our address so I could go straight there. I went to my room and slept for the next thirty-six hours when I got back. That is the end of the story," I say as I get up to stretch before we descend to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in New York. "You know Doctor Strange?" he asks in wonderment. "Yeah, he's not as arrogant as he seems once you get to know him," I bend forward to conclude my stretching. "You may be right since we haven't known him long and not close to him," he says as I sit back down and put my legs on his lap. We get to know each other for the next twenty-five minutes, and I learn that he's in love with Phil. When we land, I go to the bathroom, freshen up, and do some breathing exercises to calm down, not to reveal my abilities before I'm ready. Once I get out of the bathroom, I follow Clint down the staircase. I hold his hand as we walk down the plane's ramp towards headquarters. I feel like I'm going to crash and burn during this ordeal, but I can do this.

She is the most beautiful person I have ever seen. She's holding Barton's hand like a lifeline. I'm biased since she is my daughter, but I would always think she is beautiful even if I had never seen her before besides in pictures. I feel a hand on my shoulder; I turn to see who it is. It's Steve; he's been my rock throughout this whole situation. "It's going to be fine, Tony," he says, looking like he's going on a mission. "I hope so; I just want us to have a father-daughter relationship," I said as I turned towards doors the door waiting for her to come through it. Strange suddenly comes towards us. "Stark, I know your daughter," he says in the most concerned voice. "What do you mean, you know, my daughter?" I ask in the calmest voice possible. "Well, she was in Asia last year and turned up injured at the compound. I treated her as best I could, but I don't know the whole story. She was too traumatized to tell me or anyone anything, but she seems a lot better now. I almost didn't recognize her when I glanced at her," he says, looking a little guilty.

"I understand, okay; I trust what you say is true since you've helped Peter," I say as I turn to face Peter and smile. He's like a son to me, and I hope they get along. About five minutes later, we hear a knock on the door. I walk to the door and open it. Anjali and Clint are standing on the other side. "Hi, Dad," she says in a timid voice. "Hi, sweetheart," I say in a soft voice. She lets go of Clint's hand and reaches out for mine. "Is it okay if I hold your hand?" she asks, still in a timid voice. "Of course, come in," I say, pulling her in with me. She squeezes my hand as she walks through the door. I squeeze her hand back, knowing that we both need it.

I see all the Avengers staring at me in curiosity as we walk in. They probably think who would have a child with Tony Stark in their right mind. "Hello, everyone, my name is Anjali de Jong, and as you probably know, I am Tony Stark's daughter," I say, squeezing my Dad's hand. It feels weird and right at the same time to say it and think it. "Anjali, it's good to see you again," I hear a familiar voice beside me. I see Dr. Strange standing to my right, which is my good ear. In captivity, I lost some of my hearing in my left ear."Stephen, why are you here?" I ask. Clint told me he had joined them, but I thought being Sorcerer Supreme was a full-time job.

"Well, after what happened to you, I decided that I should be helping people more, so I decided that joining the Avengers was the best thing to do," he says, and I let go of Dad's hand and hug Stephen. He hugs me back carefully. "Excuse me, but how do you know the Doc?" asks a young man behind me. I let go of Stephen and see a teenager; he looks a few years younger than me. "Well, I met him in Asia last year, and who are you?" I ask politely. "I'm Peter Parker, and can you tell us why you were in Asia?" he asks, coming toward me. Tony retakes my hand and squeezes in reassurance."Pete, she doesn't have to tell us if she's not comfortable telling us," Tony said, putting his hand on Peter's shoulder. "I want to, but if it's alright for everyone to introduce themselves first," I say reassuringly. "Of course, I'm sorry." Tony apologizes.

They introduce themselves as Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Vision, Wanda Maximoff, T'Challa, Shuri, Bucky Barns, Scott Lang, Hope Van Dyne, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Thor, Natasha Romanoff, Sam Wilson, Happy Hogan, and Pepper Potts. The rest of the extended team must be off-world. "Thank you. I appreciate that you would trust me with your real names, and now I will pay you kind by telling you why I was in Asia as Peter has asked," I say honestly. So I told them the story I told Clint earlier and showed them my abilities. I was crying by the end because I thought about what I did to forget. Most of them were crying; I couldn't believe that they were. They don't even know me; how could they think my story is true. My powers are real since I can make them appear at will, but I think Stephen's input helped them see that I'm telling the truth.

Peter hugged me and hugged me tightly; he cried into my shoulder. "I'm so sorry I made you explain that to everyone before you were ready," he says. "Listen to me, kiddo, I was going to tell them anyway. I figured it would be best, to be honest, from the start. Okay, Spiderling," I say, smiling and hugging back just as tightly. "How did you know I'm Spiderman," he asked nervously, looking up at me. "I've seen Spiderman on Youtube and the news. You have the build and height; you seemed distracted as if you could hear everything around the room. Despite your baggy sweater, you look athletic to mislead people that you aren't. You were fidgeting like you were sensitive to something." I whisper to him, rubbing his back comfortingly. "Wow, it's cool that you were able to guess that," he says in an excited voice.

"Well, it's a simple deduction; I use it to keep myself safe from my enemies," I tell him sadly. I pull semi-out of the embrace, but I keep an arm around his shoulders. "Anjali, why did you want to tell us about your horrendous experience?" Natasha asks in a suspicious voice. "Nat," says multiple voices in an uproar. "It's okay. I wanted to be honest since I would be living with individuals who use and keep secrets for a living. I wanted to be truthful with Tony since he is my father. I don't like keeping secrets from people I want to trust because it works both ways," I explain calmly. "You have a point, and I think you're not telling us everything," Natasha said while crossing her arms. "You're right, but if you must know, along with the torture, I was raped, and when I got home, I relapsed. I couldn't cope with the trauma. The only reason I'm sober is that I almost died. I was lucky that my adoptive father found me and brought me to the hospital. I've been sober for almost nine months, and I plan on keeping it that way." I tell them in a calm voice.

I can feel Peter hugging me again, and Stephen hugs me tightly from behind. "Why didn't you call me?" he asks sadly. "I didn't think you would answer since you're busy being Sorcerer Supreme and all," I say in a whisper. "I would've answered in a heartbeat, Dragon," he reassures me. "Anjali, I wish I'd known about your existence. I would have been there every step of the way," Tony says sincerely. I let go of Peter and Stephen, walk towards my Dad, and take his hands in mine. "Dad, you couldn't have known sooner; my Mom wouldn't tell me anything about my biological father. She didn't even react when I told her I applied to work for you. My Mom probably just wanted to protect herself and me from the implications that would bring; back then, you weren't the person you are today. Now that you're in my life, you can help me, and that's what matters, okay?" I ask in a kind tone. "You're right, sweetheart. That's what matters, and why did Strange call you Dragon?" he asks in curiosity. "I can breathe fire," I say, laughing. "Really?" Steve asks. "Yeah, but we'd need a larger space to demonstrate," I smile. It's one of my favorite tricks. "Well, let's go to the training room and see it," says T'Challa in anticipation.

So we leave the conference room to the facility's training room. It took us a few minutes since there were so many people. To say the training room was gigantic was an understatement. I should have plenty of room to breathe fire. "Everyone should go to the furthest side of the room; my flames can be huge, and I want y'all to be safe," I told them, moving into my stance. My stance is kneeling on my left knee and stretching out my right. I keep my arms at my sides with my hands in a fist. I breathed deeply and held it for a few seconds, so the fire would come out as I breathed out. As soon as I felt I had enough flame, I let it out. The flame went straight up since I didn't move my head in any direction. My fire is red with hints of oranges. I didn't do it for long since I don't have the stamina to do it for long periods.

"Wow, that's awesome," Peter said in awe. "Thank you, I appreciate it," I say. "I think it's time to get back to the tower," Tony says. "Okay," everyone says in tired voices. It took about forty-five minutes to get to Avengers tower. Peter, Dad, Pepper, Steve, Stephen, and I get into one S.U.V. Everyone gets into a different S.U.V's. Peter and I get to know each other, telling me how he got his powers from a radioactive spider. Pepper and Tony discussed projects for S.I. on the drive over; as we drive into the garage, the tower shines from the city's lights. We get out of the cars as soon as we enter the garage.

There were multiple vehicles here, ranging from motorcycles to the SUVs we're using now. As I get out, I feel someone staring at me like they want to protect me and maybe something more. I follow Dad and Peter to the elevator and go up to the living quarters. The elevator ride was silent except for the noise of the elevator. Once we got to the eightieth floor, we stepped out to the combination living room and kitchen. The space was modern with cozy touches and felt like it could be more comfortable with time.

She stood up for herself well against Nat. She has a lot of spunk. I feel a pull toward her; I don't know why, but I just want to be hers. "Buck, you okay?" Steve asks, clapping his hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine," I say, facing him. Steve looks like he's going to collapse on the spot. "Are you okay?" I ask, putting my hand over his on my shoulder. "I will be after I get some sleep," he says, sagging slightly. "Then go to bed. I'm sure nobody will mind Stevie," I say, leading him towards his room. Sometimes I don't know what is going on in his head. I know he wants to be Tony's rock and more, but he needs to take care of himself. "Oh, are you going to bed, Steve?" Tony asks, turning around beside Anjali. "Yeah, Tony, I am. Sorry for not talking to you more, Anjali," Steve says.

She also turns around to face us. "It's not a big deal, Mr. Rogers. I'm sure we'll get to know each other within the next few days," she said, smiling brightly. "Just call me Steve, Anjali," Steve says. "Okay, Steve, and what should I call you, Mr. Barns?" she asks politely, still smiling. "Just call me Bucky or James," I say. I don't know why I asked her to call me James, but it felt right. "Alright, James," she says, looking at me like she knew what I wanted to be for her. "Goodnight," Steve and I say, walking towards our rooms. "Night," Anjali, Tony, and Peter say as they go opposite directions. "Buck, I think we're in trouble," Steve says, turning his head to face me. "What do you mean?" I say. "We're falling for the Starks; you the daughter and me the father," he says amusedly. "I'm afraid so," I say. After I dropped off Steve, I went to my room and bed. I didn't fall asleep until well after midnight, thinking about her.

Chapter Text

To say today was long is an understatement. I mean, emotionally, how could it have not been. After meeting your biological father, you'd be too, reuniting with a friend that I thought I never see again and meeting new people all in one day. After we said goodnight to Steve and James, we talked for a few hours in Tony's room.  

We talked about different subjects, such as school, movies, family, and technology. When 10 o'clock came around, I finally had to say, "I'm tired; I think I'll turn in." "I'll show you where your room is, sweetheart," Tony tells me as we get up from the bed.  

"Thank you; I would appreciate that," I say, yawning as we walk into the hallway towards a door with the initials "A.D." "Why did you put my initials on the door?" I ask curiously. "Well, I did it because the doors look the same, which helps differentiate them. Second, I've done it to the others, too, so people don't walk into the wrong room," he explains as he opens the door for me.  

As I walked in, I saw that some of the stuff that I hadn't brought with me was there, some of my family pictures of my mother's side of the family and I. The camera that I use for sightseeing, family, and nature pictures. Also, my t-shirt blanket my aunt made for me as my graduation present. "I contacted your dad and asked him to collect things that you might not bring yet but might want," he explains nervously.  

"Thank you; I didn't expect it, and I love that you thought of this," I assured him, walking towards him and embracing him. "You're very welcome. I wanted to make sure that you felt at home here. I hope that you'll be happy with us. I also need to talk to you about Peter." he says, letting go of me.  

"What about Peter?" I ask nervously. "Peter may also be my son," he explains nervously. I sit down on the bed, crossing my legs. "Dad, he's a great kid, but why do you think he could be your son? I like Peter; he feels like a little brother to me already. Don't get me wrong. I'm just trying to get a clear picture," I reassure.  

"Well, when I met him when I figured out he was Spiderman, I didn't realize that he looked like me when I was younger and acted like me differently," he tells me. "I've only met the both of you today, and I can see the resemblance. If you want, I can try to separate the spider DNA and run it to see if it matches, but I can't make any promises. I want to separate the spider DNA to ensure accuracy, but I can run it first with the spider DNA to see what happens," I cautioned him calmly.  

"You could do that?" he asks excitedly. "Possibly, I learned how to separate DNA for my degree in Forensics, but I can't promise that I can do it. I would need to see his DNA first," I affirmed as I got up from the bed and placed a hand on his shoulder comfortingly.  

"Thank you; I want to make sure that I know about all of my kids so that I can be in their lives if they wish me to be," he said in a weary voice. "I understand, trust me, Dad," I assured him. "I will let you sleep, kiddo," he says. "Goodnight, Dad," I say, hugging him again.  

After Tony leaves, I call Cornelis, take a shower, brush my teeth, and put on pajamas. Then, I climbed into bed and got under the covers; I fell asleep a short time later. It was another restless night, but that could be because of the stress of everything that's happened the past two days.  

A few hours later, I woke up to a knock on my door. I get up, turn on the lamp, walk to the door, and open it. It was Peter; he looked frightened. "Hey, what's wrong?" I ask, concerned. "I had a nightmare. Can I come in?" he asked in a timid voice. "Of course, kleintje, come in," I say. As he walks in, he looks so unsure of what to do. "That bad, huh?" I ask in concern. 

"Yeah, I dreamt that everyone died, even you, and I wanted to make sure you were okay," he tells me nervously. "Come on, you can sleep with me tonight if you want," I say, encouraging him to relax and find comfort from me. "If you don't mind," he says timidly. "Come on, kleintje; I don't mind," I say, climbing into bed and lifting the covers for him to climb into bed. I turn off the lamp next to the bed as he climbs in. I pulled the covers over him; he was comfortable. I rubbed his back to calm him. He comes closer, and I embrace him; I hold him like that as we fall asleep. 

     -------------------------- The Next Morning-------------------------------- 

I woke up to find Peter still with me in my room. I wasn't ready to get up, so I ran my fingers through his curls and listened to his breathing. I thought he'd wake up before me, but he did have a nightmare, so he's probably emotionally exhausted. Nevertheless, I feel pleased that he felt comfortable enough to come to me when he needed comfort.  

It's calm and slow, like when you're in a deep sleep. I know deep in my heart that Peter is my little brother, even if we aren't biologically related. I know I haven't known him long, but there is already a bond. I've lost people who should still be here, so I think that's why I'm bonding with people quickly. It's about an hour later that Peter starts to stir. I keep running my fingers through his hair and rubbing his back, so he won't feel uneasy when he finally wakes up.  

"Angie, how long have you been up?" he asks, rubbing his head against my shoulder. "An hour, but it's fine. I figured you'd want to sleep in a little bit after last night," I explained. "Thank you," he says, cuddling closer to me and inhaling my scent.  

"No problem, kleintje. My cousins would cuddle with me when they wanted to, so I don't mind cuddling with you," I reassure him. We stayed that way for a while until we heard knocking at the door, and Dad asked, "Anjali is Peter with you?" "Yes," I answered loud enough for him to hear through the door. After a few seconds or so, Dad comes in and smiles warmly at us.  

Seeing Peter and Anjali in her room melts my heart in a pile of goo. "Breakfast is ready," I tell them. As if she knew what Peter would do before he did, she let go of him, and he shot off the bed in a flash. "I guess he's hungry," she said, laughing at his antics. "Yeah, I guess so," I also began to laugh well. "I'm going to get dressed," she says when she stops laughing. "We'll be waiting when you're ready," I say, walking back out of the door and closing it.  

As I walk away from her door, I can't help but wonder how she's coped with everything. I wouldn't have dealt with it if that had happened to me. I want to take her pain away. I wish she didn't have to go through what she did. "You and every good parent out there," Strange says sympathetically. "How did you know what I was thinking?" I ask curiously. "It's written all over your face, Stark," he says, placing a hand on my shoulder.  

"When I met her last year, she wasn't in the best place, but she wanted to go home, and I couldn't force her to stay if she didn't want to. I should've checked on her, but I thought going back to her family would be better for her, but I guess I was wrong. I didn't know she would relapse, but I couldn't see the signs of her mental state," Strange tells me in sorrow. "It's not your fault; you couldn't have known what would happen to her when she went home. Nobody could've known because some people can hide it better than others," I say. I walked away then, so I couldn't see the expression on his face.  

I walked into the kitchen and smiled, seeing Peter stuffing his face with pancakes. "Slow down, bud, and save some for Anjali and the rest of us that might want some, okay," I say, patting his shoulder. "I will, Mr. Stark," he says with his mouth full. "Kiddo, you can call me Tony; I promise it's not a problem," I say comfortingly. "Okay, Tony," he says, still unsure. "Tony, I made plenty of batter for people who have enhanced metabolisms, and I'll have plenty to spare for those who don't," Steve says as he reappears behind the counter with a bowl of batter.  

"Okay, I was just making sure; I'm just worried about Anjali not getting enough. She looks unhealthy thin," I say. "That's because I lost weight while training and when captured. I'm working on getting back toward a healthy weight without overdoing it and keeping it the same. I was overweight when I was younger, and it was hard to lose it. When I started drinking again, I lost even more, and I've gained some weight back, but it's a slow process," Anjali says as she comes in and sits down at the counter wearing a navy long-sleeved black shirt, black sweatpants, and black Nike shoes. "Anjali, if you need help from me, just ask," I say. "I will when I need it," she says firmly.  

"Anjali, how many pancakes do you want?" Steve asks. "One for right now, thank you," she says. "No problem, just let me know if you want more," he tells her kindly. "I will," she says in a quiet voice. The rest of breakfast went by slow and fast at the same time. Anjali ate two pancakes with syrup and peanut butter. The rest of the team came in and had breakfast with us. Steve and I talked throughout breakfast about anything and everything.  

Once everyone was done with breakfast, I took Peter and Anjali down to the labs. The first lab we went to was the lab that is Anjali's. The lab has holograph tables, state-of-the-art computers, the necessary forensic DNA lab equipment, tools, and machinery. "Thank you, Dad; I appreciate it. The lab is awesome," she says excitedly. 

 "This is cool, Tony," Peter exclaims. "Thank you both, I do try," I say, grinning at them. "Come on, let me show you my lab," I say as I head towards the door. As we walk into the hallway, I show her how to make a passcode for the door for protection. She puts in 1014 as her passcode. "Alright, now that's done, let's head down," I say. We head back to the elevator and go down three floors. I notice that Pete's bouncing with excitement.  

"Pete, you've been in my lab multiple times; why are you excited?" I ask curiously. "I'm excited for Anjali to see your lab. She gets to see what we're making and upgrading," he says as we reach my lab. As we step out of the elevator, I notice she's wincing. "You okay, sweetheart?" I ask in concern. "My scars are acting up, but it's not bad, I want to see your projects, and I think Pete will explode with excitement if we don't go in. I think I'll see Stephen this afternoon and see what he thinks," she tells me reassuringly.  

"Okay, if you're sure," I say as I put in my passcode for the door. Anjali nods in confirmation. As we walk into the lab, Pete grabs her and pulls her toward the suits on display. His and mine, she looks like a girl that just walked into a candy store. Pete shows her the upgrades he's worked on the past few weeks with me. I watch them as Pete leads her around the lab as he knows his way around as well as I do.  

 As I show her around the lab, I sense that she's in some pain. "Anjali, you, okay?" I ask in concern. "Yeah, kleintje, I'm okay; just my scars are acting up," she says reassuringly. "Okay, if you're sure," I say hesitantly. "I have to deal with sensitivity all the time, kleintje. I just need to put a mix of lotion and Aquaphor on my scars," she confirms. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay because it looked like you were in pain," I say in concern. "I understand, kleintje," she says, putting her hand on my shoulder and squeezing it gently.  

I showed her some of the projects I have been working on recently. "These projects are pretty cool, kleintje. Are these for school or just something you've been tinkering with?" she asks as she picks up one of my web shooters. "Mostly just tinkering to see if I can improve them for patrols. The webbing formulas need to be more potent; sometimes, criminals break out of the webbing, which causes me to use more than I should. That causes me to run out faster," I tell her, rubbing my arm nervously.  

"Have you talked to Tony about it since I'm assuming he developed upon your original formula to create more of it and created other types of webbing for you," she asks, putting down the web-shooter. "I have talked to him about it, but he said that he would help me with the formula to make it durable, so when I have to web up criminals, they can't break out of it," I say, crossing my arms.  

"That's good. Remind Tony if he forgets, okay, and remember to be confident. He does care about you. I can see it in how he interacts with you," she says, pulling me into a hug. "Okay, I will," I say, hugging her back, trying to be careful of the scars and my strength. "Come on, let's go and get something to eat, and then we can do some training. I want to see what you can do," she says, pulling away but keeping an arm around me. We walk towards Tony, tell him we're getting something to eat, and then train.  

"Okay, kiddos, I'll shut down everything here and join you guys in a few minutes," Tony tells us as he begins saving progress and shutting down the computers and tablets. "We'll meet you in the kitchen, Dad," she says as we walk towards the elevator.  The ride up was quiet, but it was quick. As we get off the elevator, she turns towards her room. "I have to put on lotion for my scars; I'll be right back," she says. "Okay, I'll tell Tony when he gets here," I say. "Thank you!" she says. "You're welcome," I say as she walks further away. Tony came in a few minutes later.   

"Where'd Anj go?" he asks, walking up to the island. "She went to put lotion on her scars," I told him. "Alright, how about leftover lasagna for lunch?" he asks. "Sounds good," she says as she walks into the kitchen. "How did you put lotion on so fast?" I ask in curiosity. "I know which ones are usually irritated, so I was able to get my lotion from the bathroom and apply it to the scars on my shoulders," she says, pointing to her shoulders. "Okay, but why do they get irritated?" I ask. "Well, the scars on my shoulders get irritated because of stress and weather.  

The scars on my back hurt when I overdo it with yoga and get too dry, so I have to put lotion on them every day. The ones on my arms and legs don't hurt, but I moisturize them anyway," she tells us with a sigh. "Why do the scars hurt when you overdo it?" I ask in concern. "Because they're the most prominent scars I have. They're big in length and width because they use a whip around and on the same spots. My back looks like I have four prominent scars on it, but they aren't from one big wound; it's smaller wounds mashed together. So, when I overdo it with yoga, it feels like my back is on fire. They feel rough and cracked when they get too dry," she tells us as she sits down and gets comfortable.  

 Tony served us lunch a few minutes later after putting the lasagna portions we wanted in the microwave. I ate my piece slowly to make sure I didn't overeat. While we were eating, Bucky and Steve came in for lunch. They had sandwiches for lunch instead of lasagna.  

"What have you guys been up to today?" Bucky asks, sitting beside me and between bites of his sandwich. "Tony showed us Anj's lab. Her lab is incredible; she can test DNA, draw up schismatics for her future inventions, and everything she needs. Then we went to Tony's lab and showed her our projects. Then we came up here for lunch," Pete tells him. "I'd say so. I'm excited to work there," I say, smiling and ruffling Pete's hair. I look at James, and he's looking at me like I painted the Mona Lisa or made the sky. I took a good look at James; I realized he had interactions with my mother when I was a little girl. He protected me. I wonder if he remembers that. He doesn't look any older than he did back then. "James, can I talk to you later?" I ask in a whisper. "Sure, why?" he whispers, leaning closer to me.  

"I'll tell you when we're alone. It's to do with your time with Hydra," I say. "When and where?" he asks. "My room at three. That work for you?" I ask. "Yeah, Angel, it works," he says. I blushed and smiled at him. "Okay, see you then," I say. When I finish eating, I tell Peter I'm not up to training today, but I'll train with him tomorrow. Then I go to my room to unpack.  

I open both suitcases and duffle bags to ensure I get everything put away. By the time I put everything away, it was three o'clock, and I heard a knock on my door. I open it to see James there with his hands behind his back, waiting for me to open my door. "Hi, James, come in," I say, waving him into my room. "Thanks, Angel. Why did you want to talk about my time with Hydra?" he asks, walking in and sitting in my desk chair. I close the door and sit on my bed.  

"Well, when I looked at you at lunch today, I realized you had interactions with my mother. I was probably two or three at the time, but I clearly remember your eyes," I tell him. I pulled out a picture of Mom around that time. "Do you recognize her?" I ask. He takes the photo for a closer look. We sit there in tense silence as he looks at the picture. "I think I remember her, but I can't be sure. Hydra had my brain wiped after every mission or when they put me to sleep. I'm sorry, I can't be sure. Maybe if you show me a picture of you, that may help," he says sincerely.  

"Okay, I don't have many, but let me see if I have any good pictures," I say as I go to my desk and get a biscuit tin filled with pictures of my family and I over the years. As I flipped through them, I couldn't help but smile at the memories they brought. It takes a few minutes for me to find the right pictures. I found a good one with my face looking towards the camera. "Here, this should be the correct period. I have a few more, but I think this one is the best," I say, handing him the photograph.  

 As she hands me the photo, I feel like I knew her then, but I need to be sure. The picture is of her at Christmas, with a dark blue blanket around her. She's smiling, playing with her toys. Her cousins, I'm guessing, are around her, playing as well with her mother. She has blonde hair and grey-blue eyes. I remember those eyes as I'd seen them just yesterday, not seventeen years before. Last night and at lunch, I didn't get a good look at her eyes, so I put it down and looked at her eyes. Her eyes are the same color, but they look older and saddened. I pull her into my lap to hug her close to me.  

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you. Even with the mind wipes, your eyes were the only thing I could remember because I thought they were so beautiful, and the little girl that came with them felt safe with me," I say, gently rubbing her back. "I used to call you Blue because of your eyes; that was the only thing I could remember clearly," she says, wrapping her arms and legs around me and placing her head on my shoulder.  

"I know that you killed my grandparents. I've seen them, and they don't blame you for what happened; they know that you were under Hydra's control," she says, looking me in the eye. I laugh at that because I wouldn't have thought that would be something she'd call me.  

"What do you mean you've seen them?" I ask, pulling her back to face me. "Well, I didn't tell y'all about this last night because it's my most vulnerable state, but I can go between our world and the spirit realm. It's part of my abilities when Phil told me about Tony being my biological father.  I was in the spirit realm that night; Maria and Howard came to me and told me that they forgive you and tell you if I ever met you. They want me to tell Tony that they love him. But I don't know what to say to him," she tells me. She starts to tear up, and a tear falls. 

I wipe the tear away and pull her close again to comfort her, hopefully. "I don't know what to say. Can you show me?" I ask. "It's not something I can show you, but I can go into the spirit world and try something," she says, looking at me. "Try what?" I ask. "I've never done this before, but I can try to pull spirits and get them to speak through me, but I can't promise that'll work," she tells me earnestly. "Okay, let's do it," I say. She scoots out of my lap, but she takes my hand.  

"When I go into the spirit realm, I like to be lying down because I usually come out of it, I get dizzy," she tells me. "Okay," I say, rolling in the chair towards her bed. "Don't freak out, okay?" she asks. "Okay," I say. She lays down on her bed on her back. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, then releases it. Her eyes opened again, but they were pure white and glowing. 

 As I enter the spirit realm, I feel a calmness rush over me. The spirit realm isn't white; it's a forest, at least for me. I don't know what it looked like for my ancestors, but it seems like this for me. I call out, "Grandfather, Nonna, where are you?" "Anjali, who are you calling out to?" my Great Grandfather asks. "Hi, Grandpa Lee. I was calling out to Howard and Maria. Tony's parents. Have you seen them?" I ask him as I hug him.  

"Well, I haven’t, but maybe your grandmother has," he says, looking at me. He died before I was born, so he's only seen me a few times. As a result, he doesn't usually see me when I come here. "Is she where she usually is?" I ask. "Yes, I don't think she leaves there. It seems to be her favorite place to meet you," he says with a small smile. "Thanks, Grandpa. I'll see you later," I say, hugging him goodbye. "You're welcome, my dear. See you next time," he says as I pull away from him. 

I walked further into the forest, knowing where I needed to go. My Grandmother usually meets me by the river deeper in the woods. So, I ran towards the spot, knowing I shouldn't be wasting time. I spotted all three of them at the river a few minutes later. "Mama Ann, Grandfather, Nonna, how are you?" I ask, running up to them. "Anjali, what are you doing here?" Mama Ann asks, hugging me tightly. "Well, Mama, I was looking for Grandfather and Nonna. I want them to speak through me," I tell her. "Why, Bambina?" Maria asks, putting her hand on my cheek.  

"Well, I think what you have to say should come from you and not me," I say, looking at her and Howard. "Sergeant Barnes is in my room. I think it would be good to use him as a guinea pig," I tell them. Howard and Maria looked at each other and then agreed.  

"Okay, what do we need to do?" Maria asks. "One of you needs to put their hand on my forehead. Then I'll try to project you into my body so you can talk to him," I say. "I'll go first since he knows me better than you, Maria," Howard says, coming closer to me. "Alright, but I want to talk to him too," Maria says sternly. "Yes, dear," he says, smiling at her.  

As soon as we were ready, I placed Howard's hand on my forehead. I concentrated on getting his spirit into my body. Howard was suddenly still, as though he was somewhere else, then he began to speak. "Sargent Barns, it's been a long time," Howard says in my voice. "Howard, is that you?" Bucky asks. "Yes, I know this is hard to believe, but it's me. My granddaughter thought we should tell you that you are forgiven," Howard sincerely tells him. "Thank you, but I don't deserve your forgiveness," he says.  

"You do deserve our forgiveness. I should've thought of the possibility that you were captured by Hydra again. I should be asking for forgiveness since I was the one who should have looked for you and Steve better after the war. For that, I'm sorry. You and Steve should've had a life after the war, and you guys didn't, and for that, I'm partly to blame. My wife also wishes to speak to you, then Anjali will return to you," he tells Bucky. 

Then I released Howard, and Maria put her hand on my forehead as her husband did. I repeat the process with her, and she goes still. "Hello, Sargent Barns. You didn't meet me before I died, and don't say you met me when the Winter Soldier murdered my husband and I. I don't consider him, you, Sargent. You have nothing to be sorry for, but I forgive you because I know that wasn't you that night. I only ask that you protect my granddaughter because I know Tony can do so much," she says.  

"I will, Mrs. Stark. The best way I know how," Bucky says. "Goodbye, Sargent, we'll be sending her back in a few minutes," she tells him. Then I release her, and she takes her hand away. Then both she and Howard hug me goodbye. "Mama Ann, I'll be back sometime tomorrow," I say to her as I turn towards the way I came. "Bye, sweetheart, I'll see you tomorrow," she says, coming closer to hug me. I hug her fiercely. She died in my early teens, so seeing her here is special to me. I let her go after a few seconds and ran back towards where I came in. It takes a few minutes to get there and go through the gateway.  

As I came out of my trance, I felt a bout of dizziness. "Angel, are you okay?" he asks, taking my hand. "Yeah, just give me a minute," I say, breathing deeply, trying to regain balance. "Thank you for letting them speak with me," he says, brushing his fingers through my hair. "You're welcome. Since this is my most vulnerable state, let's not tell anyone about this yet. If I die out here while I'm in the spirit realm, I can't return," I tell him, looking him in the eye. 

He nods, pulling me close to him. I wrap my arms around him, holding him tightly to me. We held each other for a while, just comforting each other. "Come on; let's go see what everybody else is doing," I say, breathing in his scent. "Alright, Angel, let's go," he says, helping me sit up to stand. He stands and holds his hands out for support. I grab his hands as I stand up and put on my slippers.  

We walked out of my room, not caring who saw us together. As we're walking down the hallway, I spot Stephen. "I've got to talk to Stephen. I'll see you later, okay," I tell him, and I kiss his cheek. "Okay," he says. I smile and catch up with Stephen. "Hi, Stephen, Levi," I say, catching up with him and petting the Cloak of the Levitation. Levi unlatches from Stephen and wraps around me. "I missed you too. Stephen, can you look at my scars? I want to make sure I'm taking care of them correctly," I ask as Levi unwraps from me.  

"Sure, are they bothering you?" he asks. "A little, but it's when I overdo it with exercise," I tell him. "Alright, let's go to the sanctum and see what we can do," he says. "Hold on, I need to get my phone," I say, patting my pockets and not finding my phone. "Dragon, be quick," he says. I quickly walk back to my room and get my phone. "Friday will you tell Tony that I went to the Sanctum with Stephen, please," I ask her. "Sure, would you like to give him your phone number?'' she asks. I tell her "Yes" and give her my phone number if Tony wants to call me as I walk back to Stephen. As soon as I reach him, he opens a portal to the Sanctum. We walk through the portal, and Stephen gets the supplies to help my scars. Levi gets off his shoulders and wraps around me as he walks away. I go to sit on the mat on the floor as we wait for Stephen to come back. I take out my phone and look through my notifications to see if Mom called or texted me.  

She didn't, but I'm not surprised. Last year when I came home, I told her and Cornelis what had happened to me since I was gone so long. She went silent and said she would hunt them down and kill them. She went into full secret agent mode, packed a few things, and left. I kept telling her not to go and that I needed her here, but she said, "I'll be back before you know it." 

That was almost seven months ago. I've been debating whether or not to call Grandpa Charles to see if he'll help me find her. Grandpa Charles/Charlie is Charles Xavier, founder of the X-men and Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. He's also my mother's biological father. He and my grandmother were friends, and when they were in difficult spots in their relationships, they had an affair. I don't like what they did, but I don't judge them.  

Stephen returned five minutes later with acupuncture needles, shea butter, and incense. "Okay, I'm going to light some incense, rub shea butter to see if it helps, and then do some acupuncture." I nod and take my shirt and sports bra over my head but keep myself covered, and Levi gets off me; then, I lay down on the mat and get comfortable. Stephen lights the incense and sets it down near me to breathe it in deeply. 

Then he kneels next to me, gets a glob of shea butter from a bowl, and rubs it on my scars. He begins with the most extended scar on my back. The last time I looked at it was red, I couldn't reach parts of it. "I'm assuming you can't get to parts of your scars?" he asks. "You'd be right. I can't reach some of the middle parts," I tell him.  

He hums in acknowledgment as he continues rubbing the shea butter on my scars. We don't say anything else. I relax as he rubs the other scars and inhale the incense. He soon finishes putting shea butter and prepares the needles for acupuncture.  

 I place a few needles on her ear's antithetical fold to help with PTSD and her mental health. As I prepared the other needles, I noticed that her elemental tattoos had changed from black to light brown. I thought this was peculiar, but I didn't know it would cause what was about to happen. Then I place more needles around her most extended scar since that one gives her pain. After putting them in place, I noticed her tattoos were glowing white. Crap, this probably means that she went into the Avatar State.  

So, I checked her eyes to see if they were glowing too, and they were, but something didn't seem right. It feels like her spirit isn't as present as it should be. "Dragon?" I ask, looking her in the eye. "Stephen Strange, what are we doing at the Sanctum?" she asks, but it's not Anjali speaking; it's the Avatar spirit, Ravanna.  

"Anjali wanted some help with the scars, so I figured I would light some incense to help her relax, rub shea butter on the scars to help heal them, and acupuncture to help with the pain and PTSD," I told Ravanna.  

"Alright, can you get the needles out so I can sit up, please?" she asks. "Of course." Then I take the needles out of Anjali's back and ear. Ravanna sits up, puts on Anjali's sports bra and shirt, and says, "I want to meet them." I tell her, "Okay." I clean up everything and open a portal back to the tower as Ravanna stands up and walks toward me.  

I tell Friday to tell everyone to meet in the common room when we get to the tower. I led Ravanna to the common room, unsure if Anjali had been there already. I grab a chair for her when she lets Anjali have control again. "Ravanna, do you want me to explain and then let them ask questions, and you answer them?" I ask her in a whisper as some of the team come in.  

"Yes, I think that would be good since you'd be better at speaking under pressure, and you know them better than I do," she tells me calmly. As the rest of the team comes in, I have Ravanna sit in the chair for when Anjali retakes control; she won't collapse on the floor. The last ones were Peter and Tony. "Stephen, what's going on, and why are Anjali's eyes glowing?" Bucky asks. "I'm going to tell you, and it's why I called you here," I tell them, and I see Peter coming up to Ravanna/Anjali and sitting on the floor next to them.  

"Okay, so Anjali and I went to the Sanctum because she told me her scars were bothering her, so I figured I'd use acupuncture to help. So, I placed the needles around her more prominent scar and in the antithetical of her outer ear. I also lit some incense to help her relax. I only noticed that this happened because her elemental tattoos were glowing. 

So, I checked her eyes; they were glowing, but it wasn't like she had gone to the spirit realm or the Avatar State, where she was in control. Right now, it's Ravanna who is in control. Ravanna is the Avatar Spirit that allows her to control the elements. If Anjali didn't have the Avatar Spirit, she wouldn't be the Avatar and be able to control the elements and travel between our Realm and the Spirit Realm.  

She didn't tell you this yesterday because the Avatar State is her most vulnerable state, and if her body dies, she can't come back from the Spirit Realm. She also promised her guru/teacher Elaina that she wouldn't tell anyone unless she could trust them or if something happened. The only people who know about this are her mother's side of the family, Ancient One, and I because we're allied with Gyatso Clan, who trains the Avatar. Her Grandmother was the previous Avatar.  

Ravanna chooses the next Avatar from her family when they are still alive and starts transferring herself to the next family member, she deems worthy of the Avatar's abilities and responsibilities. If anyone has questions, Ravanna will answer them as best she can," I finish and grab a chair to sit next to her. 

 "Ms. Ravanna, I'm Peter, and I want to know why you choose to come out today," Peter asks, facing me. "Well, I didn't mean to. It was an accident; I'm usually better at not interfering in her life, but I wanted to meet you all since Anjali is going to be here full-time, and she already cares for you all, and you don't have to call me Ms, Peter," tell them honestly. I see someone raise their hand, and I point to them. "I'm Tony, her father, and I want to know why you choose her from her other family members," he asks and crosses his arms.  

"Well, when her mother was born, I didn't think she was the right fit. I usually choose from the females because they can handle being the Avatar better. I do choose from the males occasionally if I think they’re worthy. When I looked into her mother's spirit when she was a teenager, I still didn't think it felt right because I saw something in her future that would darken her soul, so I didn't choose her. I can see some of the future, but only small parts, and it's that person, not everyone before you ask.  

When her older cousins were born, they didn't feel right, so I checked again when they were teenagers before officially choosing Anjali. Their personalities didn't feel right; the oldest is toxic, thinks the world revolves around her, doesn't take responsibility for anything, and is narcissistic. Her sister is better, but I didn't feel she could handle the duties, and I knew she would have children early.  

When Anjali was born, I knew she was the one right away, even though her cousins were still in the running. Though she has been through much pain in her life, she has always been kind and wanted to help people. I knew she would change the world as the Avatar and as herself. I sometimes skip a generation if I feel that's the right call," I tell them. 

I see a man with red and silver skin with a yellow stone on his forehead. I point, and he says, "My name is Vision, her brother since Tony is my creator. Why do you choose your person when they are teenagers?" "Well, because when my potential candidates are born, I don't necessarily get a sense of who they will be right away, but when they're teenagers, I better understand who they will be or become. I also look into their soul, and that's how I can see their future," I say, and I can feel Anjali's consciousness. 

Then I see a brunette with a metal arm raised, so I point to him. "I'm Bucky, or if you want to call me James, that's fine. What did you mean by a lot of pain in her life, and I'm guessing it's not just from when she was in China?" he asks. "It's okay; they would have found out eventually, whether I like it or not," Anjali tells me.  

"Well, her aunt committed suicide when she was eighteen while held captive by the Black Lotus clan. Her Uncle had died the previous year due to a car crash. She lived and couldn't take the guilt, so I guess Jane couldn't take it anymore after Anjali went to train and got captured. She overdosed on the sleeping pills she was taking.  

Her Grandmother Anne died a slow death of lung cancer, and in the last year of her life, Anjali spent as much time with her as she could and watched her die slowly. I could see both of their points of view since Anne was the previous Avatar, and I was transferring myself to Anjali so I could see what she was seeing. Anjali resented me for a while because she thought I could help heal Anne, but there wasn't anything I could've done; she was too far gone by the time they found out about it, and I had never encountered cancer, so I didn't know if I could help her.  

Anjali was thirteen when her grandmother died. But when I shared my memories of that time with her, she knew I was right. She was sad that her uncle died, but they weren't as close as she was to her aunt. 

Then after she came home, as you know, she relapsed and almost died from alcohol poisoning. She put herself through rehab after she got out of the psych ward. She got put in there because Cornelis thought she would try to kill herself again. Although she was eighteen when it happened since she endangered herself, Cornelis made her medical decisions for her. Luckily, she had improved enough to be released after a month and spend two months in rehab.  

She didn't actually like alcohol, but she used it to make herself numb from the pain and nightmares. She's been what you call sober for almost nine months now, and you should be proud of her. Her injuries were lacerations on her back, vaginal and anal tearing, broken ribs, and she had a miscarriage. Luckily, she can have children still," I tell them.  

They were silent as they processed what I told them. I can feel tears falling down my face. They're not mine. I feel that Anjali wants to retake control so ask them if they have any more questions. Peter asks, "Can you see and experience everything she does?" "I can, but usually, I just stay in the spirit world and help her there. Like I said earlier, this happened by accident. I try to let her live her life as normally as possible. I do try to help her when she's in danger.  

When she got captured by the Black Lotus, it was by surprise, and by the time I could get to her, it was too late, so she told me that she and Elaina were coming up with an escape plan. She told me that when the plan was ready, she would get me the week before they escaped to give her extra power if needed, and she did so; I took control in the Avatar State. I stayed with her until she got to the Kamar-Taj just in case she needed me. Could the rest of you introduce yourselves?" I ask as I finish. 

They introduce themselves as Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton, Phil Coulson, Thor, Wanda Maximoff, Bruce Banner, T'Challa, Shuri, Scott Lang, Hope Van Dyne, James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Sam Wilson, Happy Hogan, and Pepper Potts. "Thank you. Please take care of my girl. I'll let Anjali retake control now," I tell them, pull away from her consciousness, and return to the Spirit Realm.  

 As Ravanna pulled away, I started to see them better, and she told them everything from the looks on their faces. Tony, Vision, Steve, Peter, James, and Stephen look devastated; the others are crying or look anguished. Peter was the closest to me, and probably as soon as my eyes stopped glowing, he wrapped himself around me like an octopus. I didn't wrap my arms around him immediately because I was dizzy, and I concentrated on not falling over with Peter holding on to me. I felt someone lift Peter and me off the chair and onto the floor, so I lay down on the floor with Peter holding on tightly to me, and once I felt stable, I wrapped my arms around Peter tightly and put my chin on his head.  

Someone else approaches us, sits in front of Peter, and takes one of my hands. I opened my eyes, not realizing I had closed them. I look and see that it's Tony with Steve next to him. Tony lets go of my hand and reach out to take Peter, but I shake my head no because I was okay with holding him, so instead, he starts carding his fingers through my hair.  

Steve reaches out to take the hand that Tony was holding and squeezes my hand in reassurance. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys about Ravanna and all of what happened for me to get sober. I was ashamed because I subconsciously wanted my mom to come home, and I thought she would if I did something rash, she would come home. I should've gone to Grandpa Charles," I say. 

"It's okay, sweetheart. I can understand that, and who is Grandpa Charles?" he asks. "Charles Xavier is my biological maternal grandfather, and yes, he's the leader of the X-men. I have telepathic abilities, but he blocked them, and I haven't seen him in a year, so I haven't asked him to take it off yet. I haven't mentioned him or the X-men because I wanted to protect them since they run a school for mutants, and some of the students are too young to be trained to be X-men.  

Also, I'm not sure if any of you have had run-ins with them, so I didn't want to expose them," I say. "I've had run-ins with Wolverine as the Hulk and me but didn't know if he was part of them or not," Bruce says. "Yeah, but he isn't always with the team. He's kind of a lone wolf that way," I say.  

I looked down at Peter and saw that he was relaxed now. I sit up with Peter. Tony stops running his fingers through my hair and gets up to move behind me and embrace us. "There are two members of this team I have met before besides Stephen. Bruce and Bucky," I tell them. "Where have you met me, Anjali?" Bruce asks me. "When did you meet Bucky?" Steve asks.  

"Bruce, you met me when I was visiting Betty, and I met Bucky when I was two or three years old because my mother was a double agent with Hydra and Shield. She was in the high ranking with Hydra because I think you had to have a high rank to access him. I don't know why she didn't help him get away from Hydra, but I can ask Grandpa Charles to track her down," I tell them. Steve looks at Bucky with a look of betrayal.  

"I didn't realize I knew her until we talked this afternoon. She recognized me first because of my eyes. After that, the only thing we could remember of each other was our eyes. After every mission, my mind got wiped, but her eyes always stuck with me," James tells them.  

"Betty called me Sunshine all the time because I was always smiling. I would have been three or four the last time you saw me. I used to call you Ruse because I couldn't pronounce the b sound yet. I would call Betty Etty for the same reason," I tell him. I see a look of recognition on his face as I tell him the nicknames. "I used to call you Jude because you always wanted us to sing Hey Jude by The Beatles when you went to bed," he says, smiling at me.  

"I need to tell you one more thing. Ravanna didn't mention it because she didn't know about it. About two months ago, I was walking to my car after an A.A. meeting and heard screaming. I ran towards the screaming; a man was lying on the ground at the back of the Church where the A.A. meeting had been. I leaned down over him to see if he was okay, then someone came up behind me and told me if I didn't do what they said, they would kill the man and me.  

So, I nodded, and they raped me with a sex toy; once they were done, they left us, and I called 911, and an ambulance took us to the hospital. The man was Artie Underwood, one of the other A.A. members. A woman attacked us because she thought people recovering from addiction were weak and should stay weak. Luckily, I scratched her to get DNA, and the police arrested her.  

Her name is Anna Lopez. She raped and killed 12 other people before us. Artie died during surgery because he fought back, and she stabbed him in the stomach, and I tried to keep him from bleeding out after she was done with me, but she stabbed him to where he bled out too much. I didn't know she stabbed him until I called 911 and checked him for injuries, but even though the ambulances came quickly, it was too late.  

After getting processed for evidence, I stayed at the hospital to see if Artie would be okay. I called Cornelis to tell him what had happened and that I would be home as soon as possible. I didn't leave the hospital till two o'clock on the morning of June 20th, 2019.  The trial is in December, and I have to testify since I was the one who was able to get her DNA.  

Her DNA was in the system because she had a juvie record for assaulting her mother since she was an addict. She was at the A.A. meeting that night too, but I didn't realize it until the police showed me a picture to see if she had been there. She'd been in the group for over a month and heard me, Artie, and others talk in the group, but her targets were Artie and me. I would've used my powers, but it was too risky, and I couldn't explain it to the police if questioned.  

Thankfully the police caught her before she could rape and murder anyone again. She'll be charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and murder. I need to call the Prosecutor before the trial and before we go public," I tell them. "Did she target just alcoholics, or was it all kinds of addicts?" Peter asks, speaking for the first time in a while. "She mainly targeted alcoholics but went after other types of addicts.  

I need to return to Texas between Thanksgiving and the first week of December to prepare for the trial and stay for however long the trial lasts. I was thinking about spending some time with my mom's family and Cor then, if that's alright?" I ask, turning to look at Tony.  

"I think that's a good idea, but if we find your mother, what will we do for her?" he asks. "I mean, that's up to her if she wants to stay with us or if she wants to recover with Grandpa Charles," I tell him. "I was sober before this. When I was a freshman through my sophomore year, I would drink. I would drink two to three bottles of vodka, whiskey, and rum every other day and more on the weekend. I didn't get caught because I would keep myself hydrated and had a high tolerance.  

I hit rock bottom when my friend attempted suicide, and I was almost too drunk to help him. I was drinking then because I was depressed and wasn't handling it as well as I should've. I don't remember some of it because Mom made Charles block those memories so I wouldn't try to drink again. That failed, but I digress.  

Luckily, I called an ambulance and stopped the bleeding until they arrived. The police asked me if we had been drinking or using drugs. I told them I hadn't been drinking as much as he had and didn’t do the drugs.  

Friday, show them my medical records and the police report," I ask her. "They had me do a breathalyzer test, and I was barely under the limit; he had been drinking and doing heavy drugs, which would've done better than cutting. I'm not saying anyone should commit suicide, but those are the facts." 

"Sure thing, sis," she says, and I smile at the endearment. A projection shows the police reports on my rape and the suicide attempt my friend had. Then my medical records appear on the wall as well. Showing everything since I was born, I noticed that there are injuries that I barely remember, and they were significant.  

"Anjali, were you abused or trained to become a Shield agent?" Clint asks. I tear up and cry, saying, "I don't know, I don't remember. Mom could've had Grandpa get rid of the memories after I healed, and Cor. I need to call him," I say as I get my phone out and search my contacts for Charles' number.   

As soon as I found it, I pressed the call button on my screen and the speaker button on the call screen so everyone could hear as well. It starts ringing; after two rings, Charles answers the phone. "Hello poppet, how are you?" he asks cheerfully. "I'm okay, Grandpa. I need to ask you a few things," I tell him calmly. "Poppet, would you be okay with Opa joining this conversation? The questions you have may involve him, and I know he would like to talk to you too," he asks.  

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm telling you now that I'm with the Avengers, which means that Tony is here," I say. "I understand, and that's fine since some of what we're probably going to talk about concerns him too," Charles says solemnly. "I didn't mean to call you out of the blue, but we were looking through my medical records, and I couldn't remember some of it. I'm guessing that Mom made you block and change those memories with Cor, too," asked him quietly.  

"Yes, I did, but your mother threatened never to let me see you again if I didn't, and I will give you back those memories if you want them. I didn't want to change the memories; I wanted you to remember because some of the training you had was with us at the mansion, and when I took those memories, it affected your relationships with the others and Opa and I.  

“Who is her, Opa?" Tony asks. "Erik Lensherr. After trying to make mutants be accepted by force, he soon realized that his methods weren't going to work, and he joined the school as a mentor after my mom was born. They didn't officially get together until a few years before I was born because they're idiots," I tell them, and Charles laughs.  

"Wow, that's so cool and scary," Peter says in awe. I laugh because my Opa is a big softie but only for me. He can be stern, but he's kind and gentle, not just to me but also to his students and the other X-men. He doesn't like my other cousins except for the little ones.  

"Well, he's not scary when you get to know him. I'm his favorite grandchild. No, I'm not his only grandchild. I have another sibling that Mom is hiding from us. Grandpa and Grandma Anne know about them but don't know what happened to them. I vaguely remember Mom being pregnant again and then not after a year and no sibling," I say, thinking Peter may be that missing sibling, but we need to test his DNA. 

"Sonnenschein, how are you?" Erik asks. I'm assuming I'm on speakerphone like I put us on so we can hear. "I'm fine, Opa, but I need to tell you and Charles about Mom and that I'm with the Avengers and Tony," I tell him, and I feel a sense of dread, but it has to be done.  

I feel both Tony and Peter squeeze me for encouragement. "What about DeeDee do you need to tell us about?" Charles asks, concerned. "Well, when I came home last year after everything. I told Mom and Cor what happened, and she went AWOL and left. I don't know where she is or if she's okay. I think she went after the Black Lotus Clan in revenge for me. Grandpa, I figured it would be easier to ask you to find her since you have Cerebro," I tell them.  

"I will see if I can find her with Cerebro. How did you find out that Tony was your biological father?" Charles asks quickly. I tell them what's been happening the last few days with comments from Phil, Tony, Bucky, Steve, Peter, and Friday. We finish about thirty minutes later, and we agree that they'll call tomorrow as soon as they find her with Cerebro. We say goodbye, and I hang up. I feel so drained and glad that Dad and Peter are still holding me; otherwise, I would've laid down on my side and curled up into a ball. 

"It's going to be okay, kiddo. I'm sure of it," Tony says comfortingly. "Thanks. I need to get up," I say, letting go of Peter and moving away from Tony. I crawl a little bit and stand. I sway a little as I straighten up. I feel someone come to keep me from falling; I look up and see it's Bucky; I blush and smile at him. I look away, semi-embarrassed.  

When James lets go of my arms, I notice that the foundation I use to cover up my other tattoos has rubbed off onto his hands. All I can think of is crap. I have to show them now. I might as well get it over with and face it.  

"I have other tattoos besides my elemental tattoos on my back. I don’t actively hide them, but I wasn’t sure how’d y’all react to them,” I say. “These were my choice to have rather than part of my Avatar status. Pete, will you get the makeup remover from my bathroom cabinet? It's the Cetaphil Gentle Makeup Removing Wipes. Pete leaves to get the wipes. 

"Kiddo, you're over 18; you don't need permission to get tattoos. I don't care if you have tattoos; if they make you happy," Tony says and gets up to hug me. I start to cry in his arms because, for the first time, a person besides Cor, Charles, and Erik hasn't negatively reacted to my choices. My other grandfather, Mother, and other relatives have negatively responded to some of my life choices.  

When I came out as Bisexual when I was 15 years old, when I decided to get my degrees in bioengineering, forensic science, and computer science when I was in High School, or when they found out about my alcoholism, my sexuality, and addiction to alcohol I get, but my education was something I didn't get. I guess they were jealous, but I would think that my accomplishments would be something to be proud of, but no.  

"Kiddo, why did you get the tattoos?" Steve asks. "Well, when I was becoming sober again, I decided that I should reward myself with something I wanted for positive reinforcement, so I chose tattoos because I could express myself. None are inappropriate," I tell them as Peter walks in with the makeup remover. Pete hands me the wipes; I take a wipe from the box and start with my left arm since it has colorful ones. 

 I smile as the tattoos begin to appear. The first is the memorial tattoo for my baby, who I miscarried. The tattoo is blue and pink angel wings; under it, it says Baby de Jong with the year 2018 since I didn't know the exact date I miscarried. The next one is my bisexual tattoo. It's a triangle with the flag colors in watercolors. After finishing my forearm, I take my shirt off to get to the rest of my arm, show the entire tattoo, and get a fresh wipe.   

I start to wipe my upper arm to reveal Van Gogh sunflowers surrounding a quote that says The Way I see it, and Every Life is a pile of Good things and Bad things. The Good things don't Always Soften the Bad things, but Vice Versa; the Bad things don't Always Spoil the Good things and Make them Unimportant. I got this tattoo as a reminder not to let them win. It's a Doctor Who quote that spoke to me. Yes, I watch Doctor Who; it's still one of the shows I can watch that doesn't affect my PTSD.  

Once I finish with my right upper arm, I get another wipe to wipe my left forearm. I only have tattoos only on my forearms because they’re less painful than getting outer arm tattoos for now. As I revealed the next few, I wondered how they reacted, but I wanted to finish before looking.  

The first tattoos are the lyrics to Hey Jude and Let it be by The Beatles. I got them because they remind me to love and of my grandmother. The last one on my arm is my semicolon tattoo that says I am worthy with the semicolon as the i.  

The next tattoo is on my left lower leg. I got it when I first came home. Because of my nickname, the tattoo is a tribal dragon, and I wanted to feel like myself again. I haven’t gotten my eighth tattoo because I wasn’t sure what to get. 

 As she finishes wiping away the makeup, I can't help but wonder how strong she is for exposing herself to all of us. She's trusting us to understand and support her. She is so beautiful inside and out. I want to make her happy and feel safe with me. God, I hope I don't mess this up. "Wow, they're beautiful, Angel," I say in awe. 

She blushes again, but you can't always completely tell because of the redness she already has in her cheeks. She tells us what the tattoos are and why she got them. We all walk around her to get a better look at them. When I see the baby memorial, I can't help but wonder how she has dealt with this pain and trauma without doing worse than relapsing. 

"I had my family and future to look forward to, so I decided to deal with the trauma as best I could and get better for myself. I shouldn't have gone back to drinking in the first place, but with drinking, I knew that it would take away my pain most effectively, and it was a mistake. I can't read your mind, but I can read your face," she says somberly.  

"So, your bisexual?" Tony asks apprehensively. "Yes, is that a problem?" she asks back fiercely. "No, kiddo, because I'm bisexual too," he says as he comes up to embrace her. Tony being bisexual doesn't surprise me since I've seen him looking at Stevie, and it's not in he's my friend way; it's the I want to get him in my bed and more way.  

Steve should come out too, but it's still hard for him to deal with his sexuality even though it's better now. " I'm bisexual too," Bruce tells us. I can't say I'm shocked, but it's nice to know that other people here besides her and Tony are bisexual. "I'm bisexual too, and I'm not scared anymore to keep it hidden," Steve says.  

 Confessing that I'm bisexual was scary and relieving at the same time. "That's awesome. You didn't have to tell us just because we were doing it too," Anjali says as she walks over and hugs me. "I know, but I needed to because I don't want to lie to myself and others anymore," I tell them. "This is a safe place. I tried to make sure that my employees and board members know that because it's the right thing to do," Tony says informatively. 

 "Thank you, Tony, and I'm sure your employees appreciate it. I know I do," I say sincerely. Anjali let's go after I say this and puts her shirt back on. "I think we should have a movie night and comfort food," Tony suggests. “That’s a good idea, but a few more things need to be discussed,” Anjali says.  

 “Like what, Angel?” Bucky asks in concern. “There is another name for the Avatar, and it’s Guardian,” I tell them, and Thor gasps and kneels before me. “My lady, it is an honor to be in your presence,” Thor bellows. “Please, Thor, that isn’t necessary. I know my title is important, but I don’t want any special treatment from you,” I tell him. “Of course, my lady. To the rest of the Universe, she can control the infinity stones without needing aid as Thanos does,” Thor tells them, and I stare at him in confusion.  

“What do you mean I can control the infinity stones?” I ask with panic in my voice, and I start to shake. I feel my knees buckle, and someone catches me as I fall. “Grey, breathe; you are having a panic attack. Breathe with me, Angel. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four,” Bucky tells me. I started to breathe slowly in and out, but I started crying again because I couldn’t keep it anymore.  

I feel Bucky turn me around in his arms and hold me against his chest, rocking me back and forth. As if on instinct, I wrap myself around him like I’ve done it a million times before. “I’m not letting you go ever again, Grey. You saved me; now let me help you heal. I promise I will always be here for as long as I’m alive. Do you want me to stay with you tonight? He whispers to me softly.  

I just nod into his shoulder and squeeze him tighter. As soon as I feel calm and steadier, I lift my head from his shoulder, turn around in his lap, and look at Thor.  

“Well, when Loki first came back to Asgard, he told us what Thanos was planning, I guess, to get a lighter sentence from our father. He mentioned that he feared a person called Guardian who could control infinity stones with their will. I don’t know much else. I guess we would have to talk to him, but to be honest, I don’t know how much more he could tell us. I would say that we could go to Asgard and talk to him, but he’s dead as far as I know,” he tells us.  

“So, you don’t know if I can do anything with the infinity stones,” I ask cautiously. “I’m afraid not, and I apologize for causing you distress. I thought you would know about this, but I was wrong,” he says sincerely.  

“There’s one more thing I want to bring up, and I know that I should've brought it up yesterday, but it was to help a friend whose family wouldn’t let her make her own medical decisions so I could take over as her medical proxy.  

I’ve been emancipated since I was 17 because my mother wouldn’t let me control the money I inherited from my grandmother, and she stole from me. I know I said that she gave me money to go to China. Still, she also gave me money as an inheritance, but anyway, I got married to one of my dearest friends because when she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at 13, they were able to slow it down.  

But the treatment made her miserable, and when she turned 18, she decided she’d had enough. We talked to the Doctors, and even though they could slow it, there was no cure, so we put her on hospice. We discussed it and decided I would take over as her medical proxy since I was emancipated. Getting married mainly was so her family couldn’t contest it.  

She died about three months later. I’m a widow, but I don’t see it that way. Friday brings up my marriage certificate, Dinah’s medical proxy, and Dinah’s death certificate,” I tell her. Friday brings up the documents I requested and some pictures of Dinah and I from social media, and I start crying again.  

Bucky holds me against his chest again. “This doesn’t change how I feel, and I admire that you would do that to help someone who needed you,” he says, pulling me closer. “Why did she want to die?” Nat asks. I look her in the eye and say,  

“She didn’t want to suffer anymore, and there isn’t a cure for Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Her needs were my priority, that’s what she wanted, and I wasn’t going to deny her. Her family only wanted the money that she inherited from her great-grandparents. 

Which I inherited after she died, I put that money in investments, but I haven’t touched it otherwise. I didn’t even want the money from my grandmother, but because Mom was using it without my knowledge, I had to get control of it back. I used it for college tuition, and Mom used it for her undercover work without my knowledge or permission. So, I had Mom pay me back and blocked access to the trust.  

So, if you think I was a bitch for it, go ahead. I don’t care. I did what was best for me at the time. I will not let you criticize me and put me down for it. Does that answer your question,” I say, and I get off Bucky’s lap, stand up, and cross my arms.  

“How much money do you have?” Tony asks. “The last time I checked during the previous quarter, I had close to 900,000 dollars, but that’s just from the money from my grandmother. Even though I used it for tuition, it was invested before then. 

From Dinah, I don’t know. I didn’t think about her money when I looked at my portfolios. I’ll call the bank tomorrow and ask what the amount is. I know when I inherited it was 600,000 dollars, and it’s been a little over two years, so it’s more now, so I could be a millionaire in my own right,” I tell them and run my hands through my hair. I need to get a haircut soon.  

“I’ll help you with that if you’d like,” Pepper offers. “I’d like that; thank you, Pepper,” I say. “You're welcome, kiddo. I’ve been doing this for Tony since you were probably born,” she says, coming up to me and hugging me. I hug her back, and as I let go of her, Natasha comes up to me.  

“I’m sorry, Anjali. I thought you were like your mom, and I was wrong. I’ve known your mom for a long time; I’ve seen what she’s done, and you are better than her. I want to be someone in your life if you’ll let me,” she says sincerely, reaching out her hand for me to shake. I shake her hand in agreement, and she grins. When I let go, I felt Bucky wrap around me again, and I put a hand on top of his around my waist.  

“Dad, we need to be honest with Pete,” I say. Tony looks at me solemnly, but he nods, knowing I’m right. “What do ya mean Anjali?” Peter asks. “Well, bud, I talked to Anjali last night, and what she’s revealed just now, we think you might be my son and her full sibling. We wondered if we could test your DNA against ours?” he asks nervously.  

“Would my DNA be able to be used because of the spider mutation?” he asks. “Well, we can test it and see. It doesn’t hurt anything to try with the spider DNA anyway,” I say cautiously. He nods. “Friday, pull up my DNA, my mother’s, Dad’s, and Peter’s, and test them, please,” I ask her.  

“I’ve already done it. When you and the Boss talked last night, I figured I’d take the initiative and run it. Congratulations, it’s a boy, Boss. Anjali and Peter are full siblings,” she says. As she finishes, I get out of Bucky’s arms, hug Peter tightly, and start crying again.  

“I’m so sorry, Kleintje; if I’d known, I would’ve found you sooner,” I say, holding on to him like a lifeline. He hugs me as tightly as he can without hurting me. I look up, grab Tony’s arm and pull him into our hug. He hugs us tightly as if he would never let us go.  

“Come on, let’s get something to eat and get Anjali some water so she can rehydrate,” Steve says. We break the hug and walk towards the kitchen. Peter is holding on to me like a lifeline. “Kiddo, I’m not going anywhere,” I say, taking his hand so that if he wants to hold on, he can.  

Steve gets to the kitchen first, brings me a glass of water, and gets out ingredients for Mac & Cheese, Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Tomato Soup cans to heat up, and Spaghetti and Meatballs. “I figured comfort food would be the best way to go after everything the last few hours,” Steve says, getting out pots and pans.  

“I can make hot chocolate. It’s super simple, and I can make it quick,” I say as I get up and pull out milk, a pot, cocoa powder, sugar, chocolate chips, and vanilla extract.  

I put the pot on the counter and pour all the milk because I assume everyone will want some. I use my powers to heat it, then add cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate chips. I stir them all together, then use my power to mix the ingredients.  

I don’t use extreme heat, but I use gentle heat that radiates from my hands, so I don’t damage the pot. As soon as I feel that the chocolate chips have melted, I put in three splashes of vanilla extract and stir it all together.  

“Wow, it smells delicious, Angel,” Bucky compliments. “Thanks. Could you get mugs for everyone, please?” I ask. “Sure, Grey, since I’m getting plates, bowls, and silverware for Steve,” he says, chuckling.  

“Well, do that first, then get the mugs. I need a few more minutes to ensure the vanilla is mixed in properly,” I tell him. After a few minutes, I get a spoon and scoop a little to taste. It tastes good, and I take it over to the other side of the stove, where Bucky is getting out the mugs. I take a look at the mugs. 

I grin at the icons, Tony’s Ironman, Steve’s shield, A silver star for Bucky, Thor’s Hammer, A green fist for Bruce, Nat’s Black Widow, Rhodey’s is War Machine, Vision, Wanda, and Pepper’s are red with their initials, Happy’s has a smiley face on his, Scott and Hope’s are an ant and a wasp, and Peter’s has his spidey symbol. 

 Not everyone joined us for dinner tonight. I see that Bucky laid out another mug for me. “Steve, where's y’all’s ladle so I can fill the mugs?” I ask, turning to look at him. “Uh, I think it’s in the drawer next to the refrigerator, but I’ll get it; you go sit down,” he tells me. I put my arms up in surrender and go sit down.  

After the hot cocoa was served, we ate dinner, and then I went to bed because I was exhausted. As I’m walking to my room, Wanda asks if we could hang out tomorrow since it’s been a while since she’s been around someone her age. I just nodded yes because it was easier.  

When I get to my room, I get some clothes, shower to get the rest of the makeup from my tattoos, and freshen up. When I get dressed, and out of the bathroom, I hear a knock at the door, and it’s Bucky.  

“Come in, James,” I say, waving him in. He came in, and he wrapped his arms around me. “I think we should go to bed, but I want to talk to you about us,” he says, and we sit on the bed on the side we plan to sleep on.  

“I want us to be together, but I need to clarify that I probably won’t be ready to have sex anytime soon. I am fine with being intimate in other ways like holding hands, hugging, cuddling, talking, kissing, etc. I don’t know how often I’ll have panic attacks. I need reassurance because of my mental issues, and it helps. Sorry but I want to be clear from the start,” I tell him, and he kisses me on my forehead.  

“Angel, I do understand that. We will work through it together. I’ll need reassurance, too, and I want us to take our time. I’m not going anywhere and want to be there to support you through your healing process,” he says, laying down and pulling me down with him.  

“I want to support you through yours, too, Blue,” I tell him, wrapping my arms around him. He nods and wraps his arms around me, pulling me close to him. “Friday, turn off the lights and put on Brisingr by Christopher Paolini, please,” I tell her, and she complies.  

“I’m guessing that’ll help you sleep?” he asks, and I nod. I close my eyes, James pulls the covers over us, and he rubs my back. Probably not even ten minutes later, I’m sound asleep, safe in the arms of my person. 

Chapter Text

I wake up to Anjali thrashing in my arms, so I sit us up and begin to reassure her and rock her back and forth. “It’s alright. You’re safe, beautiful. I’m right here,” I say, trying to calm her down, and I see that she’s looking up at me. “Are you really here? I’m not in the caves with them?” she asks timidly. 

“I’m really here, and I’m not letting you go, sweetheart; you’re in your room in Avengers tower in New York with me. Tony and Peter are here, you talked to your grandfather yesterday about your mother, and they’ll call when they find her. Is there anything else I can do?” I ask her. “Just hold me. It helps knowing you’re here with me,” she whispers. 

I keep rubbing her back. “I might have some light sensitivity later. It happens when I have nightmares about the caves since I escaped. I wanted you to know why I may wear sunglasses later when we get up.” She wraps her arm under my shirt. 

I laugh at her antics and ask, “Would you like me to take off my shirt so you can get better contact with me?” She looks embarrassed but asks, “If you don’t mind? Sometimes after flashback nightmares, I need something to ground myself, and touching, smelling, seeing, and hearing something real helps me come back to myself. I just don’t want you to feel uncomfortable or obligated.” 

“Doll, I told you that I was going to help you in any way I can, and if this does, then yes, I will,” I tell her and sit up to take off my shirt. “I’m just concerned that my vibranium arm will be uncomfortable for you,” I wrap around her again. 

“We slept like this until I woke us up; I’m not uncomfortable with your arm. I feel safe with you, Blue,” she says; she kisses me deeply and wraps around me tightly. I kiss her back; after a few seconds, I pull back and kiss her forehead.

“Let’s try and sleep some more, Doll,” I tell her. She kisses the metal part of my shoulder, then nuzzles the right side of my neck and settles down there. I just smile and run my fingers through her shoulder-length hair. We soon fell asleep and had no nightmares for the rest of the night. 

                                                           ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later that Morning~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up to my phone ringing. I groan at the light streaming through the window as I open my eyes. Bucky tells Friday to dim the window so I can turn around to answer my phone and grab a pair of sunglasses. 

I put on the sunglasses first, then answered the phone. “Hello,” I croak out, and I sit up with Bucky coming up with me, putting his chin on my left shoulder and wrapping his arms around me. 

“Cub, is that you?” Logan asks gruffly. “Yes, Lo, it’s me. Who else would answer my phone?” I ask confusedly. “Sorry, cub, I just worry, and I’ve missed you. Charles used Cerebro early this morning, and he was able to locate DeeDee,” he says.

“Okay, hold on and let me gather everyone, then everyone can hear, and we can plan together,” I tell him and check to see that it’s 7:30 am. “Yeah, cub, that’s fine. Should I call back?” he asks. 

“No, just give me a sec. Friday, tell everyone to gather in the common room stat,” I ask, standing up as Bucky lets go of me, and I toss him his shirt. 

Friday confirms the command, and I grab a random hoodie and put it on. I see Peter running towards me as we walk out of my room. 

“Woah, Kleintje, slow down, or you’re going to run me down,” I laugh as he slows; I put my arm around him and kiss his head. 

As soon as he sees my phone, he asks, “Is that Grandpa and Opa?” “No, It’s Logan, and he has some news for all of us, so let’s get to the common room, and we have news to tell Grandpa and Opa,” I tell him. 

I again bring the phone up to my ear and ask Logan, “Are Grandpa and Opa there, and am I on speaker?” “Yes, and you found them; I got another cub to love?” he asks curiously. 

“Yes, but hold on, let me get to the common room so we don’t have to repeat everything multiple times,” I tell him, chuckling as we walk to the common room. 

“Okay, cub, I’m going to put you on speaker now because everyone here is gathered together,” he tells me, and I roll my eyes. 

“Morning, everyone. I’ve missed you, and I’m sorry I haven’t called or visited, but I relapsed and needed to prioritize my sobriety,” I say. I hear multiple greetings from Storm, Bobby, Kurt, Hank, Grandpa, Opa, and Scott. 

“Where’s Jean and Forge?” I ask worriedly. “They’re fine. Forge is doing repairs and updates to the jet, and Jean is making sure the students have their schedules, rooms, and information in the system before the school year starts,” Charles answers as we walk into the common room. 

Almost everyone was there except Pepper, Happy, and Hope. I asked Tony and Scott about them, and they said they had urgent SI and Pym business that couldn’t wait till tomorrow. I nod and tell Friday to put the call on speaker so everyone can hear. Tony points to the sunglasses; I mouth light sensitivity, and he nods.

“Okay, I want to tell you some fantastic news we found out last night: Grandpa, Opa, and everyone else. Tony and I found my sibling, and his name is Peter,” I tell them, and they start cheering. 

Tony and I tell them that we had a feeling that Peter could be my half-sibling by him, and without asking, Friday ran all four of our DNA samples; it turns out he’s my full sibling. By the end of our explanation, they all were crying in happiness. “Grandpa, Logan called and said that you found Mom. Where is she?” I ask curiously.

“She is still in the Himalayas, but I can’t say for sure if she’s in the caves or at the Gyatso compound. We can send the coordinates from Cerebro, and you can pull them up on your end,” Charles tells us and sends the coordinates to me. 

“Friday, pull up a hologram of the coordinates,” Tony asks. As she pulled it up, I felt Bucky take the hand I was using to hold my phone before putting it in my hoodie pocket and taking off the sunglasses.

As soon as the hologram is ready, I feel dread wash over me as I see her exact location. She was in the caves, and I felt my knees buckle, but I stayed standing. Bucky wraps an arm around me in support.

“She’s in the caves, but I don’t know if she’s killed them all. I want to go on the rescue mission since I know the caves and can handle her when she’s in secret agent mode. Stephen, can you portal us to the Mansion and then to the Himalayas? 

It would be easier so everybody can meet all at once. I just kinda want to get it over and done with,” I say. 

Everyone agrees to meet back in the common room in 30 minutes to prepare for the mission. I get dressed, take my medications, and put on my dragon ring.

Once everyone was ready for the mansion and mission, we met back in the common room. I’m wearing layers since the caves are up in the mountains, and it gets cold during this time of year. I have a parka with me, but I’ll put it on before we portal to the Himalayas.

I want Bucky, Nat, and Wanda to come into the cave with me. I don’t want to use blood-bending unless it’s a last resort because it’s cruel, and it might be easier for Wanda to subdue her with her magic. 

I want Bucky and Nat to come in case I need backup for any members of the clan who are still alive. I’m sure Logan will go with us once I ask him to come since his sense of smell can help us find her faster.

When I walk into the common room, Tony, Peter, and Stephen are wearing regular clothing, while Bucky, Nat, Wanda, T’Challa, Steve, and Thor are wearing winter clothing. “Stephen, can you open a portal, please?” I ask. 

“Yes, Dragon, can you let them know we’re coming?” asks in return. I give Stephen a thumbs up, and he creates a portal to the Mansion. Once the portal is open, I take Peter’s hand, and we walk through first.

As I walked through the portal with Anjali, I felt excited to meet our Grandpa and Opa. Last night I thought I only had May and Tony, but now I have a sister, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. 

Anj gets tackled by a man and a beast with blue fur when we walk through the portal. Her hand gets pulled out of mine, and she starts laughing as she lands on the floor. 

“I love y’all, but you’re heavy, and you may be scaring your new cub,” she says, patting their backs, and they help her up. They turn to look at me, they get confirmation from Anj, and one at a time, they hug me. “Logan, Hank, why are you hogging my grandchildren? Did you even introduce yourselves?” asks a bald man in a wheelchair chuckling at the scene. 

“No, Grandpa, they didn’t, but you just did. Pete, I’m going to get the others,” Anj says, and she goes through the portal again and brings the others with her. When she brings everyone, she takes my hand, and we go toward Grandpa. 

“Grandpa Charles, this is Peter, your grandson, if you haven’t guessed yet. I’m sorry I haven’t been in touch lately,” she says as he rolls closer to us. As soon as he’s closer, he hugs us to him, and Anj starts crying. 

Seeing my grandchildren together is one of the greatest moments of my life. I hate what my daughter has done to them, but I would’ve lost them both until they were eighteen or forever if I had interfered too much. I wiped the tears off my Poppet's face as I let them go. 

“Poppet, I’m not mad at you. I love you so much. I love you as well, Peter. Opa and I will do our best to ensure that DeeDee doesn’t hurt either of you more than she has,” I tell them. 

As they step away, I see the others; I spot Tony immediately. Standing next to a blonde man in winter clothing, he looks like he wants to bolt from the room.

“Follow me, everyone, to the conference room, and we can develop a plan of action,” I say and start to roll out of the living/game room. 

Erik couldn’t wait any longer to see our grandchildren because he met us halfway to the conference room. Like I had earlier, Erik hugs and kisses both on their cheeks. 

“Erik, come on, let's get to the conference room so the others can see them too and meet the Avengers,” I say, smirking at the stink eye he gives me. Erik lets go of Peter, but he keeps an arm around our Poppet. She laughs at our antics since she’s used to it, and I hear some of the others chuckle at him too. 

“Let's go,” I say as I start to roll again, pushing the joystick up to go forward again. As we approach the conference room, Jean meets us at the doors. She smiles when she sees Peter and Poppet. I gesture for her to open the doors to go in.

As we walk into the conference room, I see everyone I’ve known since birth. I feel overwhelmed by Kurt popping right in front of me, and he hugs me. I hug him back, and I feel Opa let go of me so I can get hugs from the others. 

“Hi, everyone. I’m glad to see y’all. I want to introduce you to the Avengers that came with me, Tony and Peter,” I say as Kurt lets go of me. “T’Challa, is that you?” Storm asks and comes closer to look at him. “Hello, Ororo. It’s nice to see you again under better circumstances,” he says as he shakes her hand. 

After introductions, I hug the rest of the team. Once we are done, we sit down, and Grandpa brings up a holograph of the coordinates for us to see. 

“Okay, so DeeDee’s in the caves, but we can’t see how deep she is. Bucky, Nat, Wanda, Logan, and I should go into the cave and find her. Logan has a high sense of smell, so he can rule out the dead, so we can find her better. 

Wanda should subdue her with her magic if she gets too violent. I don’t want to use blood bending unless it’s a last resort because using blood bending could cause her to be agitated even more.”

“What is blood bending?” Steve asks. “I can bend the blood of a person or animal. I can control someone like a puppet, but their minds would be intact. I don’t like using it because it’s cruel and best used during the full moon. The full moon has already passed,” I tell them, and I shudder at having to do it unless necessary. 

“Steve, Storm, T’Challa, and Thor should guard the entrance and keep the weather as calm as possible,” I say, changing the subject back to the plan. They all nod in agreement. 

“Hank, why don’t we take everyone else on a tour of the manor? Get Dr. Reyes and the infirmary ready for DeeDee,” Charles suggests. Hank nods, goes over to Logan and whispers something in his ear. Logan nods and gives Hank a peck on the lips.

“Everyone should put comms in so we can keep in contact,” Steve says as he hands out to us. I put mine in my right ear to make sure I hear everything. We test them to make sure they’re working. 

“Can you open a portal?” Steve asks Stephen. Tony whispers something in Steve’s ear. As the portal opens, Bucky squeezes my hand encouragingly. 

We walk through the portal, and I face the caves that have haunted me for almost a year. I take a deep breath, put on my parka, and gather my courage to walk toward the mouth of the cave. Walking towards it felt like I was walking in slow motion. 

I look down into the cave as we get to the entrance, and it doesn’t seem as steep as I remember, but that could be because of fear and adrenaline. I’m holding onto Bucky’s hand like a lifeline. 

“Wanda, maybe it would be a good idea to use your powers to levitate us down there, so we don’t get injured unnecessarily,” Nat says, thinking the same thing I was. “Sure, I can do that,” Wanda says, as strands of her magic wrapped around us and lifted us safely down until the incline was flat.

When we landed, I produced a medium-sized fireball so that we could see. ‘Lo, do you smell DeeDee?” I ask hesitantly. “Yeah, but I’m also smelling someone else that I don’t recognize as well as decay,” he tells us, sniffing as he moves forward, and we cautiously move behind him. 

Looking around at the walls, I see dried blood on the ground. I squeeze Bucky’s hand as we walk deeper into the cave and start moving toward the cells and torture chambers. The cells were branched off to the left side of the cavern. The torture chambers are deeper in the center of the cavern. 

“Wanda, do you sense anyone besides us?” Bucky asks as I look toward the cells. “Yeah, but it’s hard to tell where they are,” Wanda whispers. “I want to check the cells to make sure nobody’s there, so we don’t leave anybody here,” I say, looking at the tunnel entrance and trying not to panic. 

“I’m going with her, give us about ten minutes, but I don’t think it’ll take that long,” Bucky says, squeezing my hand, and we walk into the tunnel. I see the first cell about five feet in front of us, and I walk faster toward it, listening carefully for movement. 

As we step in front of the cell, I see multiple dead clan members, and I gesture for Bucky to pull the bars from the wall so we can get a better look inside. He pulls the bars off the hinges and places it to the side. 

Stepping into the cell, I noticed that a throat slit had killed them, and their privates were mutilated. This is my mother’s work, knowing her sense of justice. I walk out after a minute; the rest of the cells are the same as the first. I ended up throwing up because of the smell on the way back to the others. 

“Are you okay, Angel?” He asks when I finish and gives me a water canteen to wash my mouth. I nod as I wash out my mouth and spit. I grab his hand and make another fireball so we can see. As we return to the others, they ask if I’m okay, and I reassure them. 

“Let’s keep moving. I’m sure she’s the one who murdered them, and we need to get her out of here; who knows what her mental state is,” I say, moving towards the torture chambers. 

As we got closer, I heard screams of agony and laughter. I signal for them to stop and be silent. I extinguish my fireball, lean against the wall, and move slowly toward the entrance. 

As we get to the entrance, the room is lit with torches around the room, and I see my Mother whipping the clan leader’s back to make the same scars as I do. He’s chained to a makeshift St. Andrews cross. I was horrified at the scene because this wasn’t what I wanted, but I have to stop her, so I let go of James’ hand and ran toward her. 

“Mama, stop. That’s enough,” I shout at her, going for the whip in her hands as she turns to face me. I grab the whip and pull her away from the leader towards me. 

“No, he has to be punished for what he did to you. I won’t stop until he has the same scars you do. Then I’ll mutilate his privates and slit his throat like I did the others,” she tells me distantly as we struggle for the whip. 

“Mama, that’s fucking crazy. Please come home. Cor and I have been worried about you. Please, Mama, don’t make me subdue you,” I say, looking her in the eye and ready to use blood bending. 

“No, I won’t stop until he’s been properly punished,” she shouts manically. I have no choice knowing she won’t stop. I notice that the whip has cut my hand. I let go of the whip and quickly used blood-bending to keep her still. 

“Wanda put her to sleep,” I ask, concentrating on keeping her immobile. When I see her eyes close, the whip falls out of her hand, and I put her in a lying position. Wanda starts levitating Mom to the entrance.

Then I put my attention to the leader Shiva. I’m surprised he’s still conscious, but knowing my mother, she probably knows how to keep a prisoner awake and aware of the torture. “Where is Elaina?” I ask in Hindu. 

He laughs and tells me, “She may have gone back to the Gyatso compound. I didn’t see the point in going after her when you two escaped so she could be dead for all I know.” I wanted to kill him, but I knew I would be no better than my mother if I did. 

After thinking of what I should do with him, I decided to release him from the cross, but I wasn’t going to help him other than that. I bend water from the air and use it to cut the chains. 

As the chains were cut, he slumped to the ground, and I backed away from him, but I kept my eyes on him. I also use the water to start the healing process of the cut on my hand.

“Don’t expect me to thank you,” he calls after me. “I wasn’t, and just because I showed you mercy doesn’t mean the others here will,” I tell him menacingly.  

 Bucky, Nat, Wanda, and Logan enter the room’s light, and Shiva looks at them in terror. Now I turn my back to him, knowing he wouldn’t attack me with the others there. 

Wanda has Mom floating in the air as I come closer to them. “Let's get out of here and go home,” I say as I get close to Bucky and retake his hand. “What about him, cub?” Logan asks, concerned. “Leave him; he’s not worth killing. Besides, he may die of exposure.” I begin walking back towards the entrance to the caverns. 

Logan nods, and he growls at Shiva as a warning. I grin and shake my head, walking as fast as I could to the incline so Wanda could levitate us back up to the entrance. Steve is the first to greet us and comms Stephen to open a portal back to the mansion. 

As soon as the portal appeared, I walked towards it, ready to leave this hellhole. I’ve faced my trauma, and I now have closure. I also feel as though I can breathe more easily. 

“C'mon, Angel, let’s go home,” Bucky says. I didn’t notice I had stopped before going through, and Bucky led me through the portal.

As soon as Anjali and Bucky step through the portal into the living room, I walk toward Anjali and hug her tightly. She hugs me back, seeking comfort from me as well. They were gone for less than an hour, but it felt like an eternity. 

“I’m okay, Dad. No one got hurt,” she tells me. I keep my arm around her, and we move out of the way.

The following two people to come through are DeeDee and Wanda. DeeDee is levitated onto the gurney that Charles brought up from their infirmary. 

As DeeDee is on the gurney, Angie walks over and stands next to it. The rest came through afterward, and I couldn’t help but look at Steve for a second.

“Where’s Peter?” she asks. “He’s with Hank in his lab. I figured it might not be good for him to see her like this,” I tell her, and she nods. She starts to cry, collapsing to the floor on her knees. I go up behind her and hold her to my chest as she cries. 

“Can someone get her some water?” I ask. “I’ll do it,” Logan tells me, and he walks out of the room. “We’re going to take Della to the infirmary. Let’s meet back in the conference room in twenty minutes. I want to make sure we keep her sedated and check for any injuries,” Charles tells us, and we nod. 

Anjali gets up, goes towards the gurney, and kisses DeeDee's forehead. Logan returns as they take her out of the room and gave Anjali a glass of water. She takes it and drinks it slowly. 

As she finishes, Hank and Peter come into the living room. When Peter spots Anjali, he runs up to her and hugs her. She hugs back, and they sway a little bit, then stop. “Did you get her here, okay?” he asks, and she nods, holding him.

After a few seconds, they release each other, and she takes off her parka, boots, and gloves. “Lo, could I borrow some gym shorts? I don’t think the ones in my room will fit me anymore since I lost weight,” she asks him, and he says, “Yeah, cub, what size do you need.” “A medium, please,” she tells him. 

He nods and kisses her head. “You have a room here?” Peter asks. “Of course I do. I used to spend most of my summer here before I started High School. The next time we come, I’ll show you, okay,” she tells him, and Logan walks back into the room a few minutes later with gym shorts and a bag. 

“I figure you’d want to take off some of the layers, so here’s a bag to put them in,” Logan tells her and hands her the bag. She puts the parka, boots, and gloves into the bag. “Thank you; I’m going to the bathroom. I’ll meet y’all in the conference room,” she tells us and leaves the living room.

 As I walk out of the living room to the bathroom, I pull out my phone and call Cor. I tell him everything that’s happened in the last forty-eight hours. When I walked into the bathroom, I told Cor goodbye and would call him tomorrow. 

I put my phone in the bag and began to take off the layers I was dressed in. I take off the two layers of pants, put on the gym shorts, and put them in the bag. Then I take off my long-sleeved shirt and put back on the t-shirt. I put the other shirt in the bag and double-checked to ensure everything was there. 

When I walk out of the bathroom, I spot Bucky down the hall, walking toward the conference room. “Buck, wait up,” shout. He turns, smiles, and stops so I can catch up to him. I wrap an arm around his waist and lean into his side. 

As we walk into the conference room, I see another Bucky standing next to Steve. I pull away from the imposter Bucky. “Mystique, change back now,” Charles says sternly. “Fine, you always ruin my fun,” Mystique laughs and changes back to her usual blue self. 

While this was happening, I took a seat next to Charles. “I’m sorry, Buck, I didn’t realize it was her. Aunt Mystique, what are you doing here?” I ask. 

“Well, I was in New York on business, and I figured I’d come visit Charles. When you came in this morning, I saw you were close to this young man. I figured I’d mess with you for fun,” she tells us. 

I roll my eyes; this is a usual occurrence. Bucky walks over, moves a chair, and sits next to me. “It’s okay, Doll, I understand,” he whispers, taking my hand in his. “Well, now that everyone is here, let’s begin,” Charles starts, taking my other hand in his. 

I take a deep breath and tell everyone what happened in the caves. Bucky, Wanda, Nat, and Logan share their observations as I tell everyone what happened. 

“Grandpa, I think she had a mental breakdown in the caves; she seemed manic and hazy. It might be best to slowly bring her out of the sedation to monitor her mental state,” I suggest squeezing his hand.

“I agree; from what I saw in her mind when I was in the infirmary, it didn’t look good. She should be awake by the end of this coming week; we’ll keep her within the mansion for a while before we let her leave,” he says and squeezes my hand back. “I’ll tell Cor, and he can decide if he wants to see her,” I say. 

“Can we go see her?” Peter asks hesitantly. “Of course, we can if you're sure,” I say. He nods. I get up and hold my hand out for him to take. He grabs my hand, and we walk towards the secret elevator to take us down to the infirmary. When I get to the right spot, I press on the elevator panel. 

We walk into the elevator, and Grandpa, Opa, and Tony are behind us. Once we were all in the elevator, Opa pressed the button down one floor. “She’ll be asleep when we get there, so don’t worry about her getting upset and lashing out,” Grandpa tells us. I pull Peter into a side hug, and he hugs me back, seeking comfort. 

The elevator stops in the next few seconds, and the doors open to a hallway. We turn to the left towards the infirmary, and I keep an arm around Peter. I feel like if I let go of him, he’ll disappear. 

When we walk in, I see her reclined on a bed with an I.V. sedating and keeping her hydrated, and she also has a catheter in place. I let Peter get chairs for us to sit by her bed, and Opa puts an arm around me, so I know I’m not alone. 

Seeing her in that bed makes me feel like my heart is being crushed into billions of pieces. “Sonnenschein, no one could’ve stopped her. Now let’s concentrate on getting her better,” Opa says as he leads me to one of the chairs. I nod, trying to keep my composure, and sit beside Peter. 

“I need to tell you about the trial that’s coming up. In June, I was raped by a serial rapist and murderer, and I didn’t tell you last night because I thought it would be better to tell you in person,” I tell them. Tony and Peter take my hands in support. 

“When is the trial going to be? We’ll be there,” Opa and Grandpa say simultaneously. “The trial will be in December, but I don’t know the exact date yet. I will be calling DA Langley tomorrow since I have to tell him about Tony and what’s happened the last few days and figure out the next steps,” I tell them. 

“Alright, that sounds like a good plan. What is the plan for Peter when she wakes up?” Charles asks. “It’s up to Peter with precautions,” I say. Peter looks at me in shock and awe. “Really, Anj?” he asks, and I look at him. 

“She is your mom too, but we need to be careful because we don’t know why she gave you to the Parkers, and we don’t know how she’ll react to seeing you right now. When she wakes up, I’ll explain everything, and we’ll go from there,” I tell him honestly. 

“That sounds good. We need to tell May about this,” Pete says, running his hands through his hair. “We’ll tell her together with Dad. I want to meet her,” I tell him and hug him to calm him down. He nods into my shoulder and climbs into my lap to be closer to me. 

While holding Peter, I felt some kind of magic coursing through me. I start to shrink, and my body transforms into a dragon again. Peter starts to freak out since he has no idea what’s going on. “Anjali, what the heck is going on,” Peter asks. 

“We should probably go back upstairs and see if Dr. Strange can change her back,” Charles suggests, and he moves to take me from Peter. I wrap myself around Peter instead instinctively. 

“It’s alright, Poppet. I understand,” Charles says, chuckling as he comes closer and strokes my scales. I just nuzzle my head under Peter’s neck. “Come on, I know she’s adorable, but we need to get her back to her human self,” Opa says seriously, and Peter starts to walk out of the infirmary towards the elevator.

“It’s going to be alright, Angie. I bet Stephen knows what to do,” Peter reassures me. He gently rubs my scales and spines while walking with me to the elevator. I’m trying not to accidentally breathe fire or rip holes into his shirt with my claws. Tony follows us in shock at what’s happened.

The elevator ride was quick, and we soon returned to the conference room. I see Mystique standing outside of the doors as we approach. “Is that Anjali?” she asks, keeping from laughing. I growl at her and try to scratch her with my claws.

“Mystique, stop trying to antagonize her. She may be small but don’t underestimate the pain she can cause you if she wants to,” Opa warns her. “I wasn’t trying to, I was just wondering,” she says, and I roll my eyes. 

“Come on, let's go in,” Charles says. We went in, and there were gasps at me. 

When Peter, Charles, and Erik come in, we all gasp at the dragon that Peter has wrapped around him. “Oh, Dragon, what caused this to happen?” Stephen asks as he approaches them. “That’s Anjali?” Steve asks curiously.

Peter nods. Anjali looked around the room, and when her eyes locked on me, I could tell she wanted to come to me but was afraid. I slowly walked towards her and Peter so I wouldn’t scare her since she was only about a foot long.

As soon as I was close enough, she crawled onto Pete’s shoulder and jumped onto my chest. She wraps around me like she was with Peter when they came in. “It’s alright, Angel; this doesn’t change how I feel about you,” I reassure her and kiss her head. 

“We're not sure what caused her to transform Stephen, but I’m sure you can change her back, right?” Charles asks calmly. “I can, but I’ll need to do some research afterward to prevent her from turning into a dragon again,” Stephen informs us. 

“We should go back to the tower to do that since she might want to sleep in her bed afterward,” I suggest as I look at her, and her eyes start to close.

Her scales are black with blue hues. “Is she okay, Buck?” Tony asks as he slowly approaches us. “I think she’s fine, but I think today is emotionally tolling on her, and she’s most likely to want to sleep when she transforms back,” I tell him.

“Alright, everyone, let’s get back to the tower so I can change her back,” Strange says as he makes a portal back to the tower. As soon as the portal opens, I carry my Angel and head to her room. Strange and Tony are following right behind us. Tony has the bag she put her other layers of clothing and phone in. 

I open her door and go into her room. I look down at her, and her eyes are closed. I smile because I know she feels safe enough to sleep in this form; I put her down on her bed, put her under the covers, and sit with her. 

“Alright, let’s change her back,” Strange says as he makes symbols with his hands. When he finishes the spell, he projects it toward her, and it glows on her form. 

Slowly the magic started to change her back; first, it changed her to her original height and size, then back to her human form from head to toe. Her clothes appeared as well as she was changed back. 

“I think we should leave and let her sleep. Someone can wake her up around 1:30 so she gets a few hours of sleep,” Tony suggests, and he kisses the top of her head. I get up, but she grabs my arm, so I sit up against the headboard, and she uses my leg as a pillow. 

“Don’t worry, Tony, I don’t mind her using me as a pillow. We just decided to be in a relationship, so she’s going to want me close,” I tell him, and he rubs his face with his hands.

 “If you hurt her, Barns, I will kill you,” he says, pointing a finger at me. “I don’t plan to,” I assure him, and he nods and leaves the room. 

“The same threat comes from me too. Hurt my Dragon, and I may do worse than kill you,” Strange threatens. “Stop threatening my significant other, Stephen,” Anjali mumbles. I chuckle as Stephen leaves, and I run my fingers through her hair. 

“We need to come up with a plan to get people together like Steve and Dad, Clint and Phil, and whoever else along the way because if we don’t, I doubt they’ll get their heads out of their asses,” she says, and I burst out laughing because it’s true. 

“After your nap, okay,” I say, and she nods as she gets comfortable. 

                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A few hours later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Around 1 o'clock, I feel Anjali start to stir. I spent the time mostly trying to figure out what to do for our first date. I was thinking of maybe cooking something for her, and we just get to know each other better. 

I rub her back, so she feels safe to wake up some more. “Come on, Angel, wake up so we can get some food for you.” She groans a little, and her hand feels around the bed for a clear spot so she can use her arm to prop herself up. 

As she props herself up and sits on the bed in front of me, I see a small cut on her palm, I’m guessing from the whip. “Is your hand okay, Doll,” I ask in concern. 

“Yeah, it wasn’t that bad, to begin with, and I healed as much as I can for right now,” she tells me as she stretches and pops some of her joints. I took her hand and kissed it. She smiles when I look at her. I pulled her closer and kissed her gently on the lips. 

She kisses back as gently as I had, wraps her arms around my neck, moves to sit in my lap, and wraps her legs around my waist. We ended the initial kiss and gave each other a few pecks. “I wasn’t scary, was I?” she asks nervously as she slightly pulls away to see my face.

“No, Grey. You did what you thought was right, and you didn’t use blood bending unnecessarily. You did what needed to be done, and I’m very proud of you for not killing the clan leader even if you probably wanted to,” I tell her honestly and kiss her forehead. 

I feel so lucky to have this woman in my arms. She hugs me tightly and puts her head under my chin. I hold her just as tightly to me, knowing she needs reassurance. I will do everything in my power to keep her.

After getting reassurance and cuddles from Bucky, we went to the kitchen to eat something and see people. As we walk into the kitchen, Wanda’s sitting at the counter, and Steve is heating up leftovers from last night. 

“Hey, what are the options from the leftovers?” Steve glances up and grins, “Well, we have tomato soup, mac & cheese, and spaghetti. What would you like?” he asks as he grabs bowls for me and Bucky. 

I go to sit next to Wanda. When Steve hands Bucky the bowl, Bucky goes behind the counter and serves himself some tomato soup.“I’d like some mac & cheese, please,” I say, and Steve fills the bowl with it.

“Did you have a good nap?” Wanda asks curiously. “Yeah, thank you for asking. Did you still want to do something today?” I ask between bites of mac & cheese. “If you're feeling up to it. I would like that,” Wanda tells me. 

“Yeah, just let me finish and change into something less loungey and casual to go out.” I finish eating about ten minutes later; I get up, kiss Bucky on the cheek, rinse out my bowl, put it and my fork in the dishwasher, and hold my hand out to Wanda. 

“Come to my room with me so we can leave after I get changed.” 

“Be careful out there; let me give you my number so if you need me, you can call me, Doll,” Bucky says, pulling out a flip phone from the early 2000s. I pull out my Samsung galaxy s9, so I can put in the number he gives. I call him so that way he has mine. 

Once that was done, Wanda and I left the kitchen to my room to change clothes. “What were you thinking about doing?” I ask as I change into a pair of black Capri leggings and a dark blue mid-thigh skater dress. I also put on black tennis shoes and a dark grey cardigan. I grabbed a small cross-body bag and put my wallet, phone, and a fidget cube in it. 

“Well, I was thinking maybe getting our hair done. I don’t know about you, but I could use a haircut,” Wanda says as I leave the bathroom where I had been changing.

 “Oh yeah, I definitely could. I let my hair grow out way too long,” I tell her, chuckling. I already know that I’m going to get a pixie cut. 

“Come on then; I know of a place about twenty minutes away driving, and Tony lets us use the cars,” Wanda tells me; she takes my hand, leads me to the elevator, and we go down to the garage. 

I sent a quick text to Tony, letting him know what was going on, who I was with, and that I would tell him where we went when we got there. Friday gave me his number and put it in my phone for me.

When we got to the garage, Wanda picked up keys from one of the pegboards. The keys went to Tony’s white Audi R8 Spyder. Tony texts back, saying, have fun, be careful, and let him know where we went and when we’re on our way back to the tower. 

We get into the Audi and leave the tower garage. We parked in the Essex St parking garage near the salon about twenty minutes later. We take a five-minute walk to Fox and June Salon and talk about doing karaoke this evening after dinner. 

As we walk into the solan, I notice Anjali tense up a little, but she relaxes again once she feels for the place and the people. She pulls out her phone, probably to text Tony where we went. 

“Hello, Ladies. How can I help you this afternoon?” an employee asks. “I want a pixie cut with a low fade. Wanda?” she asked me. “I want to cut my hair to my shoulders like hers,” I tell the employee and point to Anjali’s hair. 

“Alright, we can do that; let’s get you first since your haircut will be quicker while my associate finishes with their customer,” He points to me as he leads me to a chair and puts a smock around me to keep the hair off my clothes. 

“So, do you want it to look exactly like hers, or did you want to do some layers?” he asks as he gets his tools ready. “I think a shoulder-length bob would be nice,” I tell him shyly. “I can do that. Did you want to do color or leave it for now?” he asks. “I just want the cut, for now, thank you,” I tell him. 

“Alright, let’s get started,” he says. I nod, and he starts to cut my hair. After about five minutes, I hear Anjali getting service from the other hairstylist. Anjali tells her what she said to my hairstylist when we first arrived, and they get started.

About five minutes into Wanda’s haircut, the other hairstylist gets done with the person she was servicing, and the customer pays and leaves. The stylist quickly sweeps up the hair from the other customer and gestures to me when she’s done. I pulled out my phone to see if I got a response from Tony and Bucky. 

“Hi, my name is June, and what will we be doing today?” she asked me, and I told her what I told her associate Denny earlier. I showed her a reference picture of my hair, a pixie cut, and the low fade I wanted. The low fade is to help with air bending. Some air benders would shave their head completely, but that isn’t my preference. 

June starts by tying my hair back to cut off as much hair first, then she shapes the hair to fit my face, and I tell her that I wanted my top hair length like Ginnifer Goodwins but with another inch off. I look in the mirror to see how Wanda is doing. I see she went for a shoulder-length bob instead of just shoulder-length hair. 

I hear my phone notifying me that I got a text. I take it out to see who texted, and it’s Bobby asking how I am since we didn’t get to talk today. 

I text back: I’m doing okay; all things considered, I’m going to go to a meeting sometime this week.  

He texts back: Good. Kurt and I love you, kiddo. 

I text back: I love you guys too. I’ll probably see you guys when Grandpa wakes up, DeeDee. 

James texted back: Ok.

I needed to take a picture of us and use it as my home screen wallpaper. Bobby texts back a thumbs-up emoji. I exit Bobby’s text page and check my other messages. Seeing that I don’t have any, I put my phone back into my purse, pull out my fidget cube, and fidget with the glide/joystick to help me focus on what June is doing. 

June is working on the fade when Denny finishes with Wanda; she tells him to wait until I am finished to pay, and she sits in the waiting area to wait for me. June finishes with me about ten minutes later. 

She styles my hair as much as she can since my hair is in shock. She tries to ensure that not too much excess hair gets on and in my clothes. 

Considering today's events, I planned to shower anyway, but I was grateful she did. As soon as she was finished with me, I got up from the chair and pulled out my wallet to pay for us. “I’m paying this time, and no arguments, Wanda; the next time we do something, you can pay,” I tell her sternly, and she holds her arms up in surrender. 

I chuckle as I get out a card to pay. I also pull out two twenties as tips for both stylists. We thank them and leave for the parking garage. I tell her we should have a fun night on the drive back. 

When we got back to the tower, I texted Tony and Bucky that we were back on the way back to my room to shower and change into comfy clothes so I could go to bed when I want to. 

I grab my black Beware; for I am fearless and therefore powerful t-shirt, a sports bra, underwear, and my black Halloween-themed pajama pants. I shower, get all the tiny hairs, and wash my freshest tattoo thoroughly with antibacterial soap. 

While putting on my pj’s, I heard a knock on my door. “Who is it?” I ask. “It’s Steve. Can I come in? Hold on; I just need to put on pants,” I tell him as I pull on my pants. Once I got my pants on, I grabbed non-scented lotion, walked towards the closet, grabbed some socks, and walked back to the other side of the room to open the door for Steve to come in. “How are you doing,” I ask as Steve comes in. 

He chuckles and says, “Shouldn’t I be asking you that question? I like the haircut; you look more like yourself.” “Thanks, I do feel more like myself. I just haven’t had the motivation to get my hair cut lately. I was concentrating on being sober and graduating, which I’ve done. I’m doing okay, but I’ll be better when we wake up, Mom,” I tell him, and we sit on my bed.

“That’s good, Firebird. Can I ask you something?” Steve asks me. “Sure.” “Do you think that Tony wants to be with me?” Steve asks. 

“Well, before I answer that, I need to ask you a question,” I say. Steve nods for me to ask. “Are you ready to be a parent to me and Peter and any other children that come along the way and be his partner?” I ask, looking him in the eye, and I open the non-scented lotion and start rubbing it onto my tattoos. 

“Yes, Firebird, I am, and I have been trying to be there for Tony and Peter since the Accords council ruled Buck innocent of killing King T’Chaka. We talked about our issues about what happened during that situation. 

I promised that I would be more honest about everything. I haven’t told Tony about my feelings because I don’t want to ruin our friendship if he doesn't return my feelings,” Steve tells me. 

“Well, I think he wants to be with you, but he’s cautious because of everything that’s happened, from being betrayed to learning to trust people again. 

You need to prove that you want him for him, not for the money, fame, etc. Tell him your intentions, be honest and woo him. I can probably get Peter to help us, but are you ready to do what it takes to win him, be what he needs, and is this what you truly want?” I ask and squeeze his hand. 

“Anjali, I have never wanted anything more than to be a parent, Tony’s partner in everything. I understand that you don’t want everyone in this situation to be hurt, but I have no intention of hurting you guys. What are your intentions with Bucky?” he asks. 

“I intend to be his partner if he’ll have me. He is the reason I made it out of that cave last year. I promised myself I would try to find him after I got home and finished school. I didn’t realize that Bucky was already free. I only remembered his eyes clearly since they made him wear a mask that covered the lower half of his face. 

When I saw him on Friday, I felt a pull to him, and I wasn’t planning on doing anything right away, but we recognized each other. I guess we made a silent agreement to be together. We did talk about it, we’re going to be going at our own pace, and I’m not going to hurt him,” I tell Steve. 

“I know, Firebird. From how protective you are of Tony, I do not doubt that Buck is in safe hands, and you're safe in his hands,” he says. 

“I felt that pull too. I like the haircut, Angel; maybe this is a sign that I need one too. Steve, are you finally going to woo Tony?” Bucky asks as he walks in, kisses the side of my head, sits behind me on the bed, wraps his arms around me, and pulls me to his chest. 

I smile and place a hand on his hands. “I’ll support you if you do, and I’ll even cut it. Mama Ann taught me how to cut hair, and I kept practicing, but if you prefer to go to a professional, I understand, Wolfie,” I tell him. 

“Did T’Challa tell you what the Wakandans called me when I was there to heal and get rid of the Winter Soldier slash mind control?” he asks curiously

“No, it just felt right,” I say and squeeze his arm. Steve chuckles, and there is a knock on my door. “Who is it?” “It’s Peter. Can I come in?” Peter asks hesitantly. “Of course, bub, come in,” I tell him. As he opens the door, I notice that he looks upset. 

“What wrong, Kleintje?” I ask as I get up and hug him. “Dad is getting angsty in the lab, and I don’t know how to help him,” he tells me. “It’ll be okay. Here’s what we’re going to do. Let’s get him out of the lab. Steve, Wanda, and I think it would be good to have a casual party to lift the mood after the last few days. 

Friday, tell everyone that we will be having a casual party to boost morale after dinner, and it’s optional. Steve, you start dinner and get snacks ready for the party. Buck, will you please help him? When I get Tony out of the lab, I’ll help too. Come on, Pete,” I ordered.

“Your wish is our command. Let’s go, Steve,” Bucky says, and we all walk out of my room. Peter and I walk to the elevator to the lab. “I like your hair Anj; what do you think we need to do to help Dad?” Peter asks, concerned. 

“Well, we’ll see when we get there, but I think I know what this is about, so hopefully, we’ll be able to help him. Just follow my lead, okay,” I say, kissing his forehead and hugging him. Peter nods and hugs me back as the elevator stops on Tony’s lab floor.

Peter puts in his passcode as we get to the door. As we walked in, I noticed that Tony was looking at suit designs for someone. “Dad, are you okay?” I ask as I walk up to him, hug him, and place my chin on his shoulder. 

“Hey sweetheart, I’m … Whoa, I like the hair,” he says as I let go of him, and he swivels around in his chair. “Dad, you’re dodging the question,” I say as Peter brings the other office chairs over to sit together. 

“Well, seeing DeeDee again put me through a loop, if I’m honest. I hate that she did that to you two. You could’ve been raised together; I could have been there sooner. I just feel like you two deserve better,” Tony tells us.

“Dad, I understand, but even though it’s not ideal, we’re here. When it came to me, Mom wanted to keep me safe from Stane and your reputation at the time. I don’t know what happened exactly during her time with Hydra, but I feel that they made her have Peter even though her pregnancy with me was hard on her. 

It’s probably why when she gave birth to Peter; she gave him to the Parkers to keep him safe from them; unlike me with Peter, she could say that he died during the birth. Sorry, Pete, but it could be likely knowing her. I’m not saying she’s perfect, but she'd do anything when trying to keep us safe. 

When it comes to you being in our lives sooner, I would’ve been here sooner if Mom had let me skip grades in school, but I think she wanted me to have as normal of a life as possible. I would’ve been here sooner if the Black Lotus Clan hadn’t kidnaped me, but I wouldn’t be the person I am now if I hadn’t been. 

 We can’t change some things and expect the same outcome. If you change one thing, it changes everything. You came into Peter’s life when he needed; I’m guessing, a father figure in his life after being bitten by a radioactive spider, even if you messed up at first. From what I’ve seen the last two days, you worked to do better by him. 

We will develop our relationships in time. Peter and I will learn how to be siblings since we were raised as only children, and we’ll all learn to be a family to each other and whoever else becomes a part of it together,” I say honestly. 

“She’s right, Dad. I’ve wanted to do that for a while, but I wasn’t sure if you were okay with me calling you that,” Peter says shyly, and Tony pulls us both in for a hug. “Bambino, I’m proud that you wanted to call me that,” Tony tells Peter as he pulls out of the hug to look at us. 

“Come on, there will be a party after dinner to lift our spirits, and I promised to help in the kitchen. It’s going to be casual so wear something comfortable. I’m wearing p.js already if that gives you an idea of the dress code. 

Dad shut down for the day, change clothes and come hang out in the kitchen or something.” I say as I get up and start walking out of the lab. Pete chuckles and gets up to follow me. 

“Dad, I’m going with Anj up, then I’m going to change clothes and meet you guys in the kitchen,” Pete says as he gets to the lab door. “I’ll be up in a few minutes,” Tony tells us. I feel my phone going off in my pocket. I see it’s Uncle Clarence calling me, so I accept the call. 

“Hey, Uncle Clarence, how are you?” I ask. “Hey, Sweets, I’m fine. A little while ago, I got a call from Charles telling me that DeeDee was with him at the mansion. What happened today? How are you doing?” he asks, concerned. 

“I’m doing alright, and we’re having a party to boost morale, so that’ll help. It’ll be easier to explain when Mom wakes up. How’s the grouch doing?” I ask about my other grandfather, Peter, and I enter the elevator. 

“He’s fine, just grumpy that he can’t go to a rally for a while, but he’ll get over it. Aunt Minnie and Deb are fine, but they have to deal with the brunt of it,” he tells me, and I chuckle. 

“Oh, I have some news, but I’ll wait until Mom is awake so she can help me explain. It’s good news, but it’s complicated, and I don’t know the whole story, so please be patient, okay?” I asked, rubbing the back of my neck. 

“Of course, sweetheart, I have to give your gramps his meds and get him to do his PT. Love you,” he tells me. “Love you too. Bye.” I hung up after he said bye back. 

“Who’s Uncle Clarence, Aunt Minnie, Deb, and Gramps?” Pete asks me as I put my phone back in my pocket. “Uncle Clarence is Mom’s older brother. Deb is Gramps’ new wife, Aunt Minnie is our Aunt, and Gramps is our step-grandfather, if you want to be technical about it. Gramps is being a grouch because he recently fell again and sprained his wrist getting out of the motor home,” I say and roll my eyes at Gramps’ antics. 

“Then what’s the name of the uncle that died?” “It was Tim; he was the youngest out of them. He’s our older girl cousin’s dad. The ones that Ravanna told y’all about last night. Lynn is the oldest, and her sister is Kenna. Uncle Clarence has twin boys that he and Aunt Minnie adopted. Their names are Oliver and Owen. 

You and I are the youngest of the original grandchildren. Mama Ann had a younger brother and sister as well. We have cousins from them too, but I would have to do a flowchart to explain,” I tell him, chuckling, and we get off the elevator. 

Peter walks towards his room to change into comfortable clothes, and I head to the kitchen to help Bucky and Steve prepare for dinner and the party. 

Bucky and I worked on dinner for about fifteen minutes when Anjali showed up to help us. “Hey guys, what can I do to help?” 

“You can help us get plates, cups, silverware, and napkins in the dining room since everyone will be joining us and a few others. 

Then we’ll set up for the party in the big common room. Buck, can you show her where the dining room is and help her carry everything,” I say as I get out 30 plates, napkins, cups, and silverware. Peter and Wanda appear in the kitchen when Buck and Anjali leave to set the table. 

“Anything we can do to help?” “Yes, Peter, can you help Anjali set up in the dining room, and Wanda can you see what needs to be put in the living room, like drinks and snacks, please?” I asked and checked to ensure that the ovens were at the right temperature and ready to cook the two big pans of meatloaf.

“Yes, Steve, we can do that. Do you think the alcoholic drinks should be removed?” Wanda asks. “Don’t remove the alcohol on my account but thank you for thinking of me,” Anjali says as she gathers the cups. “Are you sure it won’t be a temptation for you?” Peter asks.

 “No, Pete, I’m okay. I don’t have the desire or urge to drink. Unlike nine months ago, I’m in a better mental place and have learned better exercises to deal with my trauma. 

I’m planning on going to a meeting this week to establish a place to go when I have temptations or just need someone to talk to about drinking,” she tells us sincerely and turns around to put the glasses in the dining room.

Bucky comes back to help me put the meatloaves in the ovens. “Hey, Steve, should we put some wine glasses out for anyone who wants wine?” Anjali asks as she and Tony walk into the kitchen. Tony looks less stressed than he was earlier when we came back. 

“Ah, sure, take fifteen or so since not everyone wants to or can drink wine,” I tell her as I go to the cabinet and grab some for her to take. “Okay. Pete, help me get the rest of the glasses, please, bub?” she asks as Peter walks back into the kitchen. Peter grabs the rest of the glasses and follows her with napkins.

“Are you okay, Tony?” I ask as I start preparing marble cake for dessert. “I’m okay, thanks to what Anjali said. It helped me refocus on what I can do rather than what I can’t. I want to be the best possible Dad that I can be. To them and others that may come along,” he tells me.

“I’m glad I was able to help Dad. Steve, who all is going to be here?” Anj asks. “Sharon Carter, May, Ned Leeds, Peter’s friend, Hank and Hope Pym, Janet Van Dyne, Everett Ross, and everyone else,” I tell her. She made a face at the mention of Sharon. 

“Sharon is one of my cousins. Her Dad married my great Aunt,” she tells us. “Why didn’t you tell us you were related to the Carters?” Tony asks, turning on his stool to look at her. 

“My great Aunt is the only one I considered family from the Carters. Sharon and I aren’t close, partly due to the 20-year age gap, and she thought that out of the cousins, she was the only one worthy of Aunt Peggy’s time, even as we all got older. 

When Aunt Peggy showed interest in me, she lashed out at me when I was training with Mom, with Aunt Peggy giving advice. She asked if she could test me, and she broke my wrist and bruised my ribs on my right side. 

I did some damage but not as much as Sharon did. I was nine,” she ends as she grabs the water jug from the fridge and pours some water into a glass. She puts the water jug back after getting her water. 

“I’m sorry, but I doubt Peggy would’ve let it go that far,” I say. “She and Mom were able to stop her before she injured me worse than she already had. Don’t let me influence you. 

But if she sees me, she’ll show her true colors. She also may have an unhealthy obsession with you, Steve. Just warning you,” she tells us. 

“What do you mean?” I ask curiously. “Well, from what Mom and Aunt Peggy told me. When Sharon was younger, she would always ask stories about you like you were a fairytale Prince rather than a person, but that’s mine and Mom's thoughts. I’ll shut up now,” she says. 

“Hey, I’m not mad, Firebird,” I say, squeezing her shoulder in reassurance. “I don’t like her either, Doll,” Bucky says. “I thought you liked her?” 

“She gives off mad and hateful feelings when I’m around her for some reason,” Buck tells us as he wraps an arm around her, and she leans into his side on her stool.

I want that with Tony so bad, but I just need to gather the courage. I finish mixing the ingredients for the marble cake as one of the ovens goes off. So, I took out the meatloaf and put the marble cake in. 

Wanda came back five minutes after Steve popped the cake in the oven. “How come you remember Sharon breaking your wrist and bruising your ribs but not having a broken leg?” Dad asks in concern. 

“I don’t know, but when we return to the mansion, I’ll ask Grandpa to return my memories. I don’t want to be in the dark anymore either, dad,” I tell him and squeeze his hand. “Maybe we should go on Friday and see her. Grandpa will let Uncle Clarence and I know if anything happens.” 

“Uncle Clarence?” Tony asked. “Mom’s older brother. He’s the second patriarch of the family since Gramps is getting older, but he’s still their Dad, so that’s why he’s still the head until he dies. 

Mom gives medical advice since she’s a nurse. Most of my cousins have children except one of my older cousins and me.” I start to tear up a little at the thought of my little one, and I touch their memorial tattoo. I felt Bucky kiss the side of my head.

“Why don’t we have some fun to relax before the rest of our guests get here,” Wanda says, and we all agree. “Friday, tell everyone we’re going to start the party, and if they want to join, they can. We’ll break for dinner, then start again afterward,” I tell her as we go to the living room. 

“Let's do Karaoke to start,” Peter suggests with a mischievous smirk. “How? We don’t have a karaoke machine,” Tony says as we gather around the sectional. 

“There’s this thing called YouTube. We don’t need a karaoke machine. We just need a way to get to YouTube. Is there a t.v or a tablet we can use?” I ask. 

I was oblivious to the t.v right in front of us, so they gave me weird looks. “Right, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. Remote?” I ask, and Tony gives me a Roku remote. I use it to turn on the t.v, download YouTube onto the Roku, and put in my login information. 

“Don’t judge the content,” I say as the homepage comes up with content all over the place. There are cleaning videos/blogs, different music/lyric videos, parodies, TikTok compilation videos, lgbtqia+, mental health, and meditation videos. 

“Who wants to go first?” I ask as I get to the search bar. “Me and you should go first to show‘em how it’s done,” Peter says, and he tells me that we should do “Make a Move from Shrek the Musical.” 

“I’ll be Donkey, and you’ll be the Three Blind Mice. Who wants to be Shrek and Fiona?” I ask as I pull up the karaoke version on YouTube. 

“We will,” I see Natasha and Clint walking in wearing sweats and Disney shirts. Clint’s wearing a Brave shirt with Merida, and Nat is wearing a Ducktales shirt with Webby. 

“Awesome, let's get this party started,” I say as I press play. Peter, Nat, Clint, and I walk around the sectional to the sides of the t.v to see the lyrics. 

I start singing Donkey’s part and dancing a little to the song, with Peter coming in a few seconds later as the mice. We’re dancing and having fun with Nat singing Shrek’s part while Clint sings Fiona’s. 

After their part, we sing the rest. When we finish, I high-five everyone, sit down next to Bucky, and he wraps his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. Hopefully, certain people got the hint.

Clint sings American Pie next. Tony sings Twisted Sister’s We’re Not Gonna Take it. I sing One Little Slip by The Barenaked Ladies from Chicken Little. As I finish singing, I see Sharon and Everett come in. Sharon looks shocked to see me, but then her face turns sour. 

Everett smiles at me and comes over to hug me. “Hey, kiddo, how are you?” he asks. “I’m doing alright. How are you?” I ask as I hug him back. 

“I’m fine, but how and why are you here?” he asks, and we separate from our embrace. “I’d like to know, too,” Sharon says, crossing her arms as she approaches us. 

“Well, that’s a long story that will be told when everyone arrives,” Steve says, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Aunt May and Ned are about 10 minutes away, so we’ll wait for whoever else,” Peter says as he puts himself in front of me to put space between Sharon and I. “Hank, Janet, and Hope are almost here, so it won’t be long,” Scott tells us as he walks in. 

“As you can see, cousin, it’ll be easier to wait for everyone, so we don’t have to keep retelling the story so many times,” I smirked. Sharon makes an angry expression but doesn’t snarl since Steve is there. I chuckle silently. 

“Come on, everyone, since most of us are here, let's go to the dining room,” Tony suggests as he walks towards us and wraps an arm around me and Peter.

I nod, and we all start walking toward the dining room. Steve, Bucky, and Wanda go off towards the kitchen, and I’m guessing, to get the meatloaves, sides, and cake. 

As we walk in, I take a second to admire Peter and I’s table layout. I see Peter hold up his hand for a high five, we do, and I ruffle his hair afterward, chuckling at him. A few minutes later, I hear a gasp. “Della?” I hear who I assume is Janet Van Dyne ask me. I turn to face her, Hank, and Hope. 

“No, I’m her daughter Anjali, but Hank knows me as Diana. I met Hope and Scott on Friday. Hi Hank,” I say nervously, rubbing my arm. 

“It’s been a while, kiddo. Sorry, I didn’t come to your High School graduation, but Hope, Scott, and I were trying to bring Janet back and dealing with a double-crossed deal gone wrong and a former assistant on the Goliath project,” he says as he hugs me. 

“Wow, that sounds exciting and stressful at the same time. You missed my college graduation, too, but I wanted to keep it simple. Sorry for not telling y’all that I knew Hank; I wasn’t sure if you’d believe me,” I tell them as I let go of Hank. 

“You look so much like Della but also like someone else. I can’t quite put my finger on it,” Janet says as she looks closer at me. “Well, you’ll find out soon enough,” Scott says, winking at me. 

I hear another gasp as May Parker and Ned Leeds enter the dining room with Happy. “You're Diana, aren’t you?” May asks as she approaches me and the others. 

“Well, yes, but that’s my middle name now. I go by Anjali,” I tell her and hold my hand out for her to shake. 

Instead, she hugs me. “I’m so sorry that you and Peter were kept apart. I asked Della if she wanted to take Peter back after Richard and Mary died, but she said that it wasn’t safe, so Ben and I raised him as best we could,” she explains. 

“I’m grateful that you, Ben, Richard, and Mary did; otherwise, he wouldn’t be who he is today,” I tell her as I hug her back. 

“So, you knew Della had another kid?” Tony asks. “Yes, but she never told us either child's father was. She brought Anjali with her when she gave Peter to Richard and Mary. 

We took pictures too. I’ll have Peter bring them the next time he comes home and back to the tower,” she tells us as I let go of her and tear up a little. 

“Our Grandfathers and I would love that. Let’s all sit down to eat,” I say, leading everyone to the dining room table. Steve sits at the head of the table with Tony and Nat at his sides. 

I sat between Dad and Peter, Ned, Shuri, May, Happy, Pepper, Vision, Bruce, Rhodey, Everett, and Stephen, sitting on our side. Nat, Bucky, Sam, Sharon, T’Challa, Hank, Janet, Hope, Scott, Wanda, and Clint are on the other side. Phil sits at the other end. 

The big pans of meatloaf were sliced up, and a spatula was there to help serve ourselves. “So how and why is Anjali here?” Sharon asked as we were getting our portions. “If you want to know so badly, you’d better be quiet and listen,” I say as I finish cutting up a slice of my meatloaf. 

She huffs at me. “Well, as most of you know already, I applied to work for Stark Industries, and I had to submit a DNA sample because SHIELD found out who my mom was, so they wanted to confirm. I compiled since I figured they could tell me who my father was, and Phil came to my door on Thursday.

He told me that my father was Tony Stark.” I hear gasps at this, the loudest being Sharon. “Phil also told me that Tony wanted me to come to the tower, and I agreed, so I packed what I needed and called him Friday morning to take me to New York, and here I am,” I told them.                                                                 

“Then the next day, we found out that Peter was also my child, which makes Anjali and Peter full siblings, and I couldn’t be happier,” Tony says, and he looks at us proudly. 

“How is it that you always get the lucky break?” Sharon asks. I started laughing like what she said was a joke. “Luck had nothing to do with it. I wouldn’t have been kidnapped last year and tortured if it had. I wouldn’t have nightmares, reliving the torture of whipping, strangulation, or screaming until my voice was hoarse. 

Hearing Elaina screaming because of the same suffering from the torture, miscarrying my baby even if the way they were conceived wasn’t ideal, hearing them laugh at our pain, and the torture continued even if we passed out from the pain. 

I was raped both anally and vaginally by their leader and his right-hand man. We escaped because we outsmarted them; Ravanna was able to give me a power boost and heal some of my wounds. I don’t know what happened to Elaina.

I traveled non-stop for a month, only sleeping a few hours at a time. I almost got captured at least three times. I clasped as soon as I got to the Kamar-Taj. Stephen and The Ancient One healed what they could, but I wasn’t ready to go home yet, so I stayed and trained until mid-November. 

When I got home, I told Mom and Cor what had happened, and she left to seek vengeance. Not two weeks later, I relapsed after being three years sober because I wanted the pain to stop. I almost died because I drank too much. 

The only luck I’ve had is that Cor found me in time. The rest was determination and hard work. I worked to get sober again and have been for almost nine months. I graduated with my two bachelors and associate degrees in May. 

I applied to work with Stark Industries back in February. If I hadn’t gotten the job with SI, I would’ve gone to Grandpa’s school to teach or work elsewhere. 

I’m sorry that some of your choices have gotten you bad luck, but you didn’t have to help Steve go on the run from the government or go to Madripoor. 

You undoubtedly didn’t have to get involved with Hydra and drag my mother back into it under the threat of kidnapping and experimenting on me again.” I calmly say, looking her in the eye. 

“H-how?” she asks, stunned. “The money, Sharon. You didn’t think I wouldn’t look to see where it went since I was emancipated. For the rest, I just put the pieces together. Your nondenial isn’t helping your case. Plus, I have all the records, so your toast. All I want to know is why you did it,” I say, readying myself to fight if need be. 

“I wanted revenge against the government for casting me aside after everything my family has done for them. The money was for bribes and to become the Power Broker on Madripoor,” Sharon tells us manically, and a swarm of SWAT agents from both S.H.I.E.L.D and CIA. “Handcuff her and take her to the helicarrier,” Phil instructs the agents; I get up and hand over the flash drive with all my evidence. 

As I gave Phil the flash drive, I looked at the shocked faces around the table. “Can you explain what just happened?” Ned asked. “Some of you know that I was emancipated when I turned 17 because I wanted to access the money my grandmother left me and help Dinah with her medical decisions. 

When I went to the bank with the trust, I noticed that half the money was gone. So, I went to my lawyer to help me get the money back. I got about 55 percent back, but the rest went elsewhere, so I hacked the bank and traced the money to Madripoor. 

Then I contacted Everett because I knew I could trust him with this, and I’ve known him since I was 4 or 5 because he worked with DeeDee,” I tell them. 

“I then pursued the lead and got back the rest of the money. We waited to apprehend Sharon to get more concrete evidence against her.” “ I filled in Phil when he got here,” Everett explains. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. Everything happened quickly. I managed to text Everett our signal as Peter and I were setting the table earlier,” I tell them, tapping the chair. 

“It’s okay, kiddo. Just remember you are not alone anymore. Next time try to tell someone the plan before you execute the plan,” Steve says, standing up and comes over to me and hugs me. 

I hug him back in thanks. As I let go of Steve, Bucky hugs me tightly. Having already gotten up, he walked over to us, and I hugged him as tightly as I could. 

“Come on, everyone, let's eat this fine meal that Steve has made, and then we can go to the living room to have some fun after dessert,” I say, kissing Bucky on the cheek. He kisses my forehead, walks me back to my seat, and walks back to his after pulling out and pushing in my chair for me. 

As we’re eating, Mrs. Van Dyne asks, “Is Della still seeking vengeance on your kidnappers, Anjali?” 

“No, ma’am. We found and got her out of their lair this morning. She’s at the Manson with Charles. She’s sedated because we don’t know what her mental state is. We just want to ensure that she doesn’t hurt herself or others,” Anjali tells her. 

“Charles Xavier, her biological father?” Mrs. Van Dyne asks incredulously. “Right, you weren’t here when they decided to try and have a better relationship. When Aunt Peggy assigned Mom to infiltrate Hydra. Mom thought it would be good to have someone as a safeguard if something happened. Grandpa was apprehensive initially, but Erik convinced him to try. 

Mom was honest about her intentions, and they worked on their relationship when she wasn’t working as a double agent. It hit a few snags after Peter and I were born, but it’s considerably better than when she was growing up. You know more about it than I do, Mrs. Van Dyne,” Anjali tells us between bites of meatloaf. 

“Please call me Janet, everyone. Can I ask why you go by Anjali instead of Diana?” Janet asks. “Well, growing up, we were around Dinah’s family, the Hudson’s, since Gramps and Mama Ann have been friends since before Uncle Clarence was born. 

So, since our names sounded similar, our grandparents would call us by our middle names, and I liked Anjali better. Dinah liked her first name better than Grace. When Cornelis decided to adopt me when I was 10, I asked if I could change the name order they agreed. Cornelis is my stepdad,” she tells them. 

 “Wow, I never thought she would ever get married,” Janet says. “Well, it took some convincing, but he won her over. Cor will let Grandpa know if he wants to come to see her later this week or wait. Cor wants to see what happens when she comes out of sedation. She was in a manic state when we found her,” Anjali informs us. 

“Is she going to be okay?” Aunt May asks. “I think so, but monitoring her is just a precaution. We’re going back Friday to see her; if you want to come,” Anjali says as she pops her fingers. 

“No, at least not this time. I look at Ned to check on him since he’s been quiet for a while. We shouldn’t overwhelm her,” Aunt May says, and Anj nods. 

He’s just eating and listening to what's going on. We finish eating about fifteen minutes later and head back into the living room to have fun. 

Dinner was informative, to say the least. As we all leave the dining room, I notice that Bucky is standing by Anjali, and he puts an arm around her. 

She leans into him, wrapping an arm around him. I feel a hand squeeze my shoulder and smile. I turn around to face Thor. He’s silently asking if I’m okay. 

I just smile and nod. I’ve been back for a few months after Thor sent me back via the Bifrost from Asgard. Our romantic relationship is relatively new after coming back to earth. Thor and Loki managed to defeat and reason with Hela. She, Thor, and Loki all co-rule Asgard together. Thor lied to the others about Loki, so they don’t try to go after him. 

Thor returned to Earth so they could have someone as a liaison between Earth and Asgard. We walk into the living room and sit at one end of the sectional. 

Peter and Ned start karaoke again with If I Didn’t Have You, the Billy Crystal and John Goodman version from Monsters Inc. 

I hear Anjali laugh as they perform the song. “Bruce, we should do Hey Jude together,” Anjali suggests. “Sure, that would be nice, but let's give some other people a chance to sing before we do, okay?” I ask, and she smiles and nods. 

After Peter and Ned, Hank sings When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge to Janet. It was charming. You can feel he loves his wife deeply. I look around and see Scott and Hope dancing to the song. 

I hear others humming along with Hank as he sings. After Hank was Shuri, she sang The Man by Taylor Swift, next was Nat singing Ain’t It Fun by Paramore, then we got up and performed Hey Jude by The Beatles. It’s been a while since I’ve sung this song, but I think I did okay.

“You did good, sweetheart,” Thor whispers. I blush. “Thank you.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders, and I relax against him. Not caring if anyone notices, I am happy and content with the person I care about.

I smile as I see Thor and Bruce cuddling together. I poke Bucky to look at them. He smiles too. “Well, at least we don’t have to worry about them,” he says, rubbing his hand up and down my arm. 

“True, but we do for Dad and Steve, Clint and Phil, Wanda and Vision. Unless Wanda and Vision are already together.”

“They all just need to leap of faith; otherwise, they won’t get what they want,” Bucky says as I fidget with his right hand. “I know.” I look to see that Steve is looking at us and nodding. 

Peter and Ned come and sit next to us. “Pete, when’s your birthday?” I ask. “It’s August 10th. Why?” he asks nervously. “Well, I want to do something for it this week, and now I know it for next year. Think about what you want to do, and we’ll do it,” I tell him. 

“Can I come?” Ned asks. “Sure.” They high-fived each other, and I chuckled at their antics. “Wait, what about M.J.?” Ned asks Peter. “She won’t be back from Florida until Friday, and we’re going back to the mansion Friday to see Mom,” 

“Right, I knew MJ would be back this week, but I forgot the day,” Ned explains. “Well, we could wait until Saturday if you want, but depending on what happens with Mom on Friday, I may stay for a few days to help Grandpa and Opa,” I tell them. 

“What would you like to do, Peter? The first thing that comes to mind, go,” I say. “Lego Store,” Peter says automatically. Tony sighs in exasperation, and the rest of us laugh at Tony. “Let me guess, that’s your favorite store?” I ask after I stop laughing. 

“Yeah, but we don’t have to do that if you don’t want to,” Peter rambles. “Bud, it’s for your birthday. If you want to go to the Lego Store, we’ll go to the Lego store. We’ll go on Wednesday,” I reassure him and hug him. 

“I was teasing you, Pete. I think the Lego Store is awesome,” Tony says as he hugs us from behind. “Just don’t go overboard, please,” May says from the other side of Ned. “That would be great,” Pete says, and Ned agrees.

“How about this? We get four sets. One for me, one for Peter, one that Pete and Ned can do together, and one that Pete and I can do together,” I suggest. “I’ll go with them to make sure they don’t go overboard,” Tony says, and Pepper laughs.

“What?” “Tony, you spoil him all the time.” “So!! He’s my kid. I am going to spoil him,” Tony exclaims, making hand and arm gestures. Everyone laughs, and I smile. 

“I’ll be right back. I got to talk to Pepper really quick,” I tell them and kiss Bucky on the cheek. He squeezes my hand as I walk away and let go of his hand. I walk over to Pepper, and we talk about my transition into my job. 

We decide to see what happens with Mom and go from there. With going public, we’ll decide after talking to the DA tomorrow. I thank her for understanding the situation and allowing the delay of my start date. Some employers aren’t so understanding. 

After talking to Pepper, I go back to the couch and sit next to Bucky. He put his arm back around me, and I leaned against his side. I noticed that someone put on Spotify to play music. 

When Lights Down Low by MAX came on, I asked Bucky to dance with me. We slow danced to the music, although I think Bucky would’ve liked a different slow song. 

On our date, we can dance to something like Elvis or other modern slow songs he might like. I look around and see Steve looking longingly at Tony from the bar. Tony’s sitting next to Peter on the couch, talking about something I can’t hear but looks animated. As the song ended, I looked up and kissed James. 

He kissed me back, gently pulling me closer to him. I ended the kiss, and we sat back down on the sectional. He wraps his arm around me again. I lean on his chest, put my head on his chest and start fidgeting with his hand again by drumming my fingers on his knuckles. 

“Why are you doing that?” “I’m stimming. It helps with sensory overload with my mental health. I was recently diagnosed with ADHD on top of having PTSD and depression.” I tell him, and I stop drumming my fingers. “Do you want to leave and go back to your room?” he asks, rubbing my arm comfortingly. 

“I’m okay for right now, but in a little while,” I told him reassuringly. “I don’t mind you stimming with my hand. I just wanted to know why. Will you tell me later what ADHD is?” he asks, kissing my hand. 

“Yeah. I haven’t told the others yet because I’m still coming to terms with it. I have good and bad days, but sometimes I don’t know if it’s because of the PTSD or the ADHD. Tell me if the drumming becomes too much for you,” I tell him and kiss his cheek. He smiles and nods.

About half an hour later, I start to feel the toll that today has brought, and I feel like I can’t keep my eyes open. “Time to go to bed?” James asks, and I nod. He unwraps his arm from around me. 

I get up and do my round of goodnights. Some are a bit disappointed they didn’t get to spend more time with me but understand that today was tolling on me. After finishing goodnights, I left the living room and went to my room. 

I hear a knock on my door as I finish using the bathroom for my night routine. “Come in,” I yell from the bathroom. I come out, and I see James sitting on the bed. “What’s wrong, Blue?” I ask, and I wrap my arm around him as I sit next to him. 

“I guess I’m feeling a little overwhelmed,” he tells me. “I know that feeling. What do you need?” I ask. “Can we sleep with soothing music? I don’t think a book would be helpful for either of us tonight,” he says as we pull back the covers. 

I pull out my phone and put it on the charger. “That’s fine. I like to have something playing. I usually put on a book because it’s comforting,” I tell him as we settle under the covers.

I also put on a piano playlist on Spotify. We don’t cuddle, but we touch in some way as we fall asleep. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better.