Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

- - -

Captain Marvel took a deep breath in, his legs folded beneath him as he tried to soothe his nerves. He gripped his knees loosely, eyes shut in concentration.

"You must clear your mind of all distractions," the Wizard's voice echoed throughout the cavern's walls, ringing in the demigod's ears. He drew in another deep breath before letting it out, trying to push any distraction from his head. He quieted the familiar buzz of the Gods in his mind, focusing on the endless expanse of space just outside the Rock of Eternity's walls.

"Focus your energy on what you want to conjure, and will it into existence," the old man's voice rang out in the Captain's ears. It was still strange to hear the man speak, as he was merely a spirit now, only visible while in the Rock Of Eternity. But, as always, Cap listened to the man's instructions.

He pictured a pen, something simple, something he could replicate easily when he tried this in his mortal form-- the entire point of this lesson was to get him better at magic while he was Billy, anyways, better to not picture something too difficult for his much smaller and much weaker normal form.

Cap's eyes snapped open, glowing gold as he breathed. "Erujnoc a nep," A flare of light and a simple pen fell from the air and into his hands. The glow faded from the demigod's eyes, a smile appearing in its place. "Nice," he said, looking around for the semi-transparent visage of his mentor.

"Wizard?" he called out, furrowing his brow in confusion. Where could the old man have gone? It wasn't like him to just disappear in the middle of a lesson. Maybe- maybe this was some kind of vague test? He wouldn't be surprised- Shazam had a tendency to be vague and mysterious.

"Okay, I'll just...keep going..." he trailed off, trying not to let it get to him.

He said the old man's name, evoking the magical lightning he'd grown so accustomed to to transform him. Light enveloped him and changed his form, stripping him of his godly attributes and replacing the form with that of a 12-year-old boy.

Billy shook his smoke and dust away, setting down the first pen he'd conjured in front of him. He stared at it for a moment before taking another look around- surely the wizard was still watching, even if he was no longer visible, right?

The 12-year-old shook off the nervousness he felt creeping up his spine- he was sure the Wizard was fine. He had to be. "Okay, clear your mind, and picture it," he said, closing his eyes and picturing the same pen as before. Billy held out his arms, brow furrowing in concentration.

The Wizard had explained to him that it was important he learn to control his magic in this form as it was much more unstable than when he was Captain Marvel- is wasn't as strong by any means, but it was still something to be reckoned with since it was so untamed. The last thing Billy wanted to do was hurt someone by mistake, so he'd vehemently agreed to be taught. Still, that didn't mean this was easy.

The boy felt a tingle in his spine, crawling up to his neck before shooting through his chest and traveling up his arms. He tried to concentrate despite the tingle, he knew that it was just his magic moving through his body, he knew that it wouldn't hurt him.

"Erujnoc a Pe--"

"CHAMPION." 

"--AAAGGHH!" Magic shot out from Billy's hands, striking the Rock of Eternity and leaving a smoldering black spot in the stone. Billy stared at it with wide eyes before turning his head towards where the sudden loud voice had come from.

Doctor Fate descended from the air, golden boots touching the ground as he looked down at Billy. "Champion," he repeated, his voice slightly less loud, but still booming. 

Billy scrambled up, giving the Lord of Fate a confused look. "Doc- Doctor Fate? What are you doin' here? Is something wrong?" he asked, nervous energy rolling off him in waves. It wasn't every day that someone was able to get inside the Rock of Eternity-- much less someone as powerful as Doctor Fate.

"I came to speak to your mentor about matters of the Universe- where is Magmarran?"

"Uh, I'm- I'm not actually sure. Wait, his name isn't Shazam?" Billy asked, tilting his head and scrambling up from his spot.

"That is his name now, yes. Before he became the guardian of the Rock of Eternity, he was Magmarran. Where is he?" 

"He's gotta be around here somewhere. I think his spirit is kind of tied to the Rock."

Billy felt a strange tingle crawl up his spine again, but he ignored it. "He kinda vanished in the middle of my lesson, so maybe he's, I dunno, hanging out wherever spirits hang out in the Rock?" he suggested as Doctor Fate turned his back to the boy and looked around the large cavern.

That tingle climbed further up his back, running along his shoulders and making BIlly shift uncomfortably. He glanced around to try and see what that could be, maybe something had fallen into his jacket from the ceiling-

He glanced back where he'd hit the wall of the cavern, finding a small, glowing light source covering the singed rock. "What the..." he walked closer to it, tilting his head at. the light and narrowing his eyes at it. "Hey, Doctor Fate? Do you know what this i-"

Light suddenly flared out from the source, enveloping Billy as Fate turned and launched himself towards the boy.

"Champion!" 

Fate's voice echoed out, growing distant as Billy's senses were overwhelmed. He shut his eyes against the light, the buzz in his skull becoming an overwhelming screech that had him pushing his palms against his ears in an attempt to block it out.

"What's going on?!" he yelled, his voice bouncing back and slamming into him. He felt his magic coil and leap inside him, and moved on instinct. "SHAZAM!" he yelled, feeling his magic flow outward before turning back in on itself, transforming him into his godly form.

- - -

Captain Marvel was suddenly launched forward like a bullet, soaring through the air, over a city street, between multiple skyscrapers, and finally landing on the pavement, grinding a large rut into the middle of the street as he slammed against the ground. The demigod groaned, his insides feeling like pudding as his head spun.

The man blinked open his eyes, bringing a hand shakily up to his head with a wince. "Ugh...not...my cleanest landing..." he muttered to himself, sitting up in the rut he'd caused and looking around. 

The street, thankfully, wasn't busy, so there was no one that he could have hurt, but that didn't tell him where he was. He stood, dusting debris off his shoulder before shaking it out of his hair and winding his shoulder back. He looked up in the direction he'd come from, finding that the portal had closed on him.

"Well, better Earth than someplace like Apokolips," he said to himself before glancing down at the tear in the street. "I should probably do something about that..." he said to himself, looking around for something to create a roadblock when the sound of rocket boosters caught his attention. 

Marvel glanced up to find a red and gold robot hovering in the air above him, its arms and legs propelling it to stay in the air with light blue exhaust. What that one of the metal men? He hadn't been aware that Doctor Magnus had made another one. The demigod gave it a small wave before turning his attention back on the damage- the machine was probably here to help or simply out for some kind of test flight, no need for him to bother it with idle chitchat.

Cap chewed on his bottom lip in thought before suddenly making his palm to his forehead. "Oh, duh, Cap, come on," he muttered with a shake of his head before throwing hand out towards the mess. He heard the robot land on the street behind him, but he ignored it in favor of concentrating on his conjuring.

"Erujnoc a gninraw ngis," he breathed, a roadblock forming out of light before falling out of mid-air. He caught it easily and set the object up. in front of the ruined section of the street, hoping that would keep anyone from getting hurt.

When he turned around, the metal man was closer to him, watching him with strangely slitted eyes. This robot was much more different than the others Cap had had the pleasure to meet- it was almost creepy how unexpressive the face was, though the way it held itself was almost like a human.

"Uhh... can I help you?" Cap asked, raising a brow at the robot.

"Yeah, you can tell me who you are and where you came from," the robot said before raising a glowing blue gauntlet towards his face. Cap raised his hands slowly and placatingly, eyes wide as he stared at the red and gold bot.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there. I'm one of the good guys, alright? Check your database, I'm sure Doctor Magnus put in some kind of facial recognition in there somewhere," he said slowly, keeping his body still. He could easily take this robot out, his lasers, or whatever he was threatening Cap with wouldn't do any damage, but he'd feel bad for having to return the guy in shambles if this was its first time out and about.

"Database- what? Who's Doctor Magnus?" the robot said, position unwavering.

Cap furrowed his brow in confusion- that didn't make any sense. Whatever he could roll with the punches. "I'm Captain Marvel. You recognize me now?" he asked slowly, keeping his eyes trained on the robot.

The bot moved its hand up to push a button on the side of its jaw, just below the ear plate, and suddenly its face was retracting-- and revealing a human. Cap's eyes widened- this wasn't one of Dr. Magnus's robots, this was a guy in a flying metal suit of armor. "Whoa..." Cap breathed, getting a confused glare from the man as the demigod dropped his hands

"Frankly, Captain Marvel, I don't. Do you know who I am?" he asked, though the way he said it told the Captain that he probably should have. Was there some profile he'd forgotten to read in the League's database or something? He'd never seen this man before in his life, and he was pretty sure he'd remember seeing a flying red and gold suit.

The man dropped his gauntlet and set his hands on his hips. "You don't, do you?" 

Judging by the exasperation, Cap was going to assume this guy wasn't a villain and that he probably needed a refresher with the League's profiles. He shook his head slowly, bringing his hand up to scratch the back of his neck. "No, sorry."

The man narrowed his gaze slightly, looking him up and down before meeting his eyes again. "Tony Stark, world-renowned billionaire playboy ring a bell?" he asked with a smirk, only to get a slow shake of the head from the raven. Though to be fair, he didn't really make a habit out of learning about every billionaire there was to know. He was sure if he asked Bruce or Oliver they'd probably know him.

"Right," Tony said, giving the man an unimpressed look before shifting his weight. "Well, why don't you come with me back to-" 

The man was interrupted by the whirring of a jet engine, and the pair glanced up to find a sleek black jet with what looked almost like miniature helicopter blades rotating on the sides descending from the sky. Tony sighed, glancing out of the corner of his eye up at the demigod before looking towards the jet and putting on a smirk. 

The jet opened, unveiling a group of people, most of which were dressed in leather for some reason...though Cap could tell some of them wore mostly kevlar. He raised an eyebrow at the sudden group of people taking up a defensive position against him, a man in red, white, and blue leading them. 

The man came closer, his circular shield at his side as he looked at the demigod warily before glancing at Tony. "Stark, what's going on here?" he asked, to which the man rolled his shoulders. "You bolted with no explanation after we got that reading and now you're..." the man glanced at Cap before looking back at Tony. He sighed before turning his full attention towards the raven. "Might I ask who you are?"

Cap smiled at the man- he was obviously military, judging by the stiff posture and the aura of command he held, and Cap was always happy to meet a soldier, even if he didn't always approve of their methods.

He held out a hand for him to shake. "Captain Marvel; nice to meet you," he said, waiting for the soldier to take his hand and shake it. He did, with a glance at Tony, before meeting Cap's eyes again.

"Captain America. I suspect you're not from around here?" he asked, dropping his hand.

The raven glanced around at the buildings- judging by their size and proximity to one another, he'd guess he was in a city much larger than Fawcett. So no, he wasn't from around here. Where even was here? "Oh, no, I'm from Fawcett City."

"Never heard of it."

"Yeah, it's not Metropolis, but it's my own little slice of heaven, you know?"

"...Metropolis?" Tony asked, raising a brow in confusion. "Well, there goes the God theory."

Captain America glanced at Tony with a mixture of confusion and warm resignation, shaking his head at the shorter man.

"Yeah, the hometown of Superman and whatnot," Cap said casually, catching sight of a red-haired woman glaring at him from afar. Her gaze sent shivers down his spine in a way that usually only Superman's x-ray vision could do and he looked away from her unnerved. He glanced back at the pair to find them still confused. "Wait, don't tell me you've never heard of Metropolis," he said with a chuckle, only to get blank stares.

His chuckle died, and he could almost feel the headache this entire situation could become coming on. "Oh no. Not my Earth," he muttered, bringing up a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and finding himself suddenly catching an arrow aimed for his temple on instinct. Cap opened his eyes and glanced towards where the arrow had come from, finding a sandy blonde man staring at him from afar with wide eyes.

Cap felt the arrow crackle with electricity in his hand and he sighed, squeezing it hard enough to snap the thing in half before dropping it and letting the object clatter on the pavement. He dropped his gaze from the archer in order to look between the men in front of him an chew on his lip nervously.

"Hold on, did you say not your Earth?" Tony asked, stepping in front of Captain America with a sudden spark in his eye. "As in Terra, Earth, this specific planet, the third one from the sun, that Earth?" Tony asked, and Cap could practically feel his excitement. "As in there's more than one?"

"I take it the multiverse theory hasn't been proven on this Earth yet, then?" Cap asked with a nervous chuckle, a small smile appearing on his face when Tony's eyes widened.

"This- this is amazing. I have to get Bruce. Bruce!" Tony said, rocketing off towards the jet and disappearing inside. Cap glanced at Captain America, who simply sighed with a shake of his head before looking at the demigod.

"Uhh...multiverse...?" he questioned, getting a shrug from the raven. "Look, why don't you come with us, back to our base of operations. You don't seem like a bad guy, Captain, and. better you come with us than SHIELD."

"What's Shield?" Cap asked with a raised brow. "Does it have something to do with that archer up there?" he asked, glancing back towards the archer only to find him gone from his spot. The man sighed, pulling off his helmet and surprising the demigod. They must not be so tight with secret identities here then. "The name's Steve. Steve Rogers," he said, holding out his hand again.

Marvel nodded, shaking it once more before scratching at the back of his neck. "This way, it's better if we get going now before Tony and Bruce decide to set up a lab in the middle of the street to dissect you," Steve said, getting a nervous chuckle out of the raven.

"I'm joking, Captain. No one's getting dissected," the blonde offered at the sight of Cap's reluctance. He took the lead towards the jet, and Cap sighed- guess he should follow him.

"What have I gotten myself into this time...?" Cap asked himself, glancing back up to where the portal he'd come from had been. He had a feeling he wouldn't be returning home for a while.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"What have I gotten myself into this time...?" Cap asked himself, glancing back up to where the portal he'd come from had been. He had a feeling he wouldn't be returning home for a while.

- - -

Captain Marvel was guided onto the jet (which was much smaller than any javelin he'd been on) but since it looked like there were only about five of these guys, they probably didn't need anything bigger than that. He took a seat on one of the benches in the back, leaning forward to stare at the metal floor in thought.

"How'd you do that?" a voice caught his attention, causing him to look up. He caught sight of the archer from before, sitting across from him with a suspicious look in his eyes. "How'd you catch my arrow, and what's more, how the hell did you not get electrocuted by it?"

Cap blinked at the blonde in confusion before sitting up slightly. "I uh- my reflexes are enhanced," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "And my powers derive from lightning, electricity can't do a thing to me."

The blonde kept his eyes locked on him before sighing and leaning back in his own seat. "Alright, I've gotten crazier explanations. Name's Clint," he said before pulling out a small device and giving it his complete attention. Cap nodded slowly before leaning back against the wall of the jet, glancing up when Tony came back from the front of the jet and plopped down beside him.

"Damn, this thing is cramped. Gonna have to invest in a bigger avenge-jet," he said, glancing around the vehicle. "So, Cap-i-tan, what's the story? How'd you get to be all adonis in spandex?" Tony asked, meeting the raven's eyes.

"Uhh...well um..." These people were really forward and open- it was such a strange departure from the secrecy back home. He was suddenly interrupted by another man joining them, a wide-eyed smile appearing on his face as he came back from the front of the jet. The doors closed as he came back and took a seat beside Tony, leaning forward to look at the demigod.

"Are you him? The interdimensional traveler?" the curly-haired brunet asked, straightening his askew glasses. Cap could tell the man was a scientist first and foremost just by looking at him- very unlike Barry, who he'd never guess to be a scientist in a million years. "Where are my manners, I apologize," he said, reaching over Tony to hold out his hand. "Bruce Banner; I'm a- or, I was a physicist. Now I'm...well, the Hulk."

Cap shook the man's hand with a grin as Tony gave him a look. "Hold on, there, Brucie bear, you are still a world-renowned physicist. Just cause you turn all big and green doesn't mean you can't still do scientific work."

The demigod furrowed his brow in confusion slightly- turn big and green...? What did that mean and why did it pique his interest? What was a Hulk?

"Ignore him, Tony lives in a fantasy world half the time," Bruce said, leaning back over to look up at him.

"I do not! I firmly believe that you can still do whatever the hell you want!"

"Okay, Tony."

"I will get you to understand that if it's the last thing I do, Banner, I swear."

Cap chuckled, shaking his head as he leaned back against the wall. Tony raised an eyebrow at him, and the ebony-haired man had enough decency to look guilty. "Sorry, you just remind me of some friends from back home," he said, his mind immediately going to Freddy and how he would do almost the exact same thing to the blonde constantly. 

"Looks like we're ready to land," Steve said, coming back from the front and glancing around at the collected group. "Nat's gonna bring us in slow- Tony, is JARVIS ready to receive the Avengejet?"

The billionaire nodded once, winking at the man before smirking up at Marvel. "You ready to catch us, J?" he asked allowed, slightly confusing the demigod before a sudden voice came from his suit.

"Always, sir."

Marvel blinked, grabbing hold of his seat as the jet lurched forward before stopping. He could hear the engine cut off before the door opened and a metallic staircase downward extended from the plane. Clint was up and out of his seat in seconds, shoving past the group and taking off out of the jet without another word.

The rest of the group followed suit, Cap clambering out of the small jet and onto what looked like a helicopter pad-- though the deck it was on jutted out from the side of a slick skyscraper with a glowing A on the side. Marvel glanced up and around, spotting the Chrysler building a couple of streets over and lighting up. "Oh! We're in New York! That's- okay, wow," he said, orienting himself on the landing and moving to the edge to look at where Gotham should have been. 

The Dark Knight's city and New York were so close together that Gotham's dark outskirts could be seen from within Manhatten- though when he looked at where that ever-present darkness should be, he found nothing. "Really is a different universe. No Gotham...no Metropolis..." his heart suddenly sank in his chest.

"No League."

"Uhh, Cap? Whatcha lookin' for?" Tony asked, coming closer to him and ignoring Steve's confused look and comment of 'I thought I was Cap...'. He came up next to the man and looked in the direction Marvel was, only to look back up at him. "You okay?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry. I was looking for a city that's usually right there, in my world," he said, pointing at where Gotham should have been. Tony nodded slowly, glancing between him and the others currently going inside before gesturing with his head towards the skyscraper.

"Come on, why don't we go inside?"

"Sure," Cap replied, following the man into the tower.

As soon as he stepped through the entranceway he could feel the cameras on him and glanced up at the corner of the room at a relatively small one before doing his best to ignore them altogether.

"So, Captain Marvel, you said your name was?" the woman from before, the one with bright red hair that put Bat Woman to shame, asked with narrowed eyes, her arms crossed over her chest. He nodded in reply, turning to look at the woman fully. "What's your business here?"

"I uh...I don't really have any. I didn't mean to actually open a portal and come here."

Tony stepped in front of the woman, now free of his metallic armor and guiding him towards the couch with a hand on his back. "Ignore her, she's a paranoid agent who doesn't get enough sleep at night," he said casually before sitting the man down. Cap blinked, raising a brow at Tony.

"Right..."

The billionaire pulled out a tablet and tossed it to him, something he fumbled with before managing to keep it from slipping out of his hands. "Take a look at that," he said as Steve grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him away and around the corner into what looked like the kitchen. Cap sighed, turning on the tablet and furrowing his brow at the giant STARK that appeared on screen.

So, was this guy like the Bruce Wayne of this world? Had his fingers in a bit of everything, including heroics? He pushed the thought from his mind and leaned back in the couch, bringing up Google and typing in words.

'Batman'.

It brought up a page on vampires and what zoos held bats.

'Superman'. 

It brought up various articles about something called 'mutants', as well as research on 'superhuman abilities'.

'Justice League'.

It brought up an MMO game and places where he could find a shop for little girl's clothing.

Cap sighed, rubbing at his chin in thought before chewing at his lip. No Justice League to back him up, no one that he was even familiar with. He wondered if the Rock of Eternity even existed here- it wasn't something he could google, but it was something he could sense normally and...

Well, he wasn't really getting anything that felt like a confirmation.

A sudden crash of rolling thunder outside caught the man's attention- the sky had been clear when they'd landed. He stood, setting the tablet down and looking out at the landing pad. Wait, could this be someone he knew? He felt magic crackle in the air around him, making him light up at the thought. Maybe it was Shazam or Dr. Fate! Maybe they'd managed to figure something out!

He gone in a flash, standing in front of the couch one moment and at standing in the doorway the next, unaware of the wide eyes he's drawn in doing so. He walked outside, looking up into the sky with a furrowed brow. The clouds were swirling above the tower, magical energy surging around him, but it felt- different.

He'd expected a lightning bolt of some kind of arc down from the heavens and strike the landing, it was something he was more than familiar with. So when a sudden beam of rainbow light erupted from the clouds the man took a hesitant step back, ignoring the calls for him to get back and bringing his forearms up to block the energy as his stark white cape whipped behind him.

The light suddenly vanished, leaving in its place a broad-shouldered, blonde man in silver armor, a bright red cape drawn over his shoulders. There was something oddly familiar about the man, Cap thought as he brought down his arms to stare. The blonde man looked at him, gripping the Warhammer in his hand tightly before looking towards the others, who finally came out onto the landing.

"Did you just-" Clint's eyes were wide as he stared at Cap, one hand in his hair. "You just stood there and took that. How the hell were you not blown away by that?!" The archer glanced around at the group, who were looking between the Captain and the newcomer quietly.

"And uh, that speed? What the hell, what are you?" Clint continued, only to be interrupted by a smack to the head from the red-haired woman.

"Shut up, you act like you've never seen powers like that before."

Clint glared at her. "It's not every day you see them together, Nat." 

"You must be the disturbance my father felt within Yggdrasil," the blonde man said in a manner he'd only heard elder beings use, his voice commanding as he came forward. "You hold yourself like that of a warrior; come, tell me your name."

Cap blinked, staring at the man before glancing at the rest of the group. Tony gave him a look before turning his attention towards the blonde. "Thor, buddy, let's uh-"

"Wait, Thor? As in, the Norse God of thunder, Thor?" Captain Marvel asked, glancing from Tony to the blonde. "You're- wow. Uh, nice to meet you, sir. I'm Captain Marvel," he said, putting his forearm to his chest and bowing his upper half. He'd met plenty of his own pantheon before, they treated him like their child, but he'd never gotten to meet a God of another pantheon.

Thor chuckled, the sound low and booming. "There's no need for formalities, Captain. I believe I am among brethren- I can sense strong magic within you; magic that belongs to that of a god."

"Yeah, well..." Cap trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. It wasn't every day he got complimented like that- especially not by a God. "It's still an honor to meet you, sir."

"Yeah, okay, Thor, welcome back buddy, and all that but can we get back to the matter at hand? Like, the fact that this guy can apparently teleport?" Clint said, eyes still wide before gesturing towards Marvel.

"Oh, uh, no, nothing like that. It's super speed. It just looks like teleportation," Cap corrected as Thor clapped a hand on his shoulder and sent a wave of warm electricity through his skin. It sent shivers up his spine and made his magic curl in response, like stepping into a warm shower after shoveling snow for hours.

Thor grinned before turning his attention towards the rest of the group. "My father sent me to Midgard to 'check out' what could be the problem; though now I see it is only an ally. We should catch up! Perhaps you can explain more about yourself," the blonde said, looking at Cap before glancing around the collected heroes.

"Oh uh, sure, I guess," Cap replied. "Wait, you're- you're a part of their group?" he asked as they made their way inside.

"Of course! To do battle with my fellow Avengers brings me not only honor but pleasure as well," Thor said, setting his warhammer- who he realized had to be Mjolnir itself- on the coffee table before plopping down in an armchair.

"Avengers, huh? I like the name," he said with a grin as the various heroes took up seats. Both Tony and the red-haired woman stayed standing, watching from behind the couch with extremely different expressions on their faces. The woman's was one of intrigue and suspicion, while Tony's was open and smirking.

"Uh, well, what do you wanna know?" Captain Marvel asked, glancing around the room. It was so weird to see a gaggle of heroes like this, spread around a living room and watching him so casually, but it was still something he could roll with. It was something he almost wished would happen in his own universe.

"What about your powerset?" The woman asked, raising a brow at him.

Cap looked at her for a moment in thought- the catsuit, the miniature blasters on her wrists, her cold demeanor- she must have been an agent of some kind. Well, that, or there really was a Bat in this universe and it was her.

"Why, so you can give that info to SHIELD?" Tony asked with a raised eyebrow, glancing at the woman. "Widow, the guy's not a threat to us. Pretty sure if he was, he already would have tried to hurt us."

"Shield- Captain- er, uh, Steve, you mentioned a shield before we got in your jet. I take it this 'Shield' is some sort of government agency? No offense, but you give off the most spy-ish vibes I've ever seen," Cap said, looking at the woman. He could seen a spark of respect bloom in her eyes before she shifted her weight to the other foot and looked at the billionaire.

"I'm not relaying anything to SHIELD, Stark. One would think you'd trust me by this point. I'd just like to know if we have another Hyperion situation on our hands or not."

"Natashalie, I don't trust you with secrets as far as I can throw you. My life is another thing, but secrets? No way."

"Can you blame me? Look at him. Tell me that costume doesn't remind you of that lunatic."

"It's okay- I don't think I exist here anyways," Cap interrupted, looking between the two. Wait. He didn't exist here. That meant he didn't have to worry about a secret identity, about his family getting hurt because of it- a smile spread across his face. He didn't have anything to lose in telling these guys who he really was.

"I'll tell you whatever you wanna know," he said with a wide smile. "Uhh- powerset. that's what you asked about, so lemme think. Well, uh, I guess it's easiest to start off with the basics. My powers derive from the Greek gods, as well as some ancient heroes," he said, glancing at Thor. "Uh, I have the wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus,"

Thor lit up in delight.

"The courage and invulnerability of Achilles and the speed of Mercury. That basically translates to strength, speed, magic, electrokinesis, that kind of stuff," he said, glancing around. The group was quiet, staring at him with various shocked and confused expressions. 

"Was that too much? Sorry. I'm not used to explaining this kind of thing."

"Dude, you're like, some kind of super man," Clint said, leaning back on the couch. 

Cap chuckled in response. "Unfortunately for me, that name is taken."

'"So hold on, you're not a god? But Thor said he saw 'brethren' in you," Steve asked, leaning forward in thought. 

"Oh well, I mean, since my powers do derive from the Gods, there is a sliver of them within me," Marvel said, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, at last in this form, they do," he said, a small, conspiratorial smile appearing on his face. He felt almost jittery thinking about this- he could so easily reveal himself, and there would be no consequences; it was exciting.

"Wait, this form?" the woman asked slowly.

Cap grinned wider, nodding once in her direction. "Yep- but before I reveal all my secrets, you gotta tell me your name. I know everyone else's. What's yours, miss spy lady?" he asked, raising a brow in her direction.

"Oh, I like this guy," Clint said with a smirk, arms pillowing the back of his head as he glanced between the pair. "Go on then, Widow."

The red-haired woman met Cap's eyes before sighing, her gaze softening. "Natasha. Natasha Romanov," she said, the corner of her mouth quirking up. Yeah, she definitely reminded him of Batman. 

"Nice to finally meet you, Natasha."

He took a step back, placing space between him and the Avengers. He glanced up, letting out a breath and speaking the Wizard's name. Lightning coursed through the building, arcing through the air and striking the demigod. Thor went to move, only for light to envelop Cap and force him to shield his eyes.

Smoke billowed out in a thick cloud, obscuring the raven's form. The heroes coughed, Clint reaching for his bow and drawing it as Natasha raised her wrists towards him. The smoke began to dissipate, revealing the demigod's true form- that of a 12-year-old child with a messy mop of black hair. 

"The name's Billy Batson," he said with a grin, shoving his hands into his pockets.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"The name's Billy Batson," he said with a grin, shoving his hands into his pockets.

- - -

A part of him knew how big of a risk this could be normally- reveal your true form and people instantly disregard everything you say because of your age or because you lied. But- there was something about this group, something about these Avengers that told him things might be different here. 

Besides- it wasn't like he had anything to lose here. He wasn't a part of their team; Hell, he wasn't a part of their universe. And even if they did disapprove of his actions, judging by their amazement at his powers, it was likely they couldn't stop him.

The 12-year-old grinned, glancing around the room before his gaze settled on Tony- who was the only one to have shaken off the shock (besides Thor). "I was not expecting that," he said with a chuckle. "Yeah, I think you top the list of interesting people I've met," he continued.

Thor stood, grinning widely and clapping a hand on his much smaller form. "A young warrior! Reminds me of my own youth spent battling ogres! You still have lightning coursing through your small body, I'm impressed!"

Clint blinked, leaning back on the couch and staring at him with wide eyes. "How old are you, 9?" 

Billy gave him an unimpressed look. "I'm 12."

"Okay, that is so not fair! Why does this pipsqueak get powers that are way cooler than anything I've ever gotten?" he asked, looking up at Natasha. The woman rolled her eyes, shaking her head at the archer.

"Because you're an idiot who I have zero doubt would abuse such powers."

"...fair."

Bruce only leaned in closer from his spot on the couch, seemingly trying to figure out the mechanics of his transformation. "It's crazy how instantaneous that was..." he mumbled, scratching at his chin before putting the thought out of his mind and glancing at Tony.

Captain America was the only one who hadn't spoken yet, and was staring at him with a conflicted look on his face. He chewed on his lip in thought before leaning forward slightly. "You aid you had Achilles invulnerability, didn't you?" he asked, and Billy nodded. "Bullets, fire, acid, lasers, you're...protected against that." Another nod. "12..." Steve breathed, running a hand through his bright blonde hair with a shake of his head.

Billy had a feeling he had a lecture coming his way, only to watch as the man sighed and nodded. "Well, you beat my record. I was 16 when I enrolled in the army."

"Wait, you're- you're not mad? You're not gonna lecture me about how I'm too young and- and just putting myself in danger?" Billy asked, furrowing his brow in confusion. The group gave him an equally confused look, and the boy's head reared back slightly.

"Why would we? Things are obviously different from where you come from," Steve said, raising an eyebrow.

"I started at age 8," Natasha added.

"Besides- you can do more than any of us can," Bruce said, taking off his glasses to clean them on the edge of his shirt. "What say do we have in what you do with those powers?"

"Uh- as long as you aren't hurting people, that is," Steve interjected, getting a roll of the eyes and a smirk from Stark, who by this point had pulled out his phone.

"Pete's gonna love you," he said before pocketing the device. 

"I still say it's unfair that Pikachu here gets powers before he even hits puberty when I'm over here, way past puberty, and very willing to get zapped by lightning to get some sick new moves," Clint said, gesturing with an arrow- wait, where'd he pull that from?

Thor smirked at the man. "Careful what you wish for, Barton. I am more than willing to fry your insides," he said with a smirk, only to get an arrow pointed in his direction with a look from the archer.

"Watch it, Goldy. I'll sick Hulk on you."

Bruce turned towards him with wide eyes. "The hell you won't." 

There was a sudden ding of an elevator, gaining the group's attention as the metallic doors slid open, revealing a panting brunt teenager, doubled over with his hands on his knees. "I- I got your- your alert-" he heaved, glancing up towards the group. "Where's the emergency?"

The adults all looked at Tony, who simply smirked and. shrugged them away before going to greet the teen and throw his arm around the boy. "Glad you're here, Pete- there is no emergency."

The brunet's eyes widened, looking up at the billionaire in betrayal. "But I sprinted...for 11 blocks..." he said, his backpack sliding off his shoulder and plopping onto the floor dejectedly. "What- then why'd you tell me to come over? You said it was urgent," The teen, Peter, said, keeping his eyes on Tony as he led the boy closer to Billy. 

"It is urgent- this is Billy," he said, gesturing towards the raven. Peter glanced towards him, blinking at the kid before looking at the rest of the Avengers. When they said nothing, he looked back at Billy.

"I'm missing something. I can feel it."

- - -

The group had gotten Peter up to speed on what they knew about Billy, (the boy filling in the cracks with various information) and the pair were now sitting on the floor together while the adults talked in the other room. Well, most of the adults. Clint had fallen asleep on the couch amongst all the conversation, and no one had yet to wake the man up.

"So you're 12 and a wizard chose you to protect the universe?" Peter asked, leaning back on his arms.

Billy shrugged. "Yeah- though I wouldn't say universe. And I was 10 when he picked me- still blows my mind to this day."

"That's crazy, you know that sounds crazy, right?" Peter said, raising a brow at the younger boy. "I mean, I started at 14, I've only been at this for like, a year!"

"I mean, I can transform and show you, if you don't believe me," Billy said casually, leaning back on his own arms with a smirk. He liked Peter- even if he wasn't sure how the teen knew an entire group of heroes.

"Though you are gonna have to explain how you know the Avengers- obviously you're a part of the team somehow," he added, getting a narrow-eyed gaze from the brunet. "Hey, don't gimme that look, fair's fair," Billy added with a laugh.

Peter rolled his eyes, grabbing his backpack and unzipping it. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, if they trust you, guess there's not really a reason for me not to," he said before pulling out a red mask with what looked like black wiring or netting laced over top. He held it out, letting Billy grab it. He flipped the mask over, finding that it was full of tech- nothing to sneeze at.

"As cool as this is, this doesn't tell me anything. I mean, it tells me that you're a hero too, but I'm not from this world, remember? I don't know who this mask 'belongs' to." Billy said with a grin, handing the mask back.

"Right, duh. I'm Spider-Man," the brunet said with a smile, holding out his hand. Billy laughed and took it, shaking the hand vigorously with both of his while Peter jittered dramatically and bounced his head as if Superman himself had decided to shake him.

The boys ended up laughing together, only for a sudden alarm to go off, red light blaring in the living room and causing the boys to tense. They scrambled up as the others came into the living room, Clint waking with a jolt and a comment about space harpies while Tony brought up a hologram in front of him.

"Hydra's downtown causing havoc," he said, brow furrowed in concentration.

"We'd better get down there then," Captain America said, scooping his helmet up off the table and putting it on. The blonde glanced towards the boys with a smirk. "You two coming? We could use the help."

Billy grinned widely, nodding once. "Of course- I'm not gonna miss seeing you guys in action," he said excitedly, glancing towards Peter, who was already slipping on his suit. "Red suits you, by the way," he teased, only to get a roll of the eyes from the brunet.

"Alright then- Avengers, assemble!" Cap called out before running towards the waiting jet.

Billy spread his feet to transform, only to have Tony smack a hand over his mouth and pick him up. "Not inside, kid. You already shorted Jarvis out with that first one- do that outside, okay?" he said before setting the boy down and uncovering his mouth.

The raven gave him a guilty look, rubbing the back of his neck before nodding. "Right- sorry Mr. Stark," he said before running outside. The others were loading up into the quinjet, and Bily smirked before throwing his head back and calling out the wizard's name.

He was transformed in a flash of lightning, thunder crackling in the sky as smoke dissipated from his muscular form. Peter stared at him with wide eyes, mask in his hands. "Oh ok, you weren't kidding with the whole demigod thing then."

Captain Marvel smirked.

"Come on guys," Tony said, stepping outside in his armor. "We got a job to do," he said, the pair nodding as Peter pulled on his mask. He tossed a small device to Cap, and the man caught it before looking down at it.

"A comm link?" he guessed- there's were only so many things this little bugger could be.

Tony nodded, smirking at him. "You wanna be a part of the fight, don't you? We gotta be able to communicate."

Cap floated up off the platform, glancing at Spider-Man to find the teen looking at him with wide eyes- or, well, wide lenses. "Need a ride?" he asked with a chuckle, only for Spidey to shake his head and throw himself off the edge of the tower. He caught sight of Peter swinging from building to building, so Marvel decided to go after Tony and follow his lead.

"So Hydra- what's that? I'm assuming it's not the mythical beast," Cap said as he flew alongside the billionaire. They weaved between buildings, and the demigod could only assume they were heading towards the plumes of smoke rising into the air in the distance.

Tony glanced at him, his metallic faceplate down though Cap could almost swear the man was smirking underneath. "Hydra's a nazi organization. Nasty people with a hunger for world domination. Spangles has been dealing with them since the 40's."

"Spangles?" Cap asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Steve- sorry, I forget you're not familiar with my amazing nicknames."

"I think you're the only one who thinks those nicknames are amazing, Tony," Steve said through the comms, getting a snort from Clint. The raven smiled- they were so easy-going, even on missions- it made his heart ache for this kind of thing back home. 

"I dunno Capsicle, I think you secretly enjoy them," Tony snarked back as he rocketed forward and flew ahead of the jet, Marvel catching up with him easily.

A scream ripped through the air, causing the demigod to tense, freeze mid-flight, and look around for its source. He found himself flying faster than the others were able to keep up with, vanishing in a red blur as he rocketed towards a woman falling out of the air. He caught her, maneuvering around what looked like a flying motorcycle before dropping her off on the pavement and dodging a laser blast.

"Cap? Where'd you go?" Tony's voice came in through his ear as he swerved to dodge another blast.

"Heard a lady screaming, had to help," he said in a clipped voice before launching himself towards the dark green and yellow suited men shooting at him. He managed to punch the man off his flying bike, sending him spiraling and landing roughly on the roof of a building before dodging a blast from the other one.

A circular shield came flying out of nowhere and knocked the second man off his bike, a pair of arrows embedding themselves into his uniform and sticking him to the side of a skyscraper. Marvel glanced behind him to find the Avengers going to work, and smiled at Hawkeye leaping out of the jet, aiming his bow at a group of agents mid-air and sending arrows flying this crazy precision. 

"Somebody gonna catch me or what?!" He yelled through the comm, Cap rocketing towards the archer as Thor lit up the skies with lightning.

"I gotcha, Hawkeye!" he said, remembering the codename Peter had told him that the archer went by. Peter had told them all of their codenames, as they called them- none of them really had a secret identity, save for Peter, something that really threw the demigod for a loop.

"Thanks, Sparky," Clint said with a smirk when Cap grabbed hold of his forearms and dropped him off on top of a building to continue shooting. 

"You have got to stop jumping out of the jet so carelessly, Clint!" Natasha said as she fought agents on the ground. Captain Marvel chuckled, pausing in the air at the sight of what looked like a giant, metallic octopus with a skull for a head stomping down the street and blasting lasers in every direction.

"You don't see that every day," he said, shaking off his surprise.

Steve chuckled through the comm, his shield snapping to his forearm with a metallic click. "You do if you're an Avenger," he said before kicking the daylights out of an agent and sending him flying into the side of a car.

Marvel set off towards the massive machine, set to take the legs out first and foremost, only to hear an echoing growl resonate from down the street. "What the-"

"We got a code green!" Tony said through the comms before the roar grew louder and an absolutely massive figure landed in front of the Captain, his back to the demigod as he roared up at the big machine. 

"This puny machine is no match for Hulk!" 

"Uhh- is this green guy on our sid or am I supposed to take him out?!" Cap asked in a panic before the green guy, which seriously reminded him of Solomon Grundy, started tearing at the machine's slick legs. The green guy managed to pull one from its socket and throw it down the street, which was impressive since the leg was three times his size.

"That's Hulk- Dr. Banner," Steve informed him as he held up his shield to block a bright red blast.

"Oh- oh ok, big and green, right," Marvel replied before setting to work.

Cap flew upward before spiraling back down towards the machine, tapping into the speed of Mercury to act like an electrified drill. He burst through metal hull, splitting wires and searching for some kind of power source- which he found in a large glowing motor.

Cap grabbed hold of the motor, sending electricity coursing through the metal before it started to smoke an died. He grabbed hold of it and ripped the thing out of place and tore through the bottom of the octopus, slamming the motor into the pavement. The Hulk roared, grabbing a leg and bringing the machine down to the street below.

Marvel soared upward, dodging a wave of red energy before feeling something tug on his foot. The raven glanced down to find webbing sticking to his golden boot, Spider-Man hanging off the end and using him as a hook. The demigod shifted his weight in the air, kicking and sending the teenager farther with a whoop.

"Is there something these guys are after? Why would they just attack a random street?" the ebony-haired man asked through his device. 

"With these guys? Who knows. Hydra goons follow the will of whoever their leader is- and their leaders are always up to no good," Clint replied.

There was a harsh ringing of metal, one that had Captain Marvel wincing. "What the-" he glanced down to find Steve fighting back a man in a violet hood as he swung a broadsword at the super-soldier.

Tony flew over his head, blasting robotic androids out of the sky. "Steve, do you need help?" the raven asked before launching a simple spell toward a horde of robots with skulls for faces.

"That'd- ugh- be lovely, Captain," Rogers replied as he was forced backward by the man with the sword. The blonde flipped, using his shield to propel himself off the street and back a few feet. Cap landed by his side, eyes narrowed as he slipped into a defensive position.

"So who's this Grimace wannabe?" he asked, lightning crackling around his form as he glared at the man with a sword.

He heard Tony snort through the comms before Barton burst out laughing. He smirked at the response, Rogers grinning at him from his side. "Baron Zemo- his father made weapons for Nazi Germany back during World War II. Though if he's working with Hydra now, we might have some cause for concern. Him and the leader of Hydra, Red Skull, don't really get along," the blonde explained.

That was all the raven needed to know, a smirk appearing on his face as the hooded man launched towards him with a warcry. "Come on, sock puppet, you think you can take me on?" he said, grinning when the man swiped at his chest, fully expecting the sword to shatter in his hands.

When it didn't, Cap raised his eyebrows. Zemo seemed to be confused as to why the demigod hadn't been cut to ribbons, while the man in question glanced down to find the blade had cut through his uniform. "That's impossible..." the hooded man growled, his germanic accent thick and venomous. 

"Yeah, I'm thinkin' for this universe, probably," Captain Marvel replied back rearing back and punching the man in the jaw. He was sent flying backward, only to end up righting himself and land on his feet, skidding against the pavement with a glare towards the pair. 

Zemo pressed something on his sword's hilt, causing it to glow a bright purple before he launched himself into attacking again. Marvel avoided his swipe and moved around him bringing up a leg to kick him in the small of his back, right into Captain America's waiting fist. 

The man stumbled backward, only to be tackled by Steve, his shield pressing against Zemo's chest and pinning him to the street. "Surrender, Zemo!" Rogers growled, pressing his weight into the shield.

"You may have won the day, Captain Rogers, but I will end up on victor!" the hooded man growled before vanishing in a flare of purple light. Steve fell to the street with a grunt, his shield clattering against the pavement. 

"Great..." the man muttered, slowly getting to his feet and setting his shield on his back. He put a finger to his ear, and Cap could hear his voice echo through the comm. "Zemo got away," he said, meeting Marvel's eyes.

"Again? How is that guy so slippery?" Clint replied.

"Well, teleportation'll do that, birdbrain," Tony said as he flew overhead, taking out the last of the flying androids. "Anybody see Spidey?"

The man in question came swinging in not two seconds after that, landing on Cap's shoulder with ease and perching there. The raven glanced up at him with a raised eyebrow, only for the brunet to ruffle his hair. "Hulk's taking out the last big guy- and I think he and Thor are fighting over who gets to deal the last blow," he said, pointing down the street where the pair were currently growling at one another while trying to take down another metal octopus thing.

Natasha landed a commandeered flying motorbike, Clint hopping off the back as she shut down the vehicle. "We have to invest in some of these," she said, climbing off with a glance upward toward Iron Man.

"Noted, Nat," the billionaire said as he touched down and joined them.

There was a sound of screeching metal followed by a distant explosion, and the group glanced towards Thor and Hulk as they destroyed the massive machine, sending it careening downward and right onto the broken pavement below.

"Well, that went well," Cap said, crossing his arms over his chest. All in all, it felt like a run of the mill mission- something he'd come across in Fawcett and call his twin into action for. He felt a large hand call his on the back, jostling the spider still on his shoulder with a yelp.

"Indeed, young William! That went very well." 

Rogers had separated himself from the group slightly in order to make a call on his comm, and glanced towards Cap before looking around at the rest of the Avengers and coming closer. "Yes, Fury. We handled it. Alright," he said, ending the call. "Shield's coming to clean up. I suggest we leave before someone notices you're not a part of our normal line up, Captain."

"Fine by me- I hate dealing with the media."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"Fine by me- I hate dealing with the media."

- - -

The Avengers (plus Cap) got back to the tower fairly quickly, the group dispersing off to go do their own things. Bruce, who had 'de-hulked' as the others called it before they got in the jet, came up to him, buttoning a shirt with a grin. "Captain, do you mind joining me, Tony, and Peter in the lab?" he asked, to which the demigod nodded.

"What's up?" Cap asked as they climbed into the elevator.

"Well, Tony's an infinitely curious guy, you can't get an idea out of his head once it's in there. He's curious about just how many volts you can create with your powers. I, on the other hand, was curious if you'd answer some questions about your transformation since it's so- well, quick and seemingly painless," Bruce explained as the elevator doors opened. 

"So...you guys wanna run tests on me?" the raven asked with a raised brow.

"Well, we'll settle for questions, but if you're up for some tests, we'd be happy to run them," Bruce said, strolling into a large lab with glass walls. Holograms were everywhere, along with empty mugs and various pieces of tech. He was pretty sure Atom would love to get his hands on some of this stuff. 

"Sure, I'm down for whatever- but I hope you got some hell of a needle, cause my skin doesn't break easily," he said as they came into the room. Tony glanced back with a grin, pulling his wedding goggles up and standing up from his suit of armor. Peter was sitting on one of the counters, watching the billionaire work, and brightened when Cap came in.

"Did Brucie bear manage to convince you to let us ask some questions, big guy?" Tony asked, setting an oil-covered rag down on the counter before leaning against it.

"You can run whatever tests you like- I don't really feel a lot of medical stuff in this form," Marvel replied, and Tony brightened further.

"Awesome- Pete, can you grab the device we used to measure Mjolnir's output?"

"On it, Mister Stark."

"Kid, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Tony?" the brunet said with a shake of his heads, clearing off space on one of the metallic tables for Cap to sit on. The demigod hopped up, uncoupling his cape and setting it to the side.

"Not gonna happen, Mister Stark," Peter said in a sing-song voice that had the billionaire rolling his eyes.

"Captain, do you mind if I...?" Bruce asked, gesturing to his cape.

"Oh, go ahead," the man replied as Bruce picked the white cloth up. The scientist held it up to the light before taking it to a table and spreading it out. "Is that- real gold?" he asked, eyes narrowed at the golden threads interlacing the white cape. Cap nodded, causing the man to blink and straighten his glasses. "That's amazing..."

"Here ya go, Mister Stark- electric manipulation...measuring...thing..." Peter said, wheeling over what looked like a miniature tesla coil.

Stark smirked at the teenager and ruffled his hair before grabbing a coil attached to the machine and handing it to Cap. "No needles for you big guy- Hulk and Steve's skin don't take them very well either, so we're used to coming up with workarounds." Tony said, flipping on the machine. It started to whir, and the demigod stared at it in interest. "Just-  do whatever it is you do to make the lightning come," Tony said, placing a hand on his hip.

"Not the big one though- the lightning you used against Hydra's bots."

Captain Marvel drew in a breath before releasing it, shutting his eyes to focus on making the lightning that coursed through his veins flow into the cable. He felt the energy transfer into the coil and through the machine, his eyes snapping open at the sound of fizzling technology. Tha machine died and started to smoke, and Marvel could only give the trio a guilty look.

"Sorry."

Tony waved it off. "Don't worry about it- just proves my theory. Thor did the same thing to the one we hooked him up to- you two got a lot of lightning inside you," he said, waving away the smoke from the machine.

"Well, it might actually be the magic," Cap offered, getting a confused look from the billionaire.

"My magic is intertwined with my lightning- I can only assume Thor's is too, being the God of Thunder."

"Magic's just science we don't understand."

Cap slid off the edge of the table, glancing around the room. "Maybe- but maybe not. In my universe, it's in every little thing. You can feel its reverberations throughout the world, like a constant thrum," he said distantly. "Like a warm, constant presence in the back of your mind."

Tony stayed quiet, glancing at Bruce before clapping the man on the shoulder. "We'll figure out a way to get you home Cap, you don't have to worry about that." 

"Until then, why don't you two go bother Clint? I'm sure he'd love the company," the brunet said with a wink towards Peter, getting a smile from the teen in return.

"Lemme change first- my clothes are so much more comfortable than this bodysuit," Cap said as Peter tugged him towards the entrance of the lab- only for a man dressed completely in black leather to suddenly block their exit. Peter tensed, swallowing thickly and taking a step back. Marvel glanced down at Peter before meeting the dark-skinned man's eyes- er, eye.

He pulled Peter back, stepping in front of him protectively. 

"Ah, Patchy the pirate- I was wondering when you'd show," Tony said from behind them, patting the demigod on the arm before coming to greet the man. The captain loosened slightly- Tony obviously knew the guy, but the vibes he gave off still had Cap distrustful. "You here to shut down the party? We don't even have any booze out, officer."

"Stark, what the hell am I looking at?" the man asked in a clipped tone, his gaze never having left Cap. The raven's eyes narrowed in response, hands curling into fists. "For that matter, why was this not in the Avengers' report of the situation?" he continued, Tony rolling his eyes and putting himself between Cap and the newcomer.

"Nick. Nicky. Nicholas Cage- calm down. There' no need to be hostile," Tony said, crossing his arms over his chest. Lightning started to crackle around Captain Marvel's form, a sign of the tension he was feeling, and the newcomer instantly drew a gun and pointed it between his eyes.

Marvel didn't flinch, continuing to stare the man down. 

"Whoa! Whoa, calm down. What the hell are you doing? Do you have any idea how expensive some of the stuff in here is?" Tony said, anger finally seeping into his voice. Bruce finally stepped forward, taking off his glasses, folding them, and putting them in his shirt pocket. 

"Fury, what business do you have here?" he asked tiredly, even though the situation had become fairly obvious.

"I get reports of a flying Hyperion wannabe working with the Avengers floating around the internet, with no mention of such a person in your reports, so I came to see for myself just who this guy was." 'Fury' said, glancing at Bruce before setting his gaze back on Captain Marvel.

Alright, so this guy must have been the Avengers' boss or something- maybe a manager of some kind. Marvel caught sight of a strange eagle-looking symbol on his jacket, one that looked identical to the symbol he'd seen on the helicopters that had started to land when the Avengers took off after the fight. 

So this guy was with SHIELD then- he had to be. If SHIELD was a secret agency of some kind, this guy would definitely be the boss by look alone. So, until he got more information that told him otherwise, that's what he'd go with.

"I'm gonna assume you're the leader of this SHIELD that everyone's been talking about," Cap said, the lightning trailing around his form beginning to dissipate. Tony and Bruce glanced back at him in slight shock before looking back towards Fury. The man's gaze narrowed further, his weapon still trained on the demigod. 

"Right- well, then. I'm Captain Marvel. I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but it's really not so far," he said, a spark of recognition appearing in Fury's eye at his name before the corner of his mouth turned up in a snarl. 

Bruce put himself between Fury and the Captain as well, the pair glaring at the man. "Fury, put down the gun or I'll have Jarvis show you out," Tony said angrily, puffing out his chest slightly. "The Captain is not a part of SHIELD, nor is he a part of the Avengers. Therefore, you have no jurisdiction over the guy. Leave."

Fury narrowed his eyes at Stark before sighing and putting the gun away. The tension from Bruce's shoulders loosened slightly, and he glanced back at Cap and Peter protectively. Fury turned his eyes on the demigod, looking him up and down. "If you cause any trouble, I'll put a bullet between your eyes," he growled before leaving the lab.

Cap snorted, shaking his head. "I'd like to see him try," he said as Tony shut the glass door. "What was that about? I have never seen someone so distrustful of a person they haven't even met," he said as Peter came out from around him and he leaned against a table. 

"Yeah, that's Fury for ya," Stark said with a shake of his head. "He's gonna be on our ass for the next couple of weeks for this. Come on- I need a drink," he said, patting Bruce on the shoulder before leading the group out of the lab.

Marvel glanced at Peter, who gave him a shrug and followed the scientists.

- - -

"I wish we'd have started looking into trans-dimensional travel years ago, maybe then we'd have a way to send you home, kid. As it stands right now, we just- don't have the resources," Tony said as he took a swig of his drink, leaning over the edge of the bar as Billy sat beside Peter and Clint on the couch. 

"It's okay- I'm sure there's some kind of magical object or some sorcerer that can help me here," Billy said, taking a sip of his soda with a glance back towards the billionaire. Tony came around the edge of the bar and plopped down on the end of the couch, causing Peter to squeeze over and sit closer to Billy.

"Well, if you need help with that, feel free to ask- though I'm not familiar with any magic men," Tony said through his glass.

Thor came into the room with Steve and Natasha in tow, the God ruffling both Billy and Peter's hair from behind the couch. "I must be off, friends old and new, as I have unfinished business to attend to in Asgard." he continued, pausing near the glass wall that separated the living room and the launchpad.

"Well, it was good to see you again, Thor. Come back soon, alright? There doesn't need to be a world-ending threat for you to visit," Steve said with a grin, grasping the man's forearm firmly in a handshake. 

"You are right, friend Steven. I will return once my business in Asgard is finished," Thor replied brightly before turning his attention towards Billy. "I will also speak to Heimdall in the hopes that the Bifrost may be of use in returning you home, William."

"Thanks Thor. That means a lot," Billy said with a smile.

"Alright, alright, now go on, Barbie. We'll be here when you get back," Tony said, taking another swig of his drink before d=said drink was stolen by Steve. Tony squawked, giving the soldier an indignant look as the man put the half-empty glass on the bar. There was a ripple of thunder outside marking Thor's departure, and Tony rolled his eyes at the super soldier.

"Don't know what that was for, but rude," he said with a glare.

"We still have work to do, Tony," Steve said with a smile and a shake of his head. "Nat and I have been going over the fight, and Cap was right- Hydra was looking for something," he said, glancing around the room. Billy straightened slightly, listening to the blonde in interest.

"Red Skull wasn't present during that fight, and if I know Skull, he'd never miss a chance to try and take down the Avengers," Steve started to pace, a thoughtful look on his face. " We think the fight was a diversion. Hyrda was after something, and we managed to find footage of Skull rummaging around in rubble about a block away from where we were fighting."

"Do we know what he was looking for?" 

Steve shook his head. "He had some kind of scanner on him, and was scanning what looked like random junk."

Billy narrowed his eyes as Steve brought up security footage of a man with, unsurprisingly, a red skull for a head, walking around a rut in the middle of the road and scanning the street. "Wait," he said, watching as Skull scanned the roadblock he'd conjured. "That's- that's where I came through a portal from my universe." 

The man seemed to light up as he scanned the roadblock, placing a small, blinking device on the object before saying something into his earpiece. Both Skull and the roadblock suddenly vanished, teleporting away in the same manner as Baron Zemo.

"What could he possibly want with a roadblock?" Bruce asked, wiping his hands on a dishtowel as he finally joined the group. 

"I conjured that- it came out of nothing, so it probably has my magic all over it," Billy said, staring at the empty street. "But why- how- I've never seen someone detect magic with a machine before." 

"Skull probably took it to analyze it- no doubt he got the same weird burst of energy readings as us, he was just slower to the party," Tony said, leaning back on the couch, his face scrunched in thought.

"Yeah, Skull with magic? That's not something I'd ever like to see, thank you," Clint said, twisting the head off one of his arrows.

"Even if he analyzes it, he likely doesn't have a way to harness the residual energy, doe he Billy?" Natasha asked, her arms crossed over her chest. Billy shook his head, looking up at her with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I- I dunno. I've never seen someone be able to track magic without a spell, I got no idea what this guy could do."

"That's....not reassuring," Clint muttered.

"Looks like we got an infiltration mission to plan for," Tony said, standing up with a clap of his hands. "Let's get to work, Cap," he said with a glance towards Steve. The soldier shook his head at the shorter man, a small, exasperated smile on his face as he followed Tony out of the living room and down the hall.

"Why can't they just make out in public like normal people?" Clint asked, screwing on the heads he'd replaced. Natasha smacked him upside the head as Bruce took a seat.

"Don't start rumors."

"What!? They're constantly staring longingly at one another, I wouldn't be surprised if they were making out!" Clint said dramatically as Natasha started to leave the room. The archer huffed and settled back into his spot, grumbling to himself as he continued to fiddle with his projectiles.

Peter and Billy shared a look before struggling to keep in their laughter. The sandy blonde's head whipped towards the pair, and the boys' eyes widened. Clint gestured towards them with an arrow. "You have thirty seconds, starting now." 

Peter's eyes widened further as he grabbed Billy's wrist and took off running down the hall. Billy followed suit, a confused look on his face. "Why are we running?!" He asked as Peter turned the corner and threw open a door.

"You act like you've never played tag before!" Peter said with a laugh as he rounded a corner and opened another door, racing down a staircase with Billy in tow.

"Is that what this is?! Are you guys always this chaotic?!" Billy asked, huffing as they ran down the stairs and onto another floor. Peter opened the door and continued to run, glancing back at Billy with a grin. 

"This isn't chaotic! You haven't seen chaotic!" The teen said with a laugh. "This is just the everyday life of an Avenger!" he said with a whoop, hurdling over a couch and opening another door before going inside. Billy followed suit, closing the door behind him as Peter finally came to a stop, bent over and breathing heavily.

Billy was quick to follow, plopping down on the floor and laying against a blue rubber mat- something that covered the entire floor, he realized. Billy glanced around at the massive room they were in, finding various work-out equipment and gymnastics stuff surrounding him. "hh- hh- gym?" he asked through heavy breaths. 

Peter nodded, standing up straight with a grin. "The training room. There's another part to it that's all simulator, but it's off in the back." 

"That's...really cool..." Billy said, finally sitting up. "You don't think Clint'll find us in here?"

"Oh no, he will eventually, but I'm just trying to up my record," Peter said, leaping up off the ground to grab hold of a set of gymnastic rings. "I think the record stands at 9 minutes and 14 seconds, but I could be wrong," he said as he swung back and forth.

Billy stood, dusting himself off and looking around the large room. It was built like a fusion between classic boxing gym and high-tech gymnastics gym, complete with a boxing ring and multiple bars, rings, and ropes hanging from the ceiling at varying heights. He knew for a fact that if Nightwing saw this, he'd have a field day.

A sad smile appeared on his face at the thought of the man- he'd been relating a lot of things in this universe to things back home, and hadn't really had a moment to take everything in. Billy felt a sharp pain in his chest, a tugging sensation that made his insides cold. 

What if he never made it home?

The Avengers were nice and all, but this universe wasn't his home. He had a team to get back to. Sure, they didn't always get along and Billy often found himself feeling like an outsider when it came to the League, but he was still a part of something...

He had a job to do, the Rock of Eternity was his responsibility and if he couldn't do it, would the Wizard take away his powers? If he did, he'd never see home again-

Billy drew in a shaky breath, fear edging at his insides.

"-id? You okay?" Clint's voice brought him out of his thoughts, the archer giving him a concerned look from where he was crouched down in front of him. "Earth to Sparky, you in there?" he asked, waving a hand in front of Billy's face. "You okay?"

The raven swallowed thickly, glancing at Peter behind Clint and nodding. It'd do no good to lose his cool now. The Avengers saw him as some responsible superhero, he couldn't have a break-down and ruin that.

Clint furrowed his brow, glancing back at Peter before scorching closer to the kid. "You mind if I pick you up?" he asked softly, and Billy shook his head. He couldn't help the tears beading in the corners of his eyes as the blonde scooped him up into his arms, the boy clinging to his form. "You're really light for a 12-year-old, you know that?" Clint asked, trying to lighten his mood as they left the gym.

Billy stayed quiet, face buried in Clint's shoulder.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

Billy stayed quiet, face buried in Clint's shoulder.

- - -

Clint sat down on the couch, Billy still clinging to him with his head buried in Clint's shoulder. "What brought this on, kid? You seemed fine 15 minutes ago," the blonde asked, rubbing gentle circles in the boy's thin frame.

Billy said nothing, staying quiet as he sniffled. His tears had dampened the archer's clothes, and he felt guilty. He pulled back from the man, rubbing a palm against his eye. "S-sorry, Clint..." h mumbled, trying to compose himself. "I- I don' know why I broke down."

"That's okay kid- you're a long way from home. A whole universe away in fact- that would be a lot for anyone to handle, let alone a 6th grader," he said, giving the raven an understanding smile. "Tones'll figure something out. Don't worry about that."

Billy drew in a shaky breath, dropping his gaze. "I didn't wanna act like such a child in front of you guys...I- I should've-" he hiccuped, fresh tears springing to his eyes.

"Whoa, hey, Sparky, no. Come on, dude, this is a stressful situation. You've been busy since you first arrived, maybe it just finally sunk in that you're far away from home. You don't gotta to apologize for having feelings," Clint said, tilting the boy's chin up to look him in the eyes. "You are a child. We don't expect you to act like anything else."

"I- I just- I want you to be able to trust me and-"

"Billy, kid. You don't have anything to prove to us. Your age doesn't matter to us. Peter's like, 15, and we still know he's an important member of the team- even if he is a little shit," he said with a glance towards the brunet. "We got your back, Sparky, regardless of your age. And if you decide to help us out on missions and take down a few bad guys on the way?" Clint smirked.

"Well, that doesn't sound like too bad of a deal to me."

Billy smiled, wiping his nose on his sleeve and nodding. "Sorry, Clint. I'm just- not used to this kind of thing is all..."

"I take it your team back home doesn't know about your age?" the archer asked, tilting his head slightly in question. The 12-year-old shook his head in response. 

"Alright, guys, we got- Clint, what the Hell did you do to him?" Tony asked as he walked into the living room alongside Steve. The billionaire came up to the back of the couch and leaned over Clint's shoulder as the archer gave him a glare and argued that he hadn't done anything wrong. 

"Clint was helping me," Billy said, looking up at Tony. The brunet gave Clint a suspicious look before straightening and coming around the edge of the couch.

"Alright- I'll believe you for now," he said, Steve shaking his head as he came to stand behind a recliner. "But if he gives you any trouble, you tell me and I'll kick his ass personally," Tony said with a grin, getting a chuckle from the boy.

"Alright Avengers," Tony said, bringing up a hologram and pressing his fingers against it. His voice echoed through speakers around them, causing the boy to look up and around from Clint's lap.

"Meeting in the living room. We got a plan for Skull."

- - -

With the Avengers (minus Thor) collected in the living room in a matter of minutes, Tony finally began to lay out what he and Steve came up with. "This abandoned Hydra base has been giving off readings similar to Captain Marvel's- it's likely that they're running tests on that road barrier Skull took," the man said, glancing around the room as a hologram displaying a compound appeared between him and the rest of the group.

Just as Tony was about to continue, what looked like a dark grey Iron Man dropped from the sky outside on the landing pad, helmet retracting to reveal a dark-skinned man with a grin on his face. He came in through the glass doors, looking around. "I came as soon as I cou-" he paused, staring at Billy before looking at Tony.

"You adopted another one?" 

The brunet gave him a withering glare. "That's Billy. Formal introductions later, right now, we have a mission."

"I called in some back-up to pick up Thor's slack for this one. Me, Hulk and Rhodes will act as a distraction. Clint, you'll need to take out security cameras so Natasha and Capsicle can slip inside. You'll join us in taking down thugs outside, and if everything goes to plan, we'll join you two inside after that," Tony explained. 

"Our goal's to get the roadblock and get out- if we can do that stealthily, great. If not, then we'll pull out the big guns and fight our way out," Steve added form his place behind a recliner, arms crossed over his chest.

Billy raised an unsure hand, having moved off Clint's lap. "Uh- what about me and Peter?" he asked, the brunet beside him's eyes widening with a glance towards the raven.

Tony glanced at Steve before clearing his throat and looking back at the boys. "You two are staying here."

Billy furrowed his brow. "What- but I can help! We both can, is this about-"

"Your age? No." Tony said firmly.

"This is because you are a wild card. If you're really some magic battery like you seem to be, we can't risk bringing you into the lion's den. Skull's gotten the best of us before, I'll be damned if he somehow gets a hold of you. Him having something with an energy signature that matches yours is bad enough."

"I have no doubt he's trying to figure out how to harness that energy, and we are not letting him know where that energy came from if we can help it."

Natasha leaned over the couch, glancing at the boy. "Billy, it's just strategy. We're keeping our cards close to our chest for as long as we can."

The raven sighed. "Right...sorry..." he muttered, his gaze dropping to the floor. He felt a disgruntled, bitter heat curling in his stomach, the part of him that still kept a guarded chip on his shoulder from his time on the streets muttering angrily inside him.

"What about me, Mister Stark...?" Peter asked with a furrowed brow.

Tony glanced at the kid with a grin. "You gotta keep our guest company, Pete," the billionaire replied, getting a soft sigh from the teen. "Don't give me that look. May would kill me if she knew I let you take on Red Skull."

Peter nodded numbly, his mouth a thin line. Billy saw him gripping his knees tightly, though his face as passive. The 12-year-old knew that look. It was one you gave to appease an adult, one that said 'okay, fine, you know better than me, even if you don't'. 

It was a look he'd given plenty of foster parents- one that didn't let them in on the inner turmoil he felt biting back his words and nodding dumbly.

"Alright, if we're all on the same page then... Avengers Assemble," Tony said, shutting off the hologram.

- - -

With the adults gone and the pair left alone, Billy sunk back into the couch with a sigh, only for Peter to stand up, pick up a couch cushion, and yell into it. The raven's eyes widened slightly as the muffled scream of frustration, the elder boy's face bright pink when he finally pulled the cushion away. 

The teenager sighed, tossing the couch back onto the couch before looking at Billy. "Come on, they said we couldn't join them, but that won't stop us from helping other people out," he said, pulling off his t-shirt, releasing his spider-suit underneath. "I can't stay cooped up here all night," he said, tossing the shirt on the coffee table and shedding his pants as well.

Billy grinned- he liked the way Peter thought. He stood with a nod as Peter dug his mask out of his backpack. "JARVIS, we'll be back in a little bit," Peter said, pulling on his mask and following the 12-year-old out onto the launch pad.

Billy transformed and they set off into the bright streets of Manhatten. The sun seemed to have just vanished over the horizon, turning the sky a mixture of pink and gold. The pair flew (or in Peter's case swung) through NYC, looking for any sort of crime to stop and let off some steam.

They found this outlet in two different muggings as well as a situation where they had to get a cat out of a tree (and didn't that make him feel like Superman...) but Peter still seemed frustrated and tense. Cap understood- it felt terrible to be sidelined, especially when you knew you could help. It felt even worse coming from someone you looked up to.

They'd decided to take a break once the light from the sunset vanished from the sky, leaving only a few and far between stars visible above the busy city of New York. The demigod closed his eyes against the wind blowing against his face, breeze tousling his hair as he let out a sigh.

His mind was starting to wander- fighting bad guys was a good distraction, but ever since his realization in the gym, he'd felt on edge. He needed to find some kind of sorcerer and get home- he liked the Avengers, really he did, but Fawcett City was practically defenseless without him.

But with how little these guys knew about magic, Cap wasn't sure if there was a sorcerer that could help him here.

He glanced back at Spidey, finding the teenager pacing back and forth and muttering to himself as he wrung his mask in his hands. His own problems could wait- he had a friend (wait, were they friends? He'd known the guy for less than a day, could he really consider him that already?) Regardless, Peter needed to vent, and the demigod was willing to listen.

"Spidey," he said, gaining the teenager's attention.

"Hm? You find another one?" He asked, his frame tense as a wire.

Cap shook his head. "Nah, come're." 

"What is it?" Peter asked, coming closer and sitting down beside the man. "You okay?"

"I should ask you that. You wanna vent? I'm all ears."

Peter sighed, dropping his gaze to the streets below. "You got your own problems to worry about. I don't wanna burden you with mine."

The larger man chewed on his bottom lip in thought. Time for a leap of faith. "Well, isn't that what friends are for?"

Peter glanced up at him, his eyes blank before a small grin spread across his face. "So we're friends now, huh?" he asked, nudging Captain Marvel's shoulder. The raven smirked- why was it such a relief that he hadn't been turned down? and nudged him back. Peter sighed, looking back down at the streets below.

"I'm just frustrated, I guess. I thought Mister Stark would have more faith in me by now...I mean, I've been working with the Avengers for nearly three months and I still have yet to go on a mission with them that isn't in New York," he said, looking up at the sky polluted with light.

"It just feels like he doesn't trust me...and I don't know how to make him trust me."

Cap sighed, leaning back against his arms. "I know the feeling... the League has a habit of benching me from missions that require diplomacy and discipline. They like to say that it's because there's no need for big muscle and that I'd look like a big stick they're carrying to threaten people with...but I know what the real reason is," Cap said, realizing this was the first time he'd ever talked about this with someone.

"I know I can be immature. I'm not the best at having a poker face, and I can't hold myself back from blurting things out sometimes... they don't trust me with something like that. I guess...I guess I've never given them a reason to."

It felt nice to get that off his chest- like there had been a weight there he hadn't realized had been holding him down.

Peter glanced at him, a soft smile on his face. "I think you're very mature for a 12-year-old. More mature than I was when I was 12," he said, looking back out over the city. He chuckled, kicking his feet gently. "When I was 12, I thought I could be Iron Man with a plastic mask and cardboard gauntlet," he said with a grin, shaking his head. "Mister Stark saved my life, and I don't think he even knows it."

Cap followed his lead, looking out over the city. 

"I'm thankful for everything he's done for me, really I am...I just...I wish he trusted me enough to fight by his side."

"Putting your life in another person's hands can be scary. It takes a lot to look someone in the eyes and basically say 'you're my lifeline. I trust you to save me if I fall'. Its...terrifying...to know that someone's counting on you like that," Cap said, thinking of the various times he'd been so close to failing one of his teammates, times he'd nearly been too slow, nearly gotten them hurt.

"I don't think it's about trust... I think he's scared to have your life in his hands," he continued, looking Peter in the eyes.

"I mean, I've only been with you guys for a few hours and I've seen the way he looks at you- if I didn't know any better I'd think he was your dad."

A red tint spread across Peter's cheeks- he must have struck a nerve. Cap smiled, nudging the teenager. "Oh I see, someone wants to have Tony Stark as a dad, is that it?" he asked with a chuckle.

Peter shoved him, a laugh escaping him. "You're a menace."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

Peter shoved him, a laugh escaping him. "You're a menace."

- - -

By the time the Avengers got back to the tower, they were exhausted, injured, and annoyed- but they had the roadblock with them, so that was all that mattered.

Tony walked into the darkened living room after getting out of his armor to find Billy and Peter asleep on the couch, the younger's head resting against the elder's chest. He grinned at the sight- he'd been hoping that forcing the two to spend some time together might make them closer, but he hadn't been expecting this.

Sure, he'd been expecting the situation to help Billy- Peter was a naturally chatty and open person, and he knew he'd get along with the younger kid. He'd been hoping that them spending some time together might make Billy not feel so alone in this universe. Tony had gone so far as to bench Peter from what would have been his first out-of-town mission with the Avengers so he could keep an eye on the kid- something Peter hadn't been happy about.

He'd expected them to get along though. He'd hoped they might even become friends. 

He hadn't been expecting to find them passed out on the couch together- though he probably should have, with how tactile Billy seemed to be. Tony went to a cabinet and opened it, pulling out a blanket and bringing it back to the couch.

"So much for a formal introduction, hm?" Rhodey asked from behind him as he unfurled the blanket and set it over top of the boys. 

"Yeah, well..." Tony grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, which had been playing the Phantom Menace. He shook his head at the screen- it was obvious who'd picked out that movie.

"So where'd he come from?" Rhodey asked as the pair left Billy and Peter in the living room, the elder following Tony as he turned a corner and headed downstairs to his lab. "You pick him up off the street like a stray?" he asked with a smirk.

Tony shook his head with a smile as the lab door opened, lights coming on in the lab as the billionaire looked at the roadblock they'd grabbed sitting on a platform. "And why'd we go through all that trouble for some simple road sign for that matter? I've never felt more out of the loop," Rhodey continued, leaning against a worktable as Tony grabbed what looked like a monkey-wrench with extra steps and started to scan the object.

"Kid came from another universe, believe it or not," he said, examining the stand with a closer eye. His machine, something Bruce had designed to track energy signatures and something he'd tweaked to measure specifically this energy signature, giving him weird readings.

"Hmm... yeah, gonna have to go with 'or not' on that one Tones," Rhodey replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, I didn't believe it at first either, but..." Tony trailed off, continuing to scan the object. "The readings we got led to Billy. Things kinda spiraled from there." he set the device down, glancing at his eldest friend. "Kid's got powers. Insane ones, ones that- that put everything about our universe into question."

"Are you saying the kid has magic?"

Tony stared at him blankly.

"Tones, magic's the only thing you're ever this dramatic about," Rhodey said, patting the man on the back as he moved to look at the output readings. The fact that the roadblock was giving off any energy readings at all was weird enough for him- but Tony must have seen something he didn't. "What makes you think he has magic? Or that it's even real?"

"Right- you haven't seen the kid in action."

"In action? Tony, that kid is like, 9, please don't tell me you put him in danger by letting him 'help' you guys."

"No, no, Rhodey, you don't understand," the billionaire said, bringing up what scarce footage they had of today's fight with Red Skull in New York. "You see that big guy with the cape?" he asked, pointing to the slightly warped image of Captain Marvel electrocuting a horde of Hydra bots.

"Is that Hyp-"

"No, it's not Hyperion, God, why does everyone think he's Hyperion?" Tony asked exasperatedly, zooming in on the image with a sigh. "That's the kid."

Rhodey raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Look, I know I sound crazy, but you gotta trust me on this Platypus. That's the kid, and from what he's told us, he outclasses all of us- aside from Hulk and Thor." He crossed his arms over his chest, looking the man in the eyes. "Kid can do magic, from what he says, not to mention a whole slew of other stuff. He's not from this universe- and from how casually he acts about having powers like his, it makes me think that this kind of thing is normal where he's from."

Rhodey pressed a pair of fingers to his temple, rubbing small circles into it. "So this...kid..."

"Billy."

"Right, Billy, has powers that let him turn into a grown-ass man who can fly and shoot electricity, but not only that, he's from another universe, effectively confirming a decades-old theory about there being a multiverse?"

Tony chewed the bottom of his lip in thought. "It sounds kind of convoluted when you say it like that."

The elder man sighed. "Fine," he breathed, leaning back against a table with a glance towards the frozen image. "Weirder things have happened before."

The brunet smirked, nudging Rhodey with his shoulder. "The only thing we gotta do now is figure out a way to get Billy home."

"And how do you plan on doing that? You didn't know other universes existed until today, Tones."

"I'm a genius," the billionaire replied, pushing himself off the edge of the table and closing the hologram. He spun the platform with the roadblock on it, watching it spin with a grin. "Sure, multiversal travel might be a challenge," he said, glancing at Rhodey with a smirk.

"But I like a challenge."

- - -

Billy woke to sunlight in his eyes, stirring him from his sleep and causing him to blink his eyes open. The boy found sunlight coming in through the glass wall that stood between the living room at the terrace/launchpad, a yawn escaping him as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. He glanced around the room to find himself alone, confusion etched into his features as he slowly came into wakefulness. 

He had a split second of panic, not recognizing his surroundings, only for him to remember what transpired the day previous and relax slightly. He was alone on the couch- hadn't he fallen asleep alongside Peter- and had a blanket he didn't remember falling asleep with draped over him.

He felt a strange buzzing in the back of his head, crashing over his temples in waves and making him woozy- Billy shut his eyes against the sensation and winced before the feeling suddenly vanished and the boy was fine. Before he could question just what that was, however, footsteps echoed through a doorway. 

"Look who's finally awake," Tony's voice came from behind him, the raven glancing up at the man and rubbing his eye. "Mornin' squirt. How'd you sleep?" he asked, taking a sip of the coffee in his hand. 

"Fine..." Billy said blearily, glancing around the room. "Where's Peter?" he asked, choosing to ignore that earlier sensation.

Tony gestured with his head for the kid to follow him, and Billy did exactly that, clambering down off the couch. "Pete had school- you hungry? Rogers is a pretty good cook, all things considering," he said, leading the boy into the kitchen, where Steve stood behind the stove, flipping pancakes on a griddle and humming to himself.

Bruce and Natasha were sitting at the table drinking coffee, one looking through several manilla folders and the other with his eyes glued to a tablet. Tony gestured for Billy to take a seat, and the boy clambered into a chair as Clint came stumbling into the kitchen.

"Coffee," he grunted, trudging to the coffee pot and pouring himself a mug before downing it in a single go. Billy's eyes widened- wasn't that hot?! Clint poured himself another mug and took this one to the table, glancing at Billy before taking a seat beside him. "Sup, rugrat," he asked, ruffling the boy's hair.

Steve rolled his eyes at the man, sliding a plate full of pancakes and scrambled eggs in front of the boy. "Ignore him, Bill," he said as he moved back to the stove. 

"Hey! He enjoys my nicknames, I can tell- don't ya, munchkin?" Clint asked, Billy's glancing at the man as he shoved eggs in his mouth with a blush.

"Let him eat, Clint," Widow said, not looking up from her files.

The archer rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, taking a much slower sip from his mug. Tony took a seat on Billy's other side, a mug of coffee in one hand and a piece of toast in the other as he looked over various statistics on a hologram in front of him.

Steve set down a large plate of bacon, sausage, and eggs in the middle of the table, followed by a plate full of pancakes before moving around the table and nudging Tony- the billionaire scooted over, allowing Steve to sit next to Billy. The soldier glanced at the boy as he and everyone else made to grab food, and Billy met his eyes before looking down at his plate.

"You sleep in those clothes?" Steve asked conversationally before taking a bite of his eggs. 

"Well...yeah. I don't- I don't really have my stuff here..." Billy trailed off.

"Right- Tony, can you ask Happy to bring the car around after we finish breakfast?" he asked the billionaire, getting a distracted sound from the billionaire before his eyes went back to Billy. "We'll get you some clothes, don't worry about it." 

"Wait, but I-" 

"Best not to argue with him, kid, once Steve gets an idea in his head, there's not really much you can do to get it out of there," Clint said between bites of bacon. "He's a lot like Stark in that way." 

"But I don't have a-"

"Does the term billionaire mean anything to you, Sparky?" Tony asked, still looking at his schematics. He glanced through the hologram to meet Billy's wide eyes before chuckling and setting back to work. "You can't really go around wearing the same clothes every day."

Billy set his fork down to glance around the table. "But we have no idea how long I'll be here."

Tony took a bite of his toast, not looking away from his hologram. "Guess you'll just have to take the clothes with you when you leave," he said, getting a grin and a shake of the head from Steve.

"It's okay, Billy. We don't- Tony and I don't mind," Steve said with a grin.

Clint threw back the rest of his coffee and snatched a couple more pieces of bacon. "I'm comin' with- gotta make sure Cap doesn't dress this kid like a nerd," he said, standing up and ruffling Billy's already messy hair and leaving the table to put his mug in the sink. 

"Guess I'm comin' too- since I'm the one paying after all," Tony said with a smirk, closing down his hologram and finishing his toast. "Nat? Brucie bear? You two wanna tag along? We're ready gonna turn enough heads as-is, you two can come an join the party if you like," the brunet said with a smirk as he stood and finished his coffee.

"I'm good, Tony. I have to finish looking over these," Natasha replied, glancing up from her folders.

"Yeah, I have work to do- you if you could pick me up some more tea I'd really appreciate it," Bruce said before biting into a piece of sausage.

Billy sat back in his chair with a sigh- it looked like there was gonna be no getting out of this. Did they have a plan to explain who he was to them? Were their identities public? If so, how were they going to explain him having some kind of connection to the Avengers?

"Hey uh- what- what about me? Like, what's the cover story for this? How am I supposed to know the Avengers? I'd rather it not get out that I'm from another universe... especially if that Skull guy managed to figure out my magic."

"Shit, I didn't think about that," Tony said, getting a look from Steve.

"Language."

"Language Shmanguage."

"Why don't we just say he's Stark's long-lost kid or something? I'm sure that'd send the tabloids crazy," Cint said with a smirk, getting a glare from the brunet.

"First of all, do me and Billy here look anything alike? Second of all, I'm trying to get away from the playboy part of 'genius billionaire playboy philanthropist', remember?" Tony asked, setting his mug on the table and crossing his arms over his chest.

"He's too young to be an SI intern- even Pete's story for that is stretching it..." he muttered, rubbing at his chin in thought. "The whole "de-aged" trick won't work cause he doesn't really look like any of us..."

Clint glanced at Steve before looking at Billy. "We sure anyone's even gonna notice he's with us?" he asked, looking back at Tony as the man lit up.

"I got it! We can just say he's Asgardian."

The man got a trio of confused looks his way. 

"It gives us a story for both Captain Marvel and Billy- Cap is just some eccentric Asgardian and Billy's his kid- your outfit has more than enough gold and white on it to pass as one," Tony said, squatting down in front of the boy. "Plus, it explains away the lightning. We don't have much information on the books for Thor or any Asgardian for that matter, so a lot of people will just assume that all Asgardians can wield lightning."

"What about SHIELD?" Steve asked as Tony stood. "They have more information on Thor and other Asgardians than the public does."

"I'll handle Fury," Natasha said from her spot at the table, finally closing her last folder. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay...well with that settled, we should probably get going, right?" Clint asked, looking around the group. "Great, let's go pipsqueak," he said, scooping Billy up and tossing him over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

Billy yelped, eyes wide as a laugh erupted from him. "I'm not a bag of potatoes!" he said, pounding his fists against the archer's back. 

"Really? Cause you're as light as one."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"Really? Cause you're as light as one."

- - -

The trio of Avengers (and Billy) arrived in front of a massive mall after a quiet drive, the group clambering out of the limousine (which Billy would have never thought he'd ever ride in) and waiting for Tony as he leaned over and spoke to the driver- a man that had introduced himself to Billy as Harold "Happy" Hogan when he picked them up. Tony straightened with a grin and smacked the top of the limo before turning to the rest of them.

"Shall we?" he asked with a smirk, sliding his sunglasses down from the top of his head to cover his eyes. 

Ther started walking through the parking lot before Billy felt himself suddenly be swooped up again- (that seems to be happening a lot) and placed on someone's shoulders. The raven glanced down to find Clint pulling his arms away from the blonde and Steve chuckling before grabbing hold of Billy's legs to keep him on his shoulders. 

"Don't worry, I gotcha," he said as Billy wrapped his arms nervously around Steve's head. This felt so...domestic. He'd known these people for a day, and they were treating him like they'd known him his whole life.

It was a far cry from what he was used to- distrustful looks from Batman back when he was new and refused to reveal his civilian identity to the man, uneasy or longing looks from Superman- he remembered someone told him he'd hoped Cap had been Kryptonian when they'd first brought him onto the League.

Diana gave him slightly warmer looks, though it was clear she only saw the Champion of Magic from the tales she'd been told in her youth, and that Cap often let her down with how he acted.

Hal and Barry were nice, and they joked around and got on well enough, but there was still distance between him and them that wasn't there between the pair and other members. Arthur was hardly there as is, and he didn't seem to trust Cap- something about Zeus being untrustworthy according to Neptune or something. 

This- this gave him butterflies in his stomach, made him feel cozy and warm- it felt like he was home again, with his mom and his dad and his little sister, laughing and playing and just enjoying one another's company. 

He wasn't sure if, when the time came to give this feeling up, he could go through with it. 

"Bill, you okay up there? You seem tense," Steve said, pulling the boy from his muddled thoughts. Billy loosened his grip, swallowing thickly as a hint of red bloomed across his face.

"Sorry, Steve."

"It's okay- something buggin' you?" he asked as they came through the large glass doors marking the entrance to the mall. "You can tell us if there is, you know," he continued as the group made their way further into the large building.

"Oh my God, its the Avengers!"

"Look its Captain America!"

"OMFG Is that Tony Stark-"

"Looks like we got company..." Clint said tensely, rolling his eyes as the men we suddenly swarmed with fans. "Ope- here we go, oh boy," he said, backing up slightly when a couple of girls came running up to him.

"Alright, alright, hey folks- look, we're on a mission right now, so let's snap a couple of pictures and we'll be on our way, okay?" Tony said, taking command and stepping out slightly in front of Cap, the blonde's grip tightening ever so slightly on Billy's legs. 

"Mister Stark, who's that boy on Cap's shoulders?" 

"Mr. Stark can I get your autograph- I'm your biggest fan!"

"Cap, will you please sign my purse?"

"Why's there a kid on Captain Rogers' shoulders?"

"I wanna ride on Cap'n Mica's shoulders too, mama!"

Steve took a step back, letting out a steadying breath. "Tony..." he said, a stern look towards the billionaire.

"Right, right, I'm on it," Tony said, tilting. his head so the pair could see his eyes over his shades as he winked at them. "This way, folks! Hawkeye and Iron Man are here to take pics with you guys!" he said, leading the crowd, along with an uneasy Clint, away from Billy and Steve. 

Steve jostled the boy before turning and making his way away from the group and further into the mall. He pulled Billy off his shoulders and let the raven walk beside him, looking for stores to go into. "What about Clint and Mr. Stark?" Billy asked as they walked, glancing back where the crowd was still gathered around the pair.

"They'll be fine- they'll catch up to us once they're done. Oh, what about this place?" Steve said, stopping in front of a store with a miniature mannequin in the window wearing a button-up shirt and slacks.

Billy looked up at the soldier with a raised eyebrow. Steve looked down at him and chuckled. "I'll take that as a no. Let's keep looking then," he said, starting up again and walking in front of multiple window fronts. Billy followed suit, glancing around at the crystal clear windows and polished floors.

He ended up bumping into the back of Steve with a grunt. "Sorry-" he said, looking around the man to find that he was looking at a book store of all things. "Steve?" he asked, glancing between the blonde and the book on display in the window. 

It was a simple book, with a single image on the dark gray cover. White lettering surrounded a graphic of Steve's circular shield and a string of dog tags with illegible names on them. Billy furrowed his brow at the text- he wasn't the strongest reader, but he made do. "The Life and Legacy of Captain America and James Buchanan Barnes? Who's Jam-" Steve turned on a dime and marched into the store, leaving Billy alone outside of it.

He blinked before following the soldier inside. The bookstore was warm and earthy, with the unmistakable scent of fresh coffee wafting throughout the place. Billy didn't stand around to gawk at the hundreds of books surrounding him, however, and followed behind Steve in confusion. The blonde came up to the counter, digging in his pocket before pulling out an old leather wallet. 

"Can I get that book in the window, please?" he asked, holding out a twenty-dollar bill for the woman. She handed him one from behind the counter and he paid, taking his paper bag and scooping Billy up into his arms. 

"Who- Who James Buchanan Barnes?" he asked as they left the bookstore and continued walking. Steve's gaze was distant as he walked, his frame tense. "Steve? Hello? Earth to Steve," he said, waving a hand in front of the blonde's face. The soldier startled, glancing at Billy in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Are you okay?" Billy asked slowly. 

"Y-yeah, of course."

"You don't seem o-" Billy was interrupted by the sudden buzzing in his skull coming back, turning into agony coursing through his body. It caused him to curl inward on himself and cry out in pain. He clutched Steve's shoulder tightly, tears beading in the corners of his eyes.

"Billy- are you okay?!" Steve asked, eyes wide as he dropped the paper bag and set kneeled down in an area with benches. "What's wrong, son, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly, hands hovering over the 12-year-old.

The pain started to fade, leaving the boy sitting on the floor, clutching his stomach and breathing heavily. "i-i'm o-okay," he said shakily, small body trembling. "I d-don't know what th-that was..."

That was how Tony and Clint found them, sitting on the floor in front of a bench, Billy breathing heavily in Steve's lap as the man rubbed his back gently. "What happened here?" Tony asked, furrowing his brow when he came upon the pair. 

"I- I don't know. Billy suddenly collapsed in my arms," Steve said, glancing up at the billionaire. 

"You okay, kiddo?" Tony asked, crouching down to look at the raven.

Billy nodded shakily. "Y-yeah- i'm s-sorry-"

"Ah, ah, none of that. You didn't do anything wrong, squirt. Do you know what that was, by chance?" he asked slowly, sliding his sunglasses up onto his head. When Billy shook his head tiredly, the man scratched at his beard in thought. "Okay...alright- maybe we should take you back to the tower then. We can have Bruce run some scans and see if he can figure this out."

Clint glanced around, patting Tony on the back. "Yeah, kid, we can just order some stuff online. Malls are overrated anyways," he said with a worried grin.

Billy nodded slowly, still clutching Steve's jacket as the blonde picked him up.

- - -

Billy must have fallen asleep on the car ride back, cause when he woke up, he found himself on the couch in the living room, a plush blanket thrown over him and pillow under his head. He opened his eyes slowly, a yawn escaping him as he took in his surroundings. At the sound of hushed voices, the boy strained his ear to listen.

"We need to call a doctor. A real doctor. One with a degree in medicine, Tony," he heard Bruce say. "I have no idea what could be wrong with him. Let me make some calls. I think there's this one guy that might be able to help him."

"I don't trust doctors, Bruce. What if they do something to him? What if- what if his blood is different, or if his organs are mirrored- there's no telling just how different his universe is to ours," Tony replied quietly.

"Tony, he needs a real doctor checking him out. I'm not qualified."

Tony huffed. "Who's the doctor? Is he trustworthy?"

Bruce chuckled softly. "His name is Stephen Strange. World-class surgeon-- why are you giving me that look?"

"I know of him. He's an ass. We need to find someone better. I don't trust Strange as far as I can throw him- and believe me, I'd love to throw him."

Bruce sighed. "When was the last time you talked to him, Tony? He's way different from how he used to be. There are rumors that he got into some kind of mystical arts, or spiritual healing, or something. Maybe he's a completely different person, maybe- maybe he could help Billy with more than just his pains. Maybe he actually tapped into some kind of- of- magic, or something-"

"Et tu, Brucie? Magic isn't real! It's just science we don't understand yet!"

"Tony, science does not explain how a 10-year-old can turn into 20-something, lightning-wielding demigod. Suspend your disbelief a bit."

The elder man sighed, and Billy poked his head above the armrest of the couch to watch them. Tony pinhed the bridge of his nose tightly. "Fine- fine. Call him. Just- ugh, don't tell him i'm here..." he muttered, maneuvering past Bruce and through the doorway. He glanced at Billy, eyes softening at the sight of him.

"Finally awake, huh Sparky?" he asked, changing his course and coming over to the couch. He took a seat on the coffee table in front of the couch as Billy moved to sit up and rubbed at his eye. The billionaire glanced down at his watch then grinned at the raven. "Peter should be here in a couple of minutes- I take it you overheard some of that in there?" he asked, gesturing with his head towards the kitchen.

Billy nodded slowly. "Sorry..."

"What for? You didn't do anything wrong, kid," Tony said with a smirk. "I just don't like Strange. The guy's egotistical."

Bruce snorted from the other room. "Uh, Tony? Ever look in a mirror?"

The brunet glared at him. "Hey! I'm much better nowadays. Last time I saw Strange, he wouldn't stop talking my ear off about some kind of medical award he was in the running to get," the billionaire said with a roll of his eyes. "Couldn't get drunk enough to scrub that night from my mind..." he grumbled.

Billy giggled, shaking his head at the man. "Is he really a sorcerer?" he asked, needing to know- this guy might be his ticket home, if he could really do magic. He and Billy could talk about possible spells, maybe this Strange guy knew of an artifact or deity or something that could help him-

"Uhhh....." Tony glanced toward Bruce, who was holding his cellphone to his ear and waiting. The man nodded, and Tony rolled his eyes. "Sure. Why not."

The 12-year-old beamed. Maybe he'd be able to go home sooner than he thought.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

The 12-year-old beamed. Maybe he'd be able to go home sooner than he thought.

- - -

Billy flipped through the channels on the TV as Peter worked on his homework beside him, a bowl full of chips between the boys as they sat in the living room. Billy wasn't sure what to expect from this universe's TV channels-he hadn't have easy access to television on his own, and the ones in the Watchtower usually were only ever playing the news- it was boring, so he usually tuned it out.

"Wait, what's this?" he asked, pausing at the sight of cartoon characters on the screen. He hadn't watched cartoons since he was like, 5- he forgot how colorful they were. A smile appeared on his face when a bald man with a rifle fell flat on his face, followed by a grey rabbit snickering at him.

"Oh that's- wait, do you not have Bugs Bunny in your universe?" Peter asked, glancing up at the screen before looking at Billy.

The 12-year-old shrugged. "Not sure- I haven't watched cartoons since I was little."

"Wait, seriously? Dude, I still watch cartoons," Peter said, setting down his pencil and staring openly at the raven. Billy tensed- had he said too much? Sure, he wasn't worried about his identity here, but- the Avengers didn't need to know he was homeless.

Nobody did.

"I uh...well I just..." Billy rubbed the back of his neck nervously, furrowing his brow when he felt a familiar tingle run up his spine. He sat up straight, looking around the room and standing up. "Do you that?" he asked, continuing to look around.

"Feel...what...?" Peter asked, glancing towards Tony and Bruce- who were sitting at the bar, going over paperwork quietly. 

"It's magic. I- I know it is. It's gotta be," Billy said, his heart skipping a beat at the warm sensation flowing through the air. His eyes widened when a sparking, golden-rimmed portal suddenly opened in front of him, making the boy take a step back. Yeah, that was magic alright- it made his core ache to go back to the Rock of Eternity.

The 12-year-old furrowed his brow when a man stepped through the portal, clad in dark blue robes and a bright red velvet cape of sorts. He was tall, a stripe of white cutting through the brunet hair that covered the rest of his head, and a strange, eye-shaped pendant that radiated power. 

"Whoa..." Billy breathed, looking up at the man. For some reason, he reminded him of Dr. Fate- maybe he was this universe's Lord or Order? Either way, the boy was slightly in awe. 

The man looked around the room and Tony groaned, his head falling flat onto the bar as Bruce stood. "Dr. Strange, thank you for coming. I'm Dr. Banner, I-"

"You called me, yeah. I recognize your voice, Dr. Banner," The man said, reaching out to shake Bruce's hand. "Stark," he said, dipping his head slightly in greeting. The billionaire in question raised a hand and waved it once, head still firmly placed on the counter. 

"Right, so what's this anomaly you mentioned? Wong and I have been trying to figure-" the man paused, furrowed his brow and glancing down at Billy. "What the..." Strange crouched down to stare at the 12-year-old with narrowed eyes. He looked him up and down before glancing at Bruce, then looked at him again.

"So it's you then."

Billy swallowed thickly. "Y-yeah...um, my name is Billy Batson, i'm-"

"Not from around here, as I understand it," Strange finished for him.

Tony stood, coming closer to stand behind the boy and scowl at Strange. "Knock it off," he said sternly. The doctor raised an eyebrow at him before glancing at Bruce.

"Did I do something wrong...?" he asked sarcastically. "I came here under the impression that you Avengers had come across a dimensional anomaly- that and someone needed medical assistance," he said before kneeling down in front of the 12-year-old. "I'm going to assume you're both."

Billy nodded slowly- yeah, this guy was really similar to Dr. Fate. "I uh, I keep getting these really bad pains in my head, like my skull is vibrating or something- and it just gets worse and makes my whole body hurt, but then it just goes away," Billy explained.

Strange nodded slowly, scratching at his beard as he stood up. "Hm...well, it could be a myriad of things- though our most likely culprit is the fact that you're not in the dimension you're supposed to be in."

"Really? Why- why would that hurt me?"

"Not sure-" Strange replied, holding a hand out and drawing an intricate rune in the air out of golden light. He flicked it, sending it crashing into Billy and making the boy wince slightly. "What the...?" Stephen furrowed his brow in confusion, looking at the boy like he'd grown a second head. "You're- you're practically radiating mystical energy," he said slowly. "What are you?"

"Oh uh...well um..." Billy rubbed the back of his head. "I-I'm magic, like you- I mean I'm still human, obviously, but uh..." he trailed off.

"Kid, the only being that I've seen give off that kind of mystical energy is the Ancient One. The former Sorcerer Supreme."

Billy furrowed his brow- yeah, okay, that title could work. "I mean, I guess that's kind of what I am in my universe. I'm the Champion of Magic- the guardian of the Rock Of Eternity; uh, my universe's nexus of magic." He met Stephen's eyes. "Maybe that's similar to your universe's Sorcerer Supreme?"

"That'd make more sense than any theory I had- despite the fact that you're a child. That must be why you're experiencing these pains- the magic of your universe isn't meshing well with this universe. I might have something in the Sanctum to help ease the pain...but the only way to stop it completely is for you to go back to your own universe," The brunet said, glancing at Bruce and Tony.

"I'm going to bring him with me to the Sanctum Sanctorum. I'll return him once we've found the appropriate artifact to ease his pain," he said, throwing open a portal behind him.

"Whoa, wait, what-" Tony said, taking a step forward. "You can't just snatch the kid away like this Strange-"

"Can I come?" Peter asked excitedly from the couch.

Stephen glanced between the pair. "We'll be right back. You people need to stay here. I don't trust you not to mess with the Sanctum's artifacts," he said, gesturing towards the portal and looking at Billy.

The 12-year-old glanced towards Tony. "I'll be okay, Mister Stark. I can handle myself just fine, remember?" he said with a grin before hopping through the portal.

- - -

Billy stepped out onto the other side, finding himself in a large, semi-circular room with a large circular window at the end of it. "Whoa..." he breathed, spinning in a circle to look around.

This place was way fancier than the Rock of Eternity- he'd probably have to spruce the place up pretty soon, make it his own, cause this- this was cool.

"No nausea by the looks of it," Strange said as he came through the portal, watching the boy and closing the portal behind him. "You must use these a lot."

"Oh yeah, my main way of traveling to the Rock is by portals- way quicker than taking the subway," Billy said with a grin, looking back at the elder man. 

"Right- this way," Stephen said, turning on his heel and leading the boy into another room. Billy followed dutifully behind, eyes catching on the various mystical artifacts displayed around him. He grinned at the sight of a golden staff, tilting his head at the light glinting off it as he followed Strange down the hall. The man ducked into a room and Billy continued to follow.

"There should be something in here. I assume you can do magic?" Stephen asked, looking around the room before glancing back at Billy. At his affirmative nod, the doctor continued to rummage. "Good- you'll need to tie your magical signature to this in order to repress those pains."

Billy watched him for a moment before looking around the room- it looked like any ordinary storage room, save for the fact that everything around him radiated mystical energy. Seriously, Billy wasn't sure he'd ever seen a more dense collection of artifacts- it was amazing.

"So how did you end up in this universe anyways, Willy?" Stephen asked as he looked through a cardboard box, made a sound of irritation, and started looking through another box. 

"It's Billy. And uh... I'm not really sure. I was practicing magic in the Rock of Eternity since I'm not the best at it- I have a lot of trouble conjuring things that aren't elements- and I- I guess I opened a portal somehow. I really don't know how it happened though."

Strange glanced back at him with a confused look, his eyebrows knit together as he stared at the boy. "You said you were the Champion of Magic in your world. How can you not be good at it?" 

Billy rubbed the back of his neck, plopping down on a velvet chair covered in dust. "Oh, well uh... I guess technically my other form is the Champion of Magic...like this i'm just regular ol' Billy Batson," he said, trailing off as the doctor continued to stare at him.

"You have multiple forms."

Billy nodded, and the man sighed, going back to his rummaging. "Fair enough," he said as he searched. He abandoned that box and started looking through a third- Billy would have offered to help, but he wouldn't even know what to look for, much less dig through objects like this.

It was like digging through someone's purse- you just didn't do it. 

"Okay, my turn," Billy said, swinging his legs as he got a raised eyebrow from the doctor. "Why is this happening to me? I've never gotten these kinds of pains before, and I've traveled dimensions before."

"Dimensions and Universes are very different things."

"Wait, they are?" 

Strange nodded, moving to another, larger box. "Crossing dimensions is as easy as slipping between the folds of your universe. It's like opening a book to a page, flipping the book upside down, and placing your finger on the page. Or starting on one page and flipping through the book to a completely different page. You're still reading the same book, things are just slightly different from your point of view," Strange explained, glancing back at the boy.

"Crossing universes is like starting on the page of one book, say...page 616, and opening a completely different book, and opening said book to the same page number. Difficult to do, if not impossible. Plus, the second book could be in a different language, or be a different genre- you have no idea what you're going to get, even if you do land on the same page. A knight from the first book won't fit into the second book about space pirates."

Billy blinked- that...actually made sense in a weird way. "So, because I'm in the wrong book..." he trailed off as a small smirk appeared on Dr. Strange's face.

"...the story's rejecting you. No room for something that doesn't fit, but it's too hard for this universe to send you back to where you came from- so it's trying to force you to send yourself back."

"But I have no idea how I got here in the first place- how am I supposed to get home?" Billy lamented, head falling back and thudding against the back of the chair as he stared up at the ceiling. Stephen shrugged, continuing his search.

"Aha! Here it is," Stephen said, pulling out a golden band with a large emerald embedded into the metal.

Intricate runes were carved into the bracelet and a low energy ebbed off of it in waves. Stephen made an intricate gesture and flicked a glowing rune into the gold, making it flare with light before offering it to the 12-year-old. "Add a spell to that- it can be anything, it just needs your mystical signature to work."

"And this'll- this'll make my knight fit in with the space pirates?" Billy asked, taking the bracelet and looking down at it.

"It'll..." Strange sighed. "It'll put him in a pirate outfit. Not a permanent fix, but hopefully, it'll give you some time."

Sure, that wasn't the most reassuring thing Dr. Strange could have said, but even if this only had a chance of working it was better than having nothing at all. He clamped the bracelet around his wrist and placed a hand over top. The raven shut his eyes and let out a breath, centering himself and allowing his magic to 'flow like a bloody river, rather than forcing it through him like a dam' as John Constantine would put it.

"Etingi," he breathed, the bracelet flaring with light again before dying down. He didn't feel any different, he thought as he shook his wrist in an attempt to get used to the metal around it. "That's it?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

Strange nodded. "For now, at least. Not sure how long it'll last, so it's better we get you back to the place you belong sooner rather than later."

The boy smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Strange."

"Don't mention it," Strange said, leading him out of the room and down the hall. "Seriously. Don't. I don't need everyone calling me seeking mystical objects to fix their everyday problems," he continued before throwing open a portal that Billy assumed led back to Avengers' Tower.

"Now go on. I'll contact some of my associates and see if there's anything we can do to send you back to your own universe. There's no telling what your being here is doing to the balance of both our worlds."

Billy nodded with a wide grin. "Thank you," he said before stepping through the portal and into the living room. He made it two steps before someone tripped over him, crashing to the ground with a grunt and a cry of outrage. 

"Oops."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

Billy nodded with a wide grin. "Thank you," he said before stepping through the portal and into the living room. He made it two steps before someone tripped over him, crashing to the ground with a grunt and a cry of outrage. 

"Oops."

- - -

Billy stumbled onto the floor, the carpet beneath him giving him a nasty rug burn on his elbow and making him wince.

He heard a cry of outrage and glanced up to find Thor trying to clam a black-haired man dressed in dark, black and green leather as he clambered up from the floor. The man had thick, golden handcuffs surrounding his wrists, as well as identical cuffs surrounding his legs, and was simultaneously glaring at the God of Thunder and staring at him in confusion.

Billy clambered up slowly, staring up at the man with wide eyes. It was strange- he was dressed just like Thor, and yet there was this void to the man- like, there should have been magic emanating off him the way it did for the Thunder God, but for some reason, it was gone- scrubbed from his lanky, lean form. 

The 12-year-old furrowed his brow, touching the rug burn on his elbow and wincing in pain. The other people in the room- the Avengers- turned their attention towards him. "Billy, are you okay?" Steve asked as he came over to the boy, kneeling down beside him. 

"Yeah- yeah, it's just a carpet burn," Billy said, clambering up as Steve's hands hovered over BIlly's form. "But look- Strange gave me this," he said, showing off the bracelet to the captain- though he seemed distracted. He'd placed himself between Billy and the taller raven next to Thor-- oh right, Thor was there too.

"Hi Thor!" he said happily, poking his head around the super soldier and waving.

The Asgardian's gaze shifted from the man in green and black to Billy, throwing his arms open and coming closer to pick the boy up. "William! I was wondering where you'd run off to," he said, holding the boy against his hip and turning to glance between his teammates and the newcomer. "This is my brother, Loki," he said with a proud grin.

Billy's eyes widened- the Wizard had told him stories about Loki! He was one of the few Norse Gods he really knew about- him and Balder. Billy grinned widely as he stared at the raven-haired trickster. "Norse God of sorcery, fire, and mischief?? I know about Loki!" he said, getting a confused and shocked look from the God- only for the expression to turn into a smirk. 

"Oh I like this one," he purred, raising a brow at the boy before both Steve and Clint stepped between them. Billy furrowed his brow- what was with these guys? Loki wasn't a bad guy- sure, he was the God of mischief and trickery, but he was fairly harmless to humans.

It wasn't like he was someone like Ares- now that guy had some issues.

"What're you guys doing?" Billy asked, getting looks from the pair in front of him and Thor. The Thunder God chuckled and moved past them, standing beside his brother and clapping a hand on the shorter God's shoulder- and getting a scowl in return.

"Loki's dangerous," Clint said, the 12-year-old only just now noticing that the man had his bow drawn in the direction of the trickster God.

"He tried to invade New York with an army of aliens," Tony said from where he was leaning against the bar, rolling his eyes as he spoke.

"Thor, you said Loki was facing repercussions for his war crimes," Steve said, folding his arms over his chest and glancing between the pair of Gods and Billy. "What is he doing here, where he could hurt someone?" 

"Wait- war crimes?" Billy asked, confusion etched int his features as the glanced towards the taller raven. "Is-is that why he's like a vacuum over there? Those cuffs," he said, wriggling out of Thor's grip and dropping onto the ground. "Are they locking away your magic?" he asked, coming closer to the man. 

Loki crouched down to be eye level with the boy and Billy was suddenly swept up into someone's arms- Steve's. The boy sighed, glancing back at him with an unimpressed look. He glanced back at the trickster God, who stood back up. "I was wondering why the Norse God of Magic didn't have any radiating off him," he said, shoving away from the super-soldier and forcing him to drop Billy.

"You can sense magic...?" Loki asked slowly.

Billy nodded with a grin. "I'm it's Champion, where I come from."

"And where is that...?" Loki asked slowly, his interest clearly piqued. 

"Loki..." Thor said in warning.

"Well excuse me for being curious as to how a Midgardian child is able to sense my magic- or there lack of. Midgardians aren't exactly known for their mystical abilities, you oaf," Loki replied with a roll of his eyes before turning said eyes on the boy once more. 

"It's okay, Thor- really," Billy said with a grin. "I'm from another universe. One where I'm the guardian of the Rock of Eternity- that's my world's nexus of magic. So I'm kinda really good at sensing magic- even if I can't perform it very well in this form," he continued.

"Okay- Thor, you still haven't explained why Loki here is in my house," Tony said, sliding off the barstool and coming over to where Clint and Steve stood. "Got any explanation for that, Pointbreak?"

Thor clapped his hand on Loki's shoulder again, causing the man to sneer at him and pull away angrily. "Ah yes- I was able to convince my father to allow Loki to accompany me to Midgard- giving him the chance at rehabilitation, rather than execution," he said with a wide grin. "So I brought him here! What better place to be rehabilitated than Avengers' Tower?" 

The group groaned as Billy lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Thor, do you realize how bad of an Idea this-" Natasha was cut off by another voice.

"Hey, I got the foo-" the new voice, Peter's voice, joined the group, causing them to glance back at the teenager currently standing in the open elevator with a multitude of bags hanging from his arms. "What...the..." the spider trailed off, swallowing thickly and glancing between the heroes and the God of Mischief. 

"Wait, isn't that Loki?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"In the flesh, Spider-boy," Loki said, expression melting into a confident smirk. 

"Oh, no no no no," Tony said, placing himself between Loki and Peter- even though the boy was across the room. "Thor, he can't stay here. I won't have him endangering the people here," he said, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at the thunder god.

"But friend Stark... he is my brother. I cannot see him executed- this- this is his only hope..." Thor said, surprising Billy at the sudden puppy-dog eyes he displayed. "Please, Anthony...if I bring him back to Asgard, Allfather will kill him. Let him learn from his mistakes- as you have." The boy glanced between the pair before looking at Loki- the trickster was glaring at the ground- his shoulders slumped slightly and posture of someone who knew he was a goner but wouldn't show it for the life of him.

"Thor, he can't just-"

"Let him stay, Tony," Billy said suddenly, looking up at the billionaire. "We rehabilitate villains in my universe all the time- we have a whole program dedicated to it, and 7/10 times it works. Let me help him- you can't just let him die," the 12-year-old continued. "I'll even take responsibility for him. You all know I can handle whatever happens, whatever tricks Loki may pull," he glaned around.

"Please. Don't send him to his death, Tony," he said, giving the billionaire his own set of puppy-dog eyes. 

Stark sighed, his shoulders slumping as he ran a hand through his hair. "Fine..." he said, getting an incredulous look from Rogers. "But that- that...magic...dampening stuff stays on. At least until he proves to us that he'd not going to kill us all."

Loki rolled his eyes. "No tact. If I were going to kill you, you'd already be dead."

"Big words for a man currently in handcuffs," Clint growled, bow still pointed at the God's head. 

"Uhh...are...are we still going to eat?" Peter asked, lifting the plastic bags up. "Cause these are getting heavy."

"Can't you lift a car?" Billy asked. 

Peter smirked. "Maybe."

- - -

That night, after the sun had gone down and the food was gone, Billy found himself lying on the couch in the living room alone, wrapped in a blanket and staring off into space while the TV played cartoons in the background. 

He'd been left alone for the most part- it probably helped that it was currently 11 pm and the Avengers probably expected him to be asleep by then. Billy glanced away from the spot on the wall he'd been staring at when someone came into the room.

They passed him and went outside, onto the balcony, and Billy sat up to see who it was. He found Loki leaning over the partial guard rail, looking up at the stars quietly. Billy threw off his blanket and clambered down from the couch, walking over to the glass door and heaving it open. The cool night air rustled Billy's hair as he came closer to the God, stopping when he was standing beside him. 

Loki glanced down at him before looking out at the city. "What are you doing out here?" the man asked, keeping his jade green eyes moving around the city below. "Aren't your precious Avengers going to panic when they see you out here with me?" 

Billy shrugged as he looked out at the city as well. "I dunno. But who cares- you won't hurt me." he continued, glancing up at the God with a grin.

Loki furrowed his brow, turning his attention towards the 12-year-old. "How do you know...?" he asked slowly, eyes narrowing as he spoke. 

"Cause you're not a bad guy. You're a trickster God- that's not inherently evil, despite what you, for some reason, want people to think," Billy said with a giggle. Loki stayed quiet, and Billy glanced back out at the city. "I dunno about this whole alien army business, but that doesn't sound like it falls in line with your style."

"As Batman would say, 'if it doesn't make sense, there's usually a reason'," he glanced up at Loki and met his eyes. "And usually that reason is mind control," his expression became grim.

Loki tensed, his grip on the railing tightening slightly. Billy noticed that the chain between his golden cuffs was gone, but the cuffs themselves were still there. His gaze lingered on them. "Mind control is...it's a nasty thing. I've dealt with it on my world plenty of times," he said, leaning against the railing and looking out at New York City.

"It makes good people do bad things. It can be hard to justify yourself afterward, cause- how crazy does it sound to say you were mind-controlled?" Billy said as the wind rustled his hair. "Or even if it was a powerful suggestion- someone might argue that you still knew what you were doing, and you still acted somewhat like yourself. It makes you wonder, makes you question yourself and ask if it really was just you, if you really are a bad guy."

The boy sighed. "But it isn't true. I know it isn't, Loki. An alien invasion, one that resulted in people dying in cold blood- that isn't something you wanted, was it?" he asked slowly, looking up at the god again.

Loki shut his eyes, letting out a low sigh. "....No." he breathed. "It...it wasn't me," he said, almost like he was finally admitting it to himself. A small smile spread across Billy's face. Loki glanced down at him and made a face at his smile, rolling his eyes at the boy. "Enough of that. Don't want people getting the wrong impression and thinking I like you or something."

Billy laughed. "Shame- cause I like you, Loki."

The corner of the God's mouth turned up. "Alright- alright- now go on. You need rest and other such trivial things Midgardian children need," he said, shooing the boy away from the ledge and towards the glass door. Billy did as he was told, pausing at the door and glancing back at the much taller raven. 

"Goodnight, Loki."

"...Goodnight."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"...Goodnight."

- - -

Three days later, and Billy was going stir-crazy. He was used to having something to do every day, be it looking for food or taking out bad guys- so this quiet, calm air- it put him on edge. Things only got this quiet when something really bad was about to happen- at least, that was how it worked back home. 

The 12-year-old went down to Tony's lab, trudging down the steps and thanking Jarvis when he opened the door for him. Tony and Bruce were busy working, still trying to crack interdimensional travel as Loki watched them from afar, filing his nails while he lounged on the old leather couch in the corner of the room. 

"Hey Loki..." he said, moving past the pair of scientists and towards the trickster God. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked,  plopping down easily beside the taller raven. Tony and Bruce glanced between him and the Asgardian tensely before Billy looked at both of them with his eyebrows raised. They slowly went back to work, and Billy turned his attention back on the man beside him.

"I haven't seen you in a couple of days."

Loki stopped in his filing, sitting up and giving Billy slightly more room. "Captain Rogers and that Agent Romanov have been 'interrogating' me," he said with a smirk, implying they hadn't gotten anything useful out of him.

Billy chuckled, shaking his head at the man. "When are they gonna let you take those cuffs off? I'd love to learn some magic tips from you if you'd be willing to teach me," Billy said, and this time Tony dropped his tool and came over.

"Oh no, none of that. Reindeer games isn't comin' out of those things no matter what," he said, glancing between the two before opening the minifridge near them and digging in it. "Not while he still has that aura of rotten around him," he said, pulling out a can of soda.

The 12-year-old furrowed his brow. "His aura isn't rotten- cracked, sure, but it's not rotten. I mean it's bright blue, just like yours, Mr. Stark," Billy huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Both Tony and Loki gave him a weird look. 

"Wait, that's an actual thing?" Tony asked, facepalming and dragging his hand down his face. "I hate magic..." he muttered before walking off.

"More importantly, you can sense auras," Loki said in interest. "You keep getting more interesting, William...well, as interesting as a Midgardian can be, anyways," he said, going back to filing his nails.

"Well, I can kinda sense them- it's like a little bit of bleedthrough around your body- but when I'm Cap I can see full-blown auras. It's really cool," Billy said, kicking his feet back and forth as he spoke. "I can-"

"LOKI!" An angry Steve yelled from the doorway, the uniform in his hand an ungodly shade of pink- how did he even manage that with a blue suit??? An unimpressed and annoyed Natasha followed the soldier into the room as the man pointed an angry finger at the God.

"Hm, though it'd take you longer to find that," Loki said, continuing to file his nails.

"How did you even-"

"Is that my nail file?"

Loki tossed the object towards Natasha and stood, stretching with a smirk before looking Steve in the eyes. "What's wrong, Captain? I thought you'd be more confident in your masculinity. You're America's golden boy, aren't you?" he asked, causing the super soldier's eye to twitch.

The god sighed. "Let's go then- more interrogation, I take it?" he asked slowly, folding his hands behind his back and glancing between the two humans. Billy watched from the couch in confusion- why were they interrogating him in the first place?

"Wait- can;t we give Loki a break? He hasn't done anything in the past couple of days-" Steve held up his hot pink uniform. "Okay, anything that would hurt anybody," Billy said, sliding off the couch and standing up. "Why don't we give him a break?" he asked, placing himself between the God and the humans. "Please?" he asked, giving the pair his best puppy dog eyes.

Natasha's own eyes narrowed at him, a small smirk appearing on her face. "Fine," she said, tugging on Steve's arm as he sputtered.

"Wait, Natasha, you can't be serious-" 

"We've all seen what Billy can do. I have no doubt he can slap the shit out of Loki if he gets out of line."

"Language."

Loki raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Alright, William, i'm not sure how you managed to pull that off, but color me impressed. Where will you be taking me, then?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"You seem like a library type of guy- so we'll go there," Billy said, grabbing hold of the God's hand and not noticing the surprise in his face as he was tugged along- nor did he notice the small smile that appeared on his face as he was pulled up the stairs and out of the lab by the 12-year-old.

- - -

Billy was busy looking at the various titles on the spines of books in the circular library as Loki looked around. The boy grew frustrated when he didn't manage to find anything interesting- all these books were on business or automotive work, technology through the ages or industry management. So in other words- boring.

He sighed, glancing back at the trickster. "You find anything good? All I found was boring stuff," he said, plopping down in a chair with a sigh. Loki glanced up from the pages and shook his head, closing the book and sliding it back into the bookshelf.

"No. You'd think Stark would have a more extensive collection, considering the man's a billionaire."

"Oh he does- it's just digital," a voice said from the doorway to the library. Billy brightened at the sight of Peter, running over to the teenager and giving him a hug. "Hey dude- what're you hangin' out with Loki for?" he asked, coming into the library and making the God roll his eyes.

"We're trying to find something good to read. You said Mr. Stark had more digital books?" Billy asked as he followed Peter to a cabinet. The teenager opened the doors and pulled out a tablet, holding it out to the 12-year-old.

"Yep- not sure what you'll find on there though. Mr. Stark has some pretty weird interests," he said, glancing at Loki. "Heard what you did to Steve's suit," he said with a grin. "Nice one," he held up a hand, and Loki glanced at it with a raised eyebrow and a confused look. "...uhh...high-five?" Peter asked, moving his hand a little closer.

Loki brought his own hand up unsurely, and Peter smacked his against it with a laugh.

"Wait, you're not- upset that i did that?" Loki asked slowly, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he looked at the teenager.

Peter shook his head with a grin. "It was a prank, wasn't it? That was a good one. I'm sure Billy'll change the color back to normal before the suit is really needed, but it's still funny to see. Captain Rogers' feathers get ruffled every once in a while."

"I don't understand."

"Mr. Stark and I pull pranks on Steve all the time- well, him and Clint. Tony tends to be the only one that'll prank Bruce and no one does it to Natasha- Clint tried once, and ended up with a broken pinkie for his efforts. But yeah- that was a nice one."

"Peter, there's nothing in here that's interesting. It's all weird stuff like alpaca care and sci-fi and info on something called the 'raft'. There's no stories in here," Billy said defeatedly, setting the tablet down on the table with a huff.

"You want stories?" Loki asked, leaning back against the wall from where he'd sat down- a heap of floor pillows sitting against the wall. "I have stories I could tell, if that would interest you..." Loki said slowly, glancing between the pair. Billy lit up excitedly and Peter grinned, glancing back at BIlly before looking towards Loki again.

"Yeah, that sounds great-"

"Great- that sounds amazing! Please tell us something!!" Billy said excitedly, rushing over and hopping onto a pillow beside Loki. Loki bristled for a moment before settling as Peter took a seat near the man as well. 

"Alright...well... what about a story from myself and Thor's youth? I could tell you about the time that oaf managed to get his head stuck in a Bilgesnipe trap..." he said, a smirk appearing on his face. The boys nodded excitedly, and Loki set off into his epic tale.

Many hours, and many more stories later, Loki found himself resting against the wall, Billy sleeping with his head in the God's lap while Peter slept snuggled up against his leg. He opened his eye when Billy stirred, a small yawn escaping the boy as he woke up. 

"Good morning, Willaim," Loki whispered quietly. Billy blinked up at him sleepily, snuggling further into his lap. "Or not..."

"Thank you Loki..." Billy mumbled softly. 

"For what...?"

"For the stories...they were..." the boy yawned. "...awesome."

The trickster God sighed, carding his slender fingers through the boy's dark mop of hair. He wasn't sure how the boy had managed to get to him this fast, but he had. "You're welcome, child. Just don't make it a habit," he said sternly, his words holding no weight.

Billy giggled tiredly, shutting his eyes against the god's leg. The Asgardian shook his head at the boy. He could tell things would only get worse from there- he liked the child too much. Maybe he could give this whole rehabilitation thing a try- if only for Billy's sake. 

Loki sighed, shutting his own eyes. He was getting soft.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

Loki sighed, shutting his own eyes. He was getting soft.

- - -

Captain Marvel clenched his fists tightly as he struggled against the massive, mutant octopus he was currently wrestling. The thing was sticky and slimy and made him want to puke every time he touched it- seriously, who thought this was a good idea?!

He managed to send a shock through the tentacle he was struggling with, causing the creature to cry out in pain and rear backward away from him. A volley of arrows exploded against the creature's slimy skin, making it screech in pain and allowing Cap to fly backwards and regroup with the other Avengers.

He landed on the roof next to Hawkeye, staring at the beast as it tried swatting both Iron man and Black Widow out of the air. The former sacrificed her flying motorbike to the creature, sending it careening into its side and falling through the air as it exploded.

Cap rocketed towards her and caught her mid-air, bringing the assassin back to Hawkeye's perch. "Okay, so since plan A didn't seem to work, what's our plan B?" Captain Marvel asked, glancing between the two as he spoke through the comms. 

Clint and Natasha glanced at one another and Marvel groaned, shooting up in the air. "Cap? Tony? Anything, guys?" he asked, rocketing towards the creature and attempting to shoulder-check it. He was grabbed out of the air and thrown unceremoniously into the side of a building, frustrating the demigod.

"The thing reacts to your powers," Tony said with a grunt as Iron Man could be seen narrowly maneuvering around a rogue tentacle.

"Thor, Marvel, see if your combined lightning will be enough to more than stun it," Steve's voice said through the lines as the squid screeched. Marvel shook the dust from his hair and shot off into the air again, pausing in the air beside Thor. The God smirked at him, holding out his hand for Marvel to take.

The raven grabbed hold and nodded at Thor. The blonde turned his attention towards the sky as Cap braced himself. Thunder rumbled overhead before a lightning bolt careened downward. Captain Marvel yelled his word of power, causing the lightning bolt to triple in size as it came down, traveling through Mjolnir, Thor, and Cap before moving in the direction of the monstrous creature. 

Billy suddenly took the place of Cap, dropping out of the air. Thor's grip on his arm tightened, keeping him from plummeting to the earth as the squid jolted and spasmed, millions of volts traveling through it.

The giant squid came crashing down to the streets below, shaking the ground as it landed and smoke trailed upward from it. Billy let out a sigh,  small smile gracing his face. He glanced up at Thor, who was grinning even wider. "Hey, mind tossing me up?" he asked with a mischievous grin, to which the Thunder God smirked and nodded. He hoisted Billy up before throwing him upward towards the clouds.

He felt the rush of wind blow past his ears and couldn't help the giggle that came out of him, glancing around at the clouds around him.

"SHAZAM!"

"So what now?" Clint asked through the comms as Captain Marvel shook away the smoke from the lightning. He was down there in seconds, landing atop the skyscraper alongside Thor as Tony came rocketing towards them, carrying Steve in his arms like he'd seen Superman do a hundred times over. They landed and Tony looked around at the group, his faceplate sliding back to reveal a smirk.

"Good work, guys- now we just gotta figure out who sent Gezora over there and we'll be golden," he said, crossing his arms over his chest proudly. When the entire group gave him a confused look, he sighed, dropped his arms and rolling his eyes. "...the kaiju...? Like Godzilla...?"

Marvel snorted, shaking his head at the man. "Why does it not surprise me you would know about something so specific? Nerd."

Tony narrowed his eyes with a grin and pointed at the demigod. "Watch it, kid- my references are amazing."

"Sure- when people actually get them," Marvel replied with a smirk. "Hey uh- where's Bruce, by the way?"

The others looked around, Clint taking the chance to glance over the edge of the building down at the squid. "Uh...Hulk's currently tearing the limbs off the squid down there," he said, making a face before looking back at the group. "And I ain't going down there to stop him," he said, putting his hands up in surrender.

Tony sighed. "I got it..."

- - -

Billy dusted the smoke from his shoulders as he came into the tower, glancing around the living room. "Loki? You here?" he called out, moving from the living room to the hallway that led to the library. "Looookiiiiiii," he called out, furrowing his brow when he didn't hear a reply from the God of Mischief. 

He opened the library door and found the God sitting amongst a pile of pillow on the ground, a thick novel in his hands and black headphones over his ears. He glanced up when Billy came in, his eyes softening slightly at the sight of the boy. "William," he said, looking back down at his book. "What bring you here?"

"Peter doesn't get out of school until three- so I was gonna come to hang out with you if that's ok," Billy said as he came closer, plopping down onto a pillow beside the man. Loki glanced down at him and smirked, shaking his head at the boy as he turned his attention back on his book. The peace and quiet lasted only for a moment, before Billy was wincing in pain and gripping his head.

"William?" Loki asked, setting his book down and reaching a hand out towards the boy. "What's wrong...?"

The pain that had rippled through the boy faded, leaving him breathing heavily with tears beading in the corners of his eyes. "Ngh- I think...I think the bracelet's run out of juice," he said, lifting his wrist to show the God the golden band around his wrist. "Ow...it's- it's supposed to keep me and my magic stable while I'm in this universe... Dr. Strange said it wouldn't last forever, but I thought it'd last more than a month..."

He leaned back against the wall tiredly. "I can't- can't believe I've been here for a month..." he shut his eyes tightly as a ripple of pain shot through him. "My...my team must be worried s-sick looking for me," he winced. "At least... I'd hope they'd be w-worried sick..."

He pulled the band off slowly, slipping it over his hand and looking at it before sucking in a sudden breath. Billy hissed in pain and doubling over, clutching his head and crying out. Loki watched as his form suddenly started to flicker before regaining its solidity- what in Heimdall's name was happening?

Loki's eyes widened, his frame tensing as he put his hand against Billy's back. "William- William! Jarvis, tell the Avengers that William's in pain!" he said in a panic- hopefully Stark's AI would listen to him. He glanced at the discarded golden band and grabbed it, sliding it back onto the boy's wrist. His breathing became slightly less heavy, but he was still doubled over, moaning in pain and trembling violently. 

The door to the library was thrown open, Tony running inside and looking around before catching sight of Loki trying to console the boy. "What happened?!" he asked, kneeling down in front of Billy and picking him up in his arms. 

"I don't know, he took that golden band off his arm and suddenly collapsed- he said that its power was gone," Loki said as Stark stood, running after the man as he took him out of the library. 

"Jarvis, tell everyone to meet me in the lab- and get Dr. Strange on the line, maybe he can fix this!" Tony said as the elevator doors opened and he dashed into them. Loki was quick to follow, sliding in as the metallic doors slid shut. When they opened again, the pair were in Tony's lab- Bruce was already pulling over a medical bed and Tony laid him down on it.

Billy was still breathing heavily, wincing in pain and shaking like a leaf as the pair of scientists brought him closer to an array of machinery. Loki swallowed thickly, moving to follow them when an arrow was suddenly in his field of vision, centimeters away from clotheslining him. He glanced towards the source of the arrow, finding Clint holding it out with a glare as Steve and Natasha ran by behind him.

"Don't you dare get close to him," he growled before putting the arrow away and running towards the boy on the bed. Loki glared at the man, Thor patting his shoulder as he passed. The God watched from afar as the heroes gathered around the boy, anxiety gripping his frame tightly.

"Sir, Dr. Strange isn't answering," Jarvis said, getting a slightly panicked look from the billionaire. 

"Shit- Bruce, can you do something for him? You're a doct-"

"You know very well that I am not that kind of doctor!!"

Billy whimpered, tears trailing down his cheeks as he cried, clutching his head as he curled in on himself. "It's okay, kid- it'll be okay-" Clint said, glancing around the group and setting a hand on the kid's shoulder.

Loki set his gaze on the boy, hands curling into fists. "I can help him," he said, pushing past the threat the archer had made and coming closer to the group. "That band is powered by magic, maybe I can fix it- make it stronger for him. A mortal's magic is no match for a God's," he said, offering his wrists out for someone to take the cuffs off of him.

Clint put himself between the trickster and Billy, his glare sharp and cold. "Hell no- you're not gonna help him, we're gonna take those cuffs off and you'll just disappear," he growled, only for Natasha to push him backward and away from the God, her hand on his shoulder as she guided him away.

"Thor, get those things off him," Tony said, glancing down at Billy as he cried out in pain, twitching as his form seemed to flicker in and out of existence.

Clint glanced at him with wide, angry eyes. "What are you doing, Stark?!"

"Do you want him to be in pain, Barton!? Look at him and tell me we have another option!" he yelled as Billy's form continued to flicker like a holographic image. "Loki says he can help, says that he will- I'm not gonna let Billy's atoms scramble themselves if there's something that can be done about it!" the billionaire snapped, glaring the archer down as Thor got the cuffs off Loki.

The raven-haired God ignored the sudden flush of magic running through him, pushing past the warmth to move to Billy's side. He placed a hand on the golden band, the cold metal wrapped around Billy's wrist practically drained of the magic that had once been inside of it. Loki tensed- there was barely anything left. 

He set to work immediately, one hand on the golden band and the other grabbing hold of Billy's hand. His breathing had gotten harsh and shallow, cries dying down to whimpers and wheezed as his form continued to flicker on the table. "Hold on, William, hold on-" he said, shutting his eyes and forcing his magic to move through the golden band and tie itself to Billy. His hands glowed as they pressed firmly against the boy.

He felt a sudden block, causing him to tense and furrow his brow. "What's-" he winced at the sudden heat coming from the boy's core. "Let me through, damned essence- I'm trying to save your vessel," he growled, forcing more of his own magic through the boy's skin.

The block faltered, and Loki pushed even harder. "I'm not going to hurt him..." he breathed, trying desperately to prove to the magical essence inside the boy that he was no threat. "Let me help him," he pleaded, the block suddenly vanishing and allowing Loki to envelop the boy in his magic. 

Billy's form stabilized in a matter of seconds, his chest arching forwards before he slumped, his eyes shut as he fell unconscious. Loki was left breathing heavily, refusing to take his hand away from the 12-year-old's. His grip tightened around the golden band, turning his already exhausted attention towards it.

He muttered a spell under his breath, golden dust emitting from his mouth in spiraled bursts before flowing into the bracelet. The runes on it changed from Greek ones to Norse as Loki finished the spell, the letters flaring outward with light before dying down. 

He let go of the boy then, his hand hovering over Billy's sleeping form unsurely. "He...he should be okay..." he muttered, looking the child over. The heroes were staring at him- he hated that. Tony glanced down at the boy before looking at the God with a smirk.

"Someone's got a sot spot for the kid," he said with a small grin.

Clint narrowed his eyes at the God. "How do we know he didn't just knock him out and steal his powers or something?" he asked, only to smacked upside the head by Natasha.

"Did you and I witness the same thing, Barton?" 

Billy suddenly stirred, and Rogers moved to help him. Bright, icy blue eyes opened slowly, looking around tiredly. "John...?" he muttered nearly incoherently, looking up at the blonde. Steve glanced at the others before looking back down at Billy.

"Afraid not, son."

The boy winced, brow furrowing as he tried to sit up a little more. Steve helped him, his hand acting as something for Billy to lean against. "Ngh...wha..." he brought a hand up to his head. "Where...where's Dr. Fate..." he muttered to himself, confusing the heroes around him. He shook his head, blinking hard and looking around. 

"Why're we in the lab...?" he asked, his previous confusion replaced with a different confusion. "Wait...weren't we just in the library?" Billy asked, glancing towards Loki with a groggy look. "Why am..I..." he trailed off, sitting up straight.

"The bracelet-" he said, glancing down at it with wide eyes. He swallowed thickly at the sight of it, furrowing his brow at the new runes. "What...?"

"Loki here fixed that for you- not sure what he did, but it stopped you from flickering," Steve said when no one spoke. Billy watched as Thor pulled out the God's cuffs again, making the boy furrow his brow in confusion.

"Wait, wait- you're not gonna put those things back on him, are you?" he asked, putting a hand out towards the Thunder God as Loki offered his wrist reluctantly. Everyone looked at him, and he swallowed thickly. "He just- he just saved me. You can't possibly think it's right to put those things back on him. Hasn't he been tortured enough?" 

"Tortured...?" Bruce asked, glancing at Tony before looking back at the boy.

"Yeah, tortured," Billy said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Loki's a being of magic- you can't just cut him off from something like that! You guys have no idea how empty it makes you feel to be without your magic...how cold and alone you feel in your own head..." he said, dropping his gaze to his hands.

"And without his magic, I would probably still be tearing apart as we speak!" he curled his hands into fists. "Hasn't he proven himself?" Billy asked, looking around the group of heroes. "I get it, you don't trust him, he made a mistake-" 

"He invaded New York City," Natasha said.

Billy's gaze flicked towards her. "What reason would a God of mischief have to invade a Midgardian city? How does that make any sense?" he asked, eyes moving from her to the rest of the heroes. Loki tensed, turning his head away from the boy. "I'm sure you've all done things in your past that you'd like to forget about," he continued, determined gaze meeting each of their eyes. 

"We've all done things we regret- I believe in giving people second chances, though. Hasn't he earned that chance? He saved my life, for Zeus's sake."

Tony sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. The room was filled with a tense silence as Billy's gaze moved to Loki. Thor stepped back, taking the cuffs with him. "I won't imprison your magic, brother. Not if it is as torturous as William says."

Loki stared at the taller God before his gaze flicked to Billy. He blinked, letting out a small, shaky breath before sighing and shaking his head at the boy. "You never cease to amaze me, William," he muttered. His gaze moved from the boy to the rest of the group. "I'll be in the library if you have need of me," he said before vanishing in a wipe of green smoke. 

Billy couldn't help but smile at the sight- of course, he could do wordless magic- he'd be the perfect teacher if Billy could convince him to do so. He needed someone to help him keep his skills sharp without Constantine there.

"I have a feeling that's gonna come back to bite us in the ass," Clint said with a roll of his eyes.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

Billy opened his eyes to find himself on the ground, the cold air around him seeping into his bones and making him tremble. The boy sat up with a wince, his body sore and aching as he pushed himself up off the ground. 

"Where...where am I?" he muttered, swallowing thickly as a harsh wind crashed against him, chilling his skin and ruffling his hair. He looked around, finding nothing but gnarled, twists branches surrounding him. The area was dark, and Billy couldn't see more than a few feet ahead of him. Another wind blew through him, causing his teeth to chatter as he gripped his arms tightly and hugged himself.

"H-hello?" he called out, hating how the cold made his voice quiver. He could tell there was something else there with him- wherever this was. How did he eve get here? Where was here? The sudden movement f shadows out of the corner of his eyes had him turning on his heel, staring wide-eyed into the brush.

"Who- who's there-" he said shakily, taking a step away from the brush as he narrowed his eyes in an attempt to see into it. The shadows shifted again, causing the boy to take another step back.

"I'm warning you- I- I'm not someone to be messed with!" he said, fear beginning to encroach upon his thoughts. He could see more shadows moving out of the. corner of his vision before a sudden wind came from behind him, shoving him forward and causing him to stumble. He fell to the ground with a grunt, scrambling on to his back and looking around in fear. 

"No, no no no..." he breathed, beginning to tremble more from his own fear than the cold seeping into his very soul. "I- SHAZAM!" he yelled, shutting his eyes tightly and waiting for the lightning to come down and envelop him.

Only nothing came.

Billy opened his eyes and looked upward- there were no clouds, only an endless, inky void. His breathing grew erratic as he looked around. "Why- SHAZAM!" he yelled, his entire body shaking as more shadows moved around him.

The shadows began to coalless into a tall, lean figure, the black mist in the shape of a man looming a couple of yards away from the boy. "SHAZAM!" he yelled in a panic, scrambling backward in an attempt to get away from whatever that was. "P-please- no I- I didn't do anything wrong, why-" he swallowed thickly, trying to force the scared tears beading in the corners of his eyes from falling down his cheeks.

The figure continued to loom in the distance, watching him with no eyes, and yet staring right into his soul. 

"W-what are you-" Billy asked with wide eyes, his voice shaky as he tried to control his breathing. Was this thing keeping him from summoning his Champion form? How could it do that? Where was he?! "I- I-" he swallowed thickly, the tears finally spilling down his cheeks.

Billy blinked, and the figure was standing in front of him, emanating darkness and cold in waves that had the boy frozen in place. His instincts told him to run, to get as far away from this thing as he could, but he couldn't move- he could barely breathe.

"P-please..." he whimpered, head pressed against the ground as he stared up at the dark figure- the darkness seemed to almost fall in folds around the figure, creating a robe-like look out of the shadows. "Are...are you a reaper?" he asked slowly, staring up at the figure as he tried to wipe away some of his tears.

Billy hadn't dealt with many reapers- only the one or two John Constantine knew personally, and neither of them dressed like this. But the cold and darkness that ebbed off of the figure...it was very reminiscent of the reapers from back home. 

A voice, ancient and wrapped in darkness, echoed out in his head.

You do not belong here.

The 12-year-old stared up at the figure, still trembling from the cold. "I- I know...I'm trying to get back home-"

You do not belong here.

Billy swallowed thickly. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to that- he was trying his best to get back home! Dr. Strange had been sparse in his communications with him- he'd already been there for over a month and the man had only contacted him once or twice. 

Loki said he'd have to go back to Asgard in order to look into inter-dimensional travel, but he wasn't allowed back in Asgard. Thor would have to go there and try to get his father to agree to allow the trickster God access to things like the Bifrost- and even then, it wasn't guaranteed to get him home.

Billy had tried centering himself so many times, tried opening portals to the Rock of Eternity, to his home, to the Watchtower, to OA- nothing worked. Every time, the portal would open to an endless void, and if they threw something through the portal, it would be spat back out, charred and blackened with smoke rising up from it.

"I'm... I'm trying...really I am...I wanna go home! I don't wanna be stuck here!" Billy said out of frustration, sitting up and staring at the dark figure in front of him. "I...i'm trying..." he breathed, more tears springing to his eyes.

He hadn't really spent time thinking about it, but he was homesick. He knew he was. He missed his friends, missed the League. He wanted to see Fawcett City again, wanted to see Freddy again- Gods, Freddy... the boy was probably worried sick about him. Billy was his best friend, and if he just up and vanished for over a month like this- sure, he may have known about the League, but no mission with the League had ever taken this long.

Billy rubbed the base of his palm against his eye, hiccups escaping him as he thought about home. "I...I wanna go home..." he mumbled, thinking of John and Zatanna, of Dr. Fate and Bruce-

Bruce. Bruce. He sniffled, thinking of the Dark Knight, the only member of the Justice League who knew who he really was. He had to be looking into his disappearance, right? Maybe- maybe they could jerry-rig the cosmic treadmill to make it work for multiverse travel, instead of dimensional travel...

...except in order for them to do that, the League had to know that he was in another universe.

Which they likely didn't.

You do not belong here.

That voice rang out in his mind again, causing him to look back up at the shadowy figure. "I know...but I'm trying. I'll get back home. I'm not gonna stay here forever- I promise," he said slowly, swallowing thickly as he stared into the darkness that served for the figure's face. "Please...just give me some time."

The figure was still, staring at him without any eyes. A bone-chilling wind blew through the boy, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut against it. When he opened them again, the figure was gone- and the world around him was melting. Billy's eyes widened as he fell through the cracks, tumbling down into the darkness.

He woke up with a gasp, shooting up straight in bed and glancing around the guest room he'd been given to stay in. The 12-year-old gripped his chest tightly, sweat beading on his brow as he attempted to calm himself down. 

"Are you alright, William?" Jarvis's voice asked with a metallic twang, the sound coming from everywhere in the room. "Your heart rate is at 80 bpm. It seems you were having a nightmare," the AI said as Billy tried to calm him beating chest. "Would you like me to alert Sir or Mr. Barton?"

Billy shook his head, leaning back against his pillow. "No...no I'm okay..." he breathed. "Um..." he swallowed thickly. "I just...I'll be okay."

There was a pause- as if the AI was giving him the concerned look of a parent. "If you say so, William."

A small smile graced the boy's face. "You sound like Alfred- please, just call me Billy."

"Alright, Billy."

- - -

A week after he'd managed to convince the Avengers to take Loki's magic cuffs off, Billy found himself lounging on the old leather couch in Tony's workshop alongside Peter, who's busy sitting upside down the couch and flipping through a comic.

The workshop and lab he had found had completely different auras to them. The lab was a place where Tony went to work alongside Bruce and sometimes the others- sometimes it served as a makeshift medbay or a meeting room. 

The workshop on the other hand- it was clear that this was Tony's safe space. Not too many people came through those doors- Mainly him and Peter, sometimes Steve, even though he'd never stay for long and always came down to remind the genius to sleep or eat. Every once in awhile Bruce would come down, but he'd made it clear that being around so much clutter and half-hazardly placed objects made him nervous.

So, really, it was just the three of them most of the time.

Billy leaned back against the armrest of the couch, his head pillowed by it and legs currently being used as a makeshift bar for Peter to hook his legs around as he hung off the front of the couch. Muttering from Tony caught his attention momentarily- he'd noticed the man tended to talk to himself and Jarvis a lot, mostly talking about specs and asking the AI for updates, but right now- he seemed frustrated.

Well, frustrated and...anxious.

Billy sat up, swinging his legs over the front of the couch and sending Peter crashing to the floor with a grunt. The teenager looked up and glared at him with a grin. "What was that for?" he asked, looking at the 12-year-old before turning his attention towards where Billy was staring. 

"Tony, are you okay?" Billy asked, clambering up from the old couch.

The billionaire glanced at him, carding a hand tiredly through his hair. I- I'm- I'm fine..." he stammered, obviously frazzled and exhausted if the bags under his eyes were anything to go by. "Just...tired, I guess..." he muttered, glancing back towards his work before looking back at the boys. Peter clambered up from the floor, tilting his head in confusion as he spoke.

"Are you sure you're okay, Mr. Stark? I mean, I've seen you work through exhaustion before, but this feels different," he said, tossing his comic book on the couch before heaving himself up to sit on the armrest. "You know you can talk to us, right- we don't judge," Peter said with a grin as he gestured between him and Billy.

"Yeah- is it nightmares or something? I get those a lot...I've become a pro at dealing with 'em," Billy added, ignoring Peter's slightly worried look aimed at him- as well as the one Jarvis was probably giving him.

Tony turned his attention back on the holo-screen in front of him, collapsing his files with a flick of his hand and making the screen go blank. He let out a shaky breath, hands curling into fists tightly as his nails dug into his palms. Billy could tell the man was tense- though why he didn't understand.

He knew Tony had been working non-stop to try and crack inter-dimensional travel in order to get him home, but he'd made it clear that it was something he found interesting. Tony saw it as a challenge, a puzzle for him to solve- not something that endangered him.

"Tony...what is it? You can't just keep something that bothers you this much to yourself..." Billy said slowly, coming closer to the man. The brunet sighed and flicked his wrist, bringing up a series of messy schematics and equations- it all looked like a garbled, confusing mess to Billy, but he was sure it made some kind of sense to the billionaire. 

"What...is that?" he asked, furrowing his brow and coming to the other side of the table. Peter followed suit, tilting his head at the image.

"Equations for...something...and schematics for some kind of armor upgrade?" the teenager asked, glancing at Tony through the hologram. When the man shook his head, the pair furrowed their brows even further.

"It's...it's just an idea I had..." Tony breathed. "Something I've had in the works since New York."

Peter had explained to Billy while back that Tony had pushed a nuke through a wormhole and nearly died in the process during New York and that it still rattled the man to this day. Apparently, the billionaire refused to talk about what he saw in that wormhole, but according to the others, it didn't seem like it bothered him too much.

Sure, he had nightmares about it, but he was never this frazzled.

Peter brought a hand up to swipe the hologram, brow furrowing in confusion at the numbers and letters and symbols. "Mr. Stark, this just looks like a mess of numbers to me... but why get worked up over it now?"

Tony's gaze flicked towards Billy before looking back at Peter. "Uh...well, I..." he cleared his throat and dropped his gaze.

"I can't get the thought out of my head- first aliens and now other universes. There's no telling what else is out there, and Earth is woefully unprepared for anything that the expanses of space could throw at us, nonetheless other universes where people like you are common kid," he said, looking Billy up and down.

"I...I can't help but think...what else is out there? What else could, without breaking a sweat, destroy everything we know?" he asked, his voice becoming hollow and empty.

The man sighed, shaking his head and flicking his wrist, and causing the hologram to vanish before running a hand through his hair. "Ah...forget it. It's just a late-night, post-nightmare idea. I'll probably never get any further with it than the schematics you saw."

"Does it have a name?" Billy asked, tilting his head slightly. Tony apparently tended to name things he was serious about building- it was kind of his tell for if an idea of his really had legs, even if he himself didn't realize it. "The project, I mean."

Tony scratched at his beard, fighting back a yawn. "Hm? Oh uh...yeah. Arsenal," he said, scrubbing at his eyes with one hand. Billy nodded slowly. So this was something that was actually really bothering him.

He wished he could do something to reassure Tony, to help him out in some way; but he had no idea what those equations and schematics would even make.

For some reason though, he had a bad feeling about it.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

Billy thought that a shield of some kind able to protect this Earth would be amazing- he just wished he wasn't the reason Tony thought it was absolutely necessary. He sighed softly, rubbing the back of his neck. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about this.

- - -

The next morning Billy wandered into the kitchen to find Tony sitting at the table, coffee mug in hand and falling asleep in his chair. The boy cleared his throat, causing the billionaire to jerk awake with a snort. "Hngh- wha? huh...?" he glanced at Billy groggily before rubbing at his face.

"...Mornin' kid..." he mumbled before pillowing his head on his arms. 

"What're you doing up so early, Tony?" Billy asked, tilting his head at the man. While the boy may have had a habit of rising with the sun (since it was much easier to start your day when there was enough daylight outside than to rummage around in the dark) Tony didn't really feel like the kind of guy to be up that early voluntarily. 

"Hm... oh, uh.. 'm seein' Capsicle off," Tony mumbled, lifting his head and rubbing at an eye tiredly. 

"Where's he goin'?" Billy asked, climbing into a chair and plopping down.

"D.C., Billy- thought I'd finally take some time to go see the Smithsonian," Steve said as he came into the room, setting a duffle bag and his shield down on the table and making Tony's mug jostle. "Been about two years since I was removed from the ice, and I still haven't seen anything in there."

"Ooh, I've always wanted to go to the Smithsonian. I wonder if you guys's is different from ours?" Billy asked, watching the super-soldier move to the fridge and grab a water bottle from inside.

Steve glanced back at him with a grin. "You wanna come with? I know it's last minute, but it'd be nice to have some company along for the ride. You and I could take in the sights together," he said, coming back over to the table and glancing at Tony- who had fallen asleep again. The blonde grinned and shook his head at the billionaire.

"Wait, really? You want me to come with you?" The 12-year-old asked, tilting his head as he started up at Steve. It was kind of weird to be asked to join someone on a trip- sure, he'd gone on missions before, but he'd never been to any other town beside Fawcett (and this universe's New York) as just Billy Batson.

"Sure- it'll be nice to have backup if something pops up, too."

"Thought I was your backup, Rogers," Natasha said from the doorway, making the 12-year-old jump and Steve smile. The red-head walked behind Billy and tousled his hair, moving to the coffee pot and pouring herself a cup.

The super-soldier chuckled as he maneuvered around the table towards Tony. "Nat, you know what I mean," he said with a grin, setting a hand on Tony's shoulder and squeezing gently. "Tony. Tony..." he said gently, trying to wake the man who had fully fallen asleep at this point. 

"I don' wanna step on anybody's toes," Billy said, glancing between Natasha and Steve nervously. 

"Tones," Steve said, finally getting Tony to wake up as Natasha took a seat beside the raven.

"You're not, Billy. I'm joking," she said with a grin before taking a sip of her mug. "I only said that cause I'm doing work for Shield in DC too. You two go and have fun, I'll be in the area if you need someone shot," she said with a smirk. 

Tony and Steve were talking now, the former trying to wake himself up while the latter tried to explain that he was taking Billy with him. "Hnn...the kid? My kid? Wait, Peter or Billy?" Tony asked tiredly, looking up at Steve from his seat.

"Billy, Tony. He's gonna come with me to check out DC."

"Mm..okay... I'm... I'm gonna go back to- to bed," he said, standing up and throwing back his coffee (which felt strangely counter-intuitive) and scooting by Steve. He patted the bigger man's shoulder before leaving the room with a yawn, leaving the three other people there to shake their heads at the billionaire. 

"Well," Steve said, running a hand through his hair and setting a hand on his hip before looking at Billy. "Why don't you go pack some clothes? We won't be gone long- three or four days, maybe a week at most."

Billy nodded and climbed down from the chair, taking off out of the room and towards the bedroom that had basically become his.

- - -

"I'm excited- according to google the Smithsonian is actually like 19 different buildings! Plus there's this whole underground portion where everything gets stored...that's so cool..." Billy said, staring down at the phone Tony had given him a while back as he flipped through webpage after webpage about the Smithsonian. "Oh, it says here they even got an exhibit on you, Steve," he continued, glancing up at the man.

"It's in the Museum of American History," he said as the blonde glanced toward him with a grin. "What's the Howling Commandos?"

Steve held the door open for the boy and followed him into the hotel. "The Howling Commandos was the unit I worked with during the war. They were some of my closest friends- a bunch of hot-blooded knuckleheads who followed me blindly," he said with a chuckle and a shake of his head before turning his attention towards the man at the counter.

They got checked in easily and took the elevator up to their room- it was on the third floor, with an amazing view of a park outside the window. Billy heaved his bag up onto one of the beds while Steve set his own down, the boy running to the window to throw open the curtains and look outside.

"It's so pretty," he said, glancing back towards the super-soldier.

"And the museums are just down the road," Steve replied with a grin, taking a look for himself outside the window. The Washington monument loomed in the distance, and Billy pointed it out excitedly.

"My friend Freddy says that the Washington Monument looks like that because it's supposed to be Washington's dong, but he's never been to Egypt or Rome so he probably doesn't know that it's just an obelisk."

Steve facepalmed at the boy's words, shaking his head. "Alright, why don't you get settled in? I'm gonna go for a run and stretch my legs- feel free to order something if you get hungry. Tony owns this hotel," Steve said, moving to his beg and unzipping it. He pulled out some athletic wear and went into the bathroom to change, leaving Billy to plop down on the plush hotel bed and stare up at the ceiling.

"We'll go to the museums tomorrow, and grab some lunch while we're there," Steve said from the bathroom, getting a sound of agreement from the boy as he continued to stare up at the ceiling. When he came out of the bathroom, the blonde glanced at Billy and furrowed his brow at the boy. "Something wrong, kiddo?" 

Billy glanced at the man and shook his head. "No...just wondering how different this universe's history is from back home... I mean, we don't have a Hydra, or a Captain America."

"Well, did you have a World War II?" Steve asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed as Billy sat up. 

"I think so- I haven't been to school in a long time, so-" Billy paused, realizing his slip-up. "I- I mean-"

"Wait, you haven't been to school- when was the last time you went to school, Billy?" Steve asked with a furrowed brow.

The boy wilted slightly under his gaze, dropping his head and fumbling with his fingers. "Uhm...second grade..." he mumbled, causing the man to sigh and run a hand over his face. "Sorry..." the raven mumbled again, lifting his head to look up at the super-soldier.

"Why haven't you gone to school?" Steve asked, looking the boy in the eyes. 

"Um...I..." he trailed off, dropping his hands and messing with the hem of his shirt. Steve seemed to think for a moment, scratching at his chin and staring at the 12-year-old in front of him.

"Billy..." he asked slowly, dropping his hand. "...are...are you homeless?"

The small raven felt tears bead in his eyes. Steve tensed, holding out his hands placatingly. "Hold on, hold on- Billy, it's okay-" he said, drawing the boy into his lap and hugging him. "Hey, it's okay- Billy, I'm not- I'm not gonna do anything to you..." 

The boy in his arms hiccuped against his shirt as tears spilled down his cheeks. "Look...let's talk about this later, okay? I'm not- I won't do anything to you, Billy. I just wanna know your side of things," he said, pulling back to look the boy in the eyes. "Okay?"

The 12-year-old nodded slowly, rubbing at his eyes with the base of his palms. Steve set the boy back down on the edge of the bed and stood up, looking around the room. "Will you- will you be okay in here alone?" he asked, grabbing what he assumed to be the remote for the tv and holding it out for the boy. "I'll be back in less than an hour," he continued when the boy nodded.

"Okay...um...okay. Like I said, you can- uh, order room service, I think it's called... if you want. I'll be back soon."

Steve left after that, lingering in the doorway and watching as Billy attempted to compose himself before shutting the large door and giving him some privacy. The boy could tell Steve wasn't the best when it came to dealing with stuff like this- it was his own fault he'd slipped up. 

He didn't doubt they would have a talk about this later- he just hoped that he'd be able to convince Steve not to tell the others. 

- - -

Billy spent the next hour watching the weird channels the hotel had and waiting for Steve to come back. He'd looked at the menu for the room service, but felt guilty for eating without the super-soldier there. He was sure the man would enjoy eating lunch with him, and he wasn't all that hungry anyways, so he'd decided to wait. 

The boy had turned off the TV and decided instead to people watch- something he did a lot back home. He down on his knees to stare out the window and watch the people below walk by, grinning at the sight of a woman in a sunhat that was much too big for her.

He glanced back at the clock after a while, furrowing his brow when he realized that Steve was late- which was weird, cause Steve was hardly ever late. He pulled out his phone to check and see if he'd missed a call from the man, but upon finding nothing other than a couple of messages from Peter, Billy sighed and decided to take his mind off it by answering those.

Petey🕷

How's DC?

Run into any wax figures come to life?

You

It's pretty neat

Steve's late tho- went out fro a run and never came back

Petey🕷

Steve Rogers???

he's never late wtf

You

idk im waiting in the hotel for him

he was supposed to be back 10 min ago

Petey🕷

you want me to tell Mr. Stark?

You

no don't worry about it

I'll probably power up and go look for him if it gets too late

Petey🕷

wow kicking ass without me huh

oh how easily I am replaced

You

shuddup you sound like Nightwing 😂

Petey🕷

Well im sure he'd agree w me

but this-

is this betrayal im feeling

my heart

its breaking 💔

You

ur ridiculous

hold on someones knocking on the door

Petey🕷

don't get murdered by the FBI or smthn!!

Billy shook his head at his phone and tossed it onto the bed, going to the door and standing on his tiptoes in an attempt to look through the peephole. When that failed, he sighed and just decided to open it. This was a fancy hotel, there probably wasn't going to be anybody there to hurt him. It was probably just housekeeping and he was overthinking this.

He opened the door to find Nick Fury standing in front of him, a pair of agents behind him. The man glanced down at him and the corner of his mouth turned upward in a smirk. "Captain Marvel... We meet again."

Billy swallowed thickly, eyes wide as he stumbled backward. He ended up tripping over the edge of a chair and landed on the carpet with a thud. "W-what-" he stammered, glancing fearfully at the solemn agents on either side of Fury, the high-tech guns in their hands putting him on edge before looking the man in the eye. 

"Something wrong, Captain...?" Fury drawled, his voice full of pride and snarkiness. No wonder he annoyed Tony- he sounded so similar to the billionaire.

"What do you want, Fury?" Billy asked, eyes narrowing at the man as he slipped easily back into the persona of a rough-edged street kid. He'd done what he had to to survive on the streets, and sometimes that meant putting on an intimidating front when someone threatened to hurt you. Fury hadn't made any threats thus far, but once glance at the agents behind him told the boy they were itching to use those guns.

Fury straightened his coat, smoothing out a sleeve and tugging on the cuff. "Rogers is on a mission. Won't be back until this evening," the man said nonchalantly. "Being as how you're a minor without any adult supervision at the moment, that means you'll be coming with me."

Billy's eyes narrowed further at the man. Just what was he playing at? 

"I'm not your enemy, Captain, but I can be if you choose to not comply," Nick continued, finally setting his eyes on the boy once more. 

"Right- cause you're sure acting like my friend bringing gun-toting goons with you to interrogate me or whatever," Billy said, his words cold as he glared up at the man. 

"Never said I was your friend. Just that I wasn't your enemy."

Billy sighed. "You're not giving me a choice in this, are you."

"No, I am not."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

Billy sighed. "You're not giving me a choice in this, are you."

"No, I am not."

- - -

Fury ended up taking Billy to some sort of base in DC- he was fairly sure he'd heard an agent call it the "triskelion" but he wasn't too sure about that. The sun was already sitting on the horizon when Billy was ushered into a large office with a desk in the corner, and he glanced back at Fury as the agents left them alone.

"So what now? You gonna interrogate me or something?" he asked, watching as Fury walked past him and took a seat at the desk.

"Captain...or should I say, Billy-" the words made the boy's skin crawl. He hated it when people knew things about him that he hadn't told them. "I meant what I said in your hotel room. I'm not your enemy," Fury said, leaning back in his chair and resting an elbow on the armrest. 

"I want to be your friend, son."

"Don't call me son," Billy said with a pouty glare.

"Alright, fine. Look, I wanna help you, kid. I don't know exactly what your deal is but I do wanna help you get back to wherever you came from and off my planet."

"So basically I'm a threat," Billy asked with a grin, walking closer to the desk. Fury rolled his eye and leaned forward.

"You're an unknown. The longer you stick around without anyone keeping tabs on you or having any knowledge about you, the more people are gonna start to talk, and wonder, and speculate. With speculation comes distrust, and we have already had a situation where a guy like you showed up on Earth and terrorized New York."

"Loki didn't-"

"I'm not talking about Loki."

Billy furrowed his brow further, glancing at the chair in front of Fury's desk when the man gestured to it. "His name was Hyperion," the man said, bringing up a hologram for the boy. Wait, Billy had heard that name, the Avengers were talking about someone named Hyperion when he'd first arrived. 

The raven looked at the picture of a man, floating in air, with a costume that was scarily similar to his own. Bright red suit with golden accents, a nuclear symbol on his chest and a cape that hung off of one shoulder. In one picture he was smiling and waving to a crowd, and when Billy swiped, he was razing the ground below with heat vision, sending civilians running for their lives.

"A maniac that blew up his own world... Tried to come to Earth and become one of our heroes, but the Avengers and SHIELD didn't approve of his methods..." Fury said, swiping the image and bringing up a shaky video of the man holding a civilian up by his throat, choking him and causing him to drop the bag of stolen goods he'd had on him.

"He believed he was judge, jury, and executioner," Fury continued before dropping the image down and looking Billy in the eyes. The boy was staring blankly at where Hyperion had been, the cogs in his mind spinning rapidly.

It made him sick to his stomach to see someone so similar to himself use their powers for such evil. He realized this must have been what Superman felt like when he met Ultraman.

To see a twisted version of yourself, capable of hurting people so easily...

He swallowed thickly, looking back up at Fury. The man sat back in his seat, continuing to stare at the boy. "Billy, I don't think you're evil. You're no Hyperion, despite what our first encounter led me to believe," he said finally.

"But you're gonna have to work with us. Not run from us. SHIELD may be flawed," Billy furrowed his brow in confusion at that, "But that's something I'm trying to remedy. You don't gotta trust anyone else- but you do gotta trust me."

The small raven sighed, running a hand through his hair as he sat back in his own seat. He glanced at the ceiling before looking back at Fury. "...Okay. Fine. What- what do you need from me?"

Fury shook his head. "Nothing, yet. I'll talk to Stark, see about getting you a public announcement ceremony-type of thing and adding you to the Avengers' roster."

"But I-"

"I know that you're only here temporarily. This is for the public's ease of mind. Not yours. You will have to tell me just what your situation is, though," Fury pillowed his hands behind his head and looked down his nose at the boy. "Can't help if I don't know the issue."

Billy rubbed at his neck, glancing towards the entrance to the office before looking back at the director. "Okay...I'll tell you whatever you need to know."

- - -

Billy ended up falling asleep in the office after Fury refused to let him leave- something about DC not being safe to walk around at night or something like that. Billy wanted to argue, but he was exhausted already and really didn't feel like explaining how he could handle himself in more ways than one. Besides- Fury said that Steve would show up there eventually anyways.

The boy had conked out in one of the office chairs, a blanket half-hazardly thrown over him as he slept. As the light of the morning began to stream in through the windows, Billy stirred. Fury glanced at the boy, setting his coffee mug down on the desk as the boy sat up slowly and yawned. He rubbed his eye groggily, letting out another yawn in the process.

Not a moment later, Rogers came bursting into the room angrily, clad in full uniform and eyes locked on Fury. "You just can;t stop yourself from lying, can you?" the man asked as he came in, red in the face and glaring at the director. Fury raised brow and looked the blonde in the eyes.

"I didn't lie, Captain. Agent Romanov had a different mission than you," Fury replied.

"Which you didn't feel obliged to share," Steve snapped back, coming closer to the desk and pausing when Fury's gaze flicked towards Billy, who was still trying to rouse himself from the clutches of sleep. "And now you're taking kids from their hotel rooms? What the hell, Fury?" he asked before moving towards Billy. 

"Are you okay? What happened?" Steve asked, crouching down beside the chair Billy sat in as he rubbed his eyes.

"M' fine, Steve... You were late and I got worried, and then Fury showed up and he knew I was Cap and-"

The blonde tensed, glancing towards Fury. "Did he do anything to you?" he asked pointedly.

Billy patted the hand currently gripping the arm rest tightly. "No, Steve. I'm okay- we just talked," he said, causing the man to look back at him. "I don't wanna be like Hyperion. Fury showed me what he did...and I don't want people to fear me like that."

Another glance towards Fury and Steve's eyes were trained on Billy once more. "What did he promise?"

"Nothing," Billy yawned. "He said he'd talk to Tony about setting up a PR kind of thing...show people that I'm not here to hurt them."

"Well, forgive me for not fully trusting what Fury says he's gonna do," Steve said as. he stood, turning his full attention towards the director. "Since he's not so keen on sharing important information."

"Rogers, I sent the greatest soldier in all of history to make sure those hostages wouldn't be hurt-"

"Soldiers trust one another, that's what makes it an army. How am I supposed to trust the people I'm working with if they'd got missions of their own that don't know about? How am I supposed to plan for that?"

"You're supposed to follow the orders you're given and trust that my agents can handle themselves," Fury said, standing up from his desk as Billy slid out of his chair. "It's called compartmentalization, Captain. Nobody spills the secrets cause nobody knows them all," he said, looking the man in the eyes.

Billy glanced between the pair, very confused on what was going on. He was sure this had to do with whatever mission Steve had gone on last night- had it not gone well? What had happened? Was Natasha okay?

Fury sighed, pinching the bridge of his. nose before looking back at Steve. "I do share, Captain Rogers. Come with me." He said, moving around his desk and walking towards a pair of silver doors against the wall of the office.

"What about me?" Billy asked, furrowing his brow. 

"You stay here. I don't need a kid running around down there," Fury said, causing the boy to narrow his eyes at Fury. He stood up and shoved the chair away from himself, calling out the wizard's name and causing both Steve and Fury to shield their eyes from the light.

"No excuse now," Captain Marvel said, crossing his arms over his chest. Steve bit back a chuckle and cleared his throat, glancing at Fury. The man sighed, shaking his head at the pair.

"Fine. But only because I don't feel like having to repair the elevators because of you," he said as the silver doors opened. The three men climbed inside. and the doors shut, Marvel's attention being drawn to the outside. "Insight, please," fury said as they walked in. A sudden robotic voice sounded out over the speaker, causing the demigod to furrow his brow.

"Unauthorized personnel in elevator. Commencing lockdown in 15 seconds."

Fury sighed, leaning against the rail. "Director override, Fury, Nicholas J," the robot voice gave them a confirmation and the tension disappeared from Marvel's shoulders. He continued to stare out the large window as Steve and Fury launched into a discussion/story about the old days and Fury's grandfather. 

Cap didn't pay much attention, more focused on the fact that they reached the ground, but suddenly went past it and were now sinking even further, going underground. The tension came right back when the ground opened up to reveal a massive hangar full of weird, ships- they looked like aircraft carriers, but for some reason had weird propellers on them. "What the..." he breathed, causing Fury to glance back at him with a smirk.

Steve seemed to be in just as much awe, though confusion wasn't the secondary emotion on his face. 

"This," Fury said as the elevator came to a stop and the silver doors slowly slid open. "Is project Insight. Three next-generation helicarriers, synced to a network of targeting satellites," he continued, leading the pair out of the elevator and down onto the main floor.

Various agents moved and worked around them, a few stopping to stare at Steve but most pausing to glance at him- the demigod in cherry red spandex. The agent would stare for only a moment though, before moving on with their work and forgetting about him entirely. Cap kinda appreciated it if he was honest. 

"Launched from that ship," Steve said as he walked, glancing at Fury. Cap walked behind them, raising a brow at the super soldier's words. What ship? Did this have something to do with his mission?

"Once we get them in the air, they never need to come down," Fury replied, continuing to walk as both Captains looked up at the monstrous machinery around them. "Continuous, sub-orbital flight courtesy of our new repulsor engines," the director said, gesturing towards one of the propellers, circular areas of the ship.

"Wait, these things fly?" Cap asked, glancing up at the giant metal beast before glancing towards Steve. "Doesn't Tony use repulsors?"

At Steve's nod, Fury spoke up again. "Stark had a few suggestions after he got up close and personal with them during the battle of New York," he replied with a smirk. They continued their guided tour of sorts, Fury talking about the giant ships' capabilities and different things they came equipped with. 

The more he talked about it, the more uneasy both him and Steve became. He wasn't sure why Steve was uneasy, but a ship like this reminded him too much of Brainiac or Darkseid. Too many guns, too many ways to hide. Sure, since it was built by humans it would probably be much easier to take down were he to try, but the principle of it all was what put him on edge. 

"We're gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they happen," Fury said as the platform below them began to move. Steve glanced at the man, hands on his waist.

"Thought the punishment usually came after the crime."

"We can't afford to wait that long."

Steve set his jaw, looking around at the various helicarriers around them before looking at Cap. The raven shook his head at the man, one hand clenched tightly into a fist in order to keep himself grounded. He did not like the looks of all this. "For once," Fury continued, glancing up at the ships. "We're way ahead of the curve," he glanced at Captain Marvel. "Well, we thought we were, at least."

"You think you're ahead of the curve by holding a gun to everyone on Earth and calling it protection," Steve said, pulling his gaze away from the demigod and looking back at Fury. The direction turned his attention towards Steve and shoved his hands into his pockets. 

"You know I read those SSR files. For the greatest generation, you all did some messed up stuff."

Steve's hand clenched into a fist at his side. "Yeah. We compromised, did some stuff that made us not sleep so well at night, but we did it cause we didn't have an option. We did it so that people could be free." The blonde gestured towards the massive ships gliding past them as the platform moved. "This? This isn't freedom." 

"This is fear."

Fury narrowed his eye at the man, unwilling to back down. "SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be. It's about time you got with that damn program, Captain."

Steve swallowed thickly, his back straight as he spoke. "Don't hold your breath."

The man turned on his heel, glancing at Captain Marvel. "Come on, Billy," he said angrily, leading the way towards the elevator. Marvel followed dutifully, glancing back at Fury before turning ahead and following the super-soldier. 

Once they were outside, Steve climbed onto a motorcycle Cap didn't even realize had (maybe it was SHIELD's?) and took off. Cap shot off like a rocket after him, speaking up over the roar of the motor as they left the SHIELD base behind. "So...what now?" he asked, flying alongside the motorcycle. 

"We're going back to the hotel so I can change. Then you and I are gonna go to the museums, just like we planned- just like this trip was supposed to be," Steve said over the noise, to which Marvel nodded. "You wanna meet me there?" the blonde asked, glancing at the man for a moment before looking back at the road.

"Yeah- I gotta change too," he said with a grin, getting a shake of the head from Steve. He vanished in a red blur, leaving Steve to speed up as he drove.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"Yeah- I gotta change too," he said with a grin, getting a shake of the head from Steve. He vanished in a red blur, leaving Steve to speed up as he drove.

- - -

Billy took the steps up to the Museum of Air and Space two at a time, glancing back excitedly and watching as Steve followed him. He got to the top and tried peering over the slightly crowded doorway to see inside, but due to his height, was unable to see much. 

"Come on, old man! Let's go!" Billy said with a laugh, pulling Steve by the arm up the last step and making the man chuckle. The blonde straightened his ball cap (which he assured Billy would keep him from being noticed- the boy doubted him but hey if glasses worked for Clark...) and walked up to the ticket booth, buying a pair before handing one to the 12-year-old.

"What do you wanna see first?" he asked as they walked in, the pair catching sight of real airplanes hung from the ceiling, rockets standing tall on pedestals and uniforms hanging behind glass. "...Wow..." Steve breathed, Billy nodding slowly in agreement.

Around them, models of astronauts and actual shuttles were displayed alongside pilot uniforms and aviator helmets. Old propellers and miniature models, moon rocks, and asteroids- it was astounding the number of things that surrounded them.

"Uh...let's- let's go see your exhibit," the boy said after a moment, the crowds flowing around them as the boy came to a glass rail and stood on his toes to look over it. "Looks like its down there," he said, pointing at a pair of banners with a painting of Steve in uniform on them.

The blonde sighed with a grin, shaking his head at the boy. "Fine- but then we go see the moon landing exhibit," he said, following the boy towards an escalator. 

They got down onto the floor where Steve and the Howling Commandos' exhibit was, and found an entire area dedicated to them. Tourists and families alike flowed in an out of the area, kids smiling as they pointed at pictures and videos of Cap that played on the walls. 

"You were so small," Billy said with a laugh, glancing back at the man before jabbing a thumb towards the scrawny version of himself Steve had been before the serum. Billy was nearly as tall as he'd been- which, since he'd been 16 at the time, was saying something. The image shifted to Steve post-serum, with his current height and build. The 12-year-old snorted and came running over to the blonde.

"That change reminds me of someone else," he said with a grin, getting a chuckle out of the super-soldier. 

They continued walking slowly through the exhibit as an overly-patriotic narrator's voice came through the speakers above them- Steve paused to stare an old motorcycle, hands in his pockets as he took in the glinting metal under the museum lights.

"Is this why you still ride a motorcycle?" Billy asked, standing beside him and staring at the bike. You wouldn't think it was old from looking at it- sure, it may have had a little dust on it, but it was in pristine condition.

Steve nodded slowly. "Yeah- nothing really like riding one. This thing used to backfire like nobody's business," he said with a grin, shaking his head at the old bike. "It'd be a miracle if the thing even turned on, nowadays."

Steve nudged Billy, urging him to keep moving, and they turned a corner to find a large row of mannequins, all sporting 40's military attire. In the middle was a mannequin dressed in what Billy could only assume was Steve's old uniform. The man in question glanced around at the crowd, watching people walk by and look at his old things. Some would take pictures, others would explain things to their kids. 

Something must have caught his eye, cause Steve started moving towards a large, clear plaque with the image of a man on it. Billy followed suit, glancing up at the man. "Hey, that's- that's the guy that book was about. The one you got when we went to the mall," Billy said, reading the blurb that had been put under James Barnes' name.

"You saved him," he said after a moment, glancing up at Steve, only to find the man staring wistfully at James' picture.

"Except I couldn't..." Steve breathed, glancing down at some old, black and white videos that were playing under the plaque. Billy could tell something was bothering the man- some kind of guilt ate away at his core, and it had something to do with this Barnes guy- though what exactly, Billy couldn't be sure.

"Are you okay, Steve?" Billy asked, grabbing on to the man's forearm. This seemed to shake him out of his trance, and he glanced down at BIlly with must less distant eyes.

"I'll be fine- come on, I really wanna see that moon landing exhibit," he said, leading the way out of the Captain America exhibit. Billy trailed behind, glancing back at the image of James. He'd have to google what happened later- Steve wasn't likely to tell him anytime soon.

- - -

Billy bit into his burger, glancing down when a couple of pickles and drops of ketchup feel out the other side. He furrowed his brow at the offenders as he chewed, causing Steve to laugh as he ate some fries. "Better luck next time," he said, shaking his head at the boy before taking a drink from his cup.

The pair were in the park, eating their lunch and taking in the fresh air around them. So far they'd hit two museums already- Air and Space, and one of the art galleries. While BIlly may have nearly fallen asleep on his feet at the second one, Steve seemed to have really enjoyed himself. The 12-year-old wondered if he was a painter- some of his old sketches had been on display in the Air and Space Museum, and they were pretty good. 

Maybe he could convince Tony to buy Steve some painting stuff as a gift- Peter said the billionaire was always looking for ways to repay the man for everything he did for him. Plus, he and Peter had a bet going on to see who would ask the other out first. Billy was pretty sure Steve would get his act together and realize he liked Tony before Tony would, but Peter vouched for the man. 

Sure, convincing Tony to buy Steve the gift would go against him winning the bet, but the pair dancing around one another like they did had most everyone in the tower rolling their eyes half the time. 

The 12-year-old shook the thoughts from his head and picked up the runaway pickle, eating it before grabbing a couple of fries and eating them as well. "What museum you wanna go to next?" he asked through the food in his mouth, making the man across the table from him cringe at the sight.

"Uh, I was actually thinking we might drop by a friend of mine's- he works at the VA office down the street," Steve replied before taking a sip of his drink. "That alright with you? We can pick up some movies on our way back to the hotel and tomorrow we can start with the Natural History Museum- I hear they have dinosaurs."

Billy tilted his head, taking a drink from his own cup. "You have friends beside the Avengers?" he asked, realizing how that sounded and ducking his head slightly. "I uh- I mean..." The tips of his ears burned pink in embarrassment as Steve chuckled.

"I actually met him yesterday while on my run. His name's Sam Wilson- he was a soldier, like me," the blonde said with a grin. Billy swallowed thickly, choosing to stuff his face with fries instead of answer. Steve leaned back in the metal chair he sat in, looking around the park. "What do you think of DC, Billy? Nice place to settle down?"

The raven glance up at him, confused by the question. He shrugged, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "I mean, you want it from the perspective of a homeless kid?" he asked, getting an eyebrow raise from Steve and a nod after a moment.

Billy glanced around, letting out a sigh before shaking his head. "Tourists are nice, they tend to be more open to giving to the homeless than regular residents- DC's got a lot of tourists, so you'd think it'd be great..." he trailed off, glancing downward.

"But no. Too many police in a place like this. If they saw a kid walking around on his own they'd immediately start questioning. Is he lost? Where are his parents? Why is he begging? Does he need to be given to CPS so they can deal with him?"

"Cops in a place like this are too watchful. I mean I guess it makes sense, since it's Washington DC, but..." Billy shook his head again. "Besides, they probably have way more sanitation laws in place to keep people from digging through dumpsters," he said, picking up his burger and taking another bite. "No food means no way to really survive," he said between bites.

"I'd take Fawcett over this place any day."

Steve watched him for a moment before sighing. "What do you want me to tell the others?" he asked after a moment, his hands folded as he rested his elbows on the table. "I- I can't in good conscience let you go back to your world knowing you're homeless, Billy."

Billy rolled a shoulder in response. "Fawcett's my home- not like I can stay here. Besides, the League needs me- even if they don't wanna admit it. I mean," he chuckled. "I can take on Superman for Pete's sake!"

Steve rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm guessing Superman's a tough guy to beat."

"Heat vision, ice breath, super strength, super speed, flight- not to mention he's invulnerable. The guy only has two weaknesses- Kryptonite and magic!" Billy said, eyes wide as he explained. "He's our Earth's greatest defender, and I'm actually able to go toe-to-toe with the guy!"

"When you're Captain Marvel."

Billy's shoulders dropped slightly and he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. When I'm Captain Marvel."

Steve seemed to think for a moment, glancing up at the sky before looking back at Billy. "Do they know you're a kid?" 

The boy set his burger down and sighed. "No...well, okay, one of them does- Batman. He's kinda like Natasha, except more darkness and brooding. Plus he doesn't kill," Billy explained, pillowing his cheek on his hand as he rested his arm against the table. "Bruce tries to look out for me on missions- even tried to convince me to move in with him once, but..." he trailed off, shaking his head.

"Fawcett City needs me to be there at a moment's notice. Sure, I can move super fast, my magic is strongest when I'm in Fawcett. It's home."

Steve started at the boy for a moment before letting out a breath and taking a drink from his plastic cup. "Alright...you finished?" he asked, watching the boy crumple up the paper bag his burger had been sitting on and toss it into a nearby trashcan. At Billy's nod, Steve stood, fishing his keys out of his pocket as the pair made their way towards Steve's motorcycle.

"Let's go pay Sam a visit," The blonde said once he was sure Billy's arms were wrapped securely around him, kicking the bike into high gear and taking off down the street.

- - -

Billy followed Steve through a large building, glancing around at the various posters and banners hanging on the bland white walls around them. Steve paused in a doorway, and Billy leaned around him to peer inside. It looked like a meeting of some kind- like the kind that people who drank too much alcohol went to- he couldn't for the life of him remember what they were called.

"Some things, you leave over there, and some things you take home," the man up front said after a woman finished her story, glancing around the room from behind his podium. "What matters is whether you're gonna take that baggage home in a suitcase or a little man-purse," he continued, getting a couple of chuckles from the assembled group. 

The man glanced towards them and smiled, looking back towards his group. "Alright, I think that's enough for this week. I'll see you all next time, alright?" he said as people began to get up and gather their things. The man came towards them, grin still on his face as he greeted Steve. 

"Runnin' man Rogers- didn't think you'd actually show," he said with a chuckle, glancing down at Billy and looking at the man before crushing down so he was at eye-level with the boy. "Hey there- my name's Sam. I met your dad yesterday- when he decided to show off," he said, causing the raven to snort and Steve to blush and rub the back of his neck.

"Oh uh, he's not my son," Steve said, causing the man to stand and furrow his brow in confusion. "Sam, Billy. Billy, Sam," he said, the 12-year-old holding out a hand for the man to shake. 

"So uh...what're you doing with a kid then...?" Sam asked, raising a brow at the blonde as he stood and set a hand on his hip.

"He's..." The super-soldier trailed off, glancing down at Billy.

"I'm part of the Avengers," Billy said with a grin. Steve's eyes widened slightly, glancing down at the boy and blinking. Billy laughed, patting Steve on the arm. "The big guy in the red suit with the lightning bolt on his chest? That's me," he said, getting a confused smile from Sam.

"Uhh...okay..." he said, rubbing the back of his neck in a confused manner. Sam and Steve soon launched into a discussion about the military and Billy left them to it, choosing instead to wander into the room Sma had been giving his lecture in and look around. 

The place was old- not ancient, but it was musty in a way that a library or city hall was. He heaved himself up into a chair and pulled out his phone, pulling up Peter's context and messaging him. As he did, he could overhear the pair behind him talking.

"So who is he, really? Did you adopt him or something? Cause saying that he's not your son can be really damaging to his psyche, you know," Sam said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I mean I get that you're an Avenger, being Captain America and all, but I didn't think that kind of life left much room for raising kids."

Steve sighed, running a hand through his hair. "He's not my son, Sam...it's- it's complicated."

The man sighed, glancing back at Billy- who could feel his eyes on him as he stared absently at Peter's messages. "Okay, I won't pry. But I'm serious about that offer- if you wanted to get out of that life and needed a place to crash, my door is always open."

The blonde chuckled and patted Sam's shoulder. "Thanks. Billy," he said, glancing towards the boy. The raven glanced up from his phone and looked at the man, sliding out of his seat when Steve gestured with his head towards the exit. "Come on, let's go get those movies."

Billy waved goodbye to Sam and followed Steve out of the old building, down the front steps, and climbed onto the back of his motorcycle. He held on tightly to Steve before the pair took off again, leaving the VA Office behind.

They probably spent way too long finding a place that still allowed people to physically come in and rent movies, but they did eventually find one. It took the pair even longer to figure out what movies to get since neither were very familiar with anything the shop had in stock. By the time they got back to the hotel, the sun had already set and the sky was a mixture of burnt orange and pink.

Stars were beginning to dot the violet sky up above, and Billy wanted nothing more than to go for an evening fly- he hadn't spent time up in the clouds, enjoying the stars in a while, but movie night with Steve sounded just as fun. He could always fly tomorrow night. 

Billy absently followed the intricate, chequered pattern on the carpeted floor as he trailed after Steve, the man fishing their hotel room keycard out of his jeans pocket and sliding it into the slot. "I'll call room service and we can-" he paused, frame tensing at the sound of the TV in the other room. He furrowed his brow, glancing down at Billy.

"Did you leave the TV on yesterday?" he whispered, to which Billy shook his head.

Steve put his card away and grabbed his shield from where it rest against the wall. He slid it onto his arm and held his other arm out to keep Billy from moving any further into the hotel room. He peered around the corner slowly, body tense and ready to move on a dime, only to have his shoulders slump at the sight of Fury, leaning back in a plush chair next to the window.

At least, it looked like Fury- the room was dark, save for the low light of the TV. Billy glanced around Steve's hip at the man and narrowed his gaze.

"Back again, huh? Here to steal something else?" Steve asked, leaning against the corner of the wall with a sigh. Fury sat up with a wince, causing both Steve and Billy to furrow their brows.

"Can't a guy come for some moral support from a couple of heroes?" Fury asked, staring at Steve intently. "My wife kicked me out," Fury continued, glancing down at his phone and typing something into it.

"Didn't know you were married..." Steve trailed off. Billy was pretty sure that Fury wasn't the type to settle down- where was he going with this? 

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me," Fury said and Steve flicked on the light to reveal that Fury was covered in wounds. Billy's eyes widened at the sight, a small gasp escaping him as Fury turned his phone screen around to show the pair a line of text. 

EARS EVERYWHERE.

The pair furrowed their brows once more, Billy choosing to scan the room with narrowed eyes as Steve kept his own trained on Fury. Finding nothing out of the ordinary that instantly jumped out at him, he glanced back towards Fury- who was turning off the bedside lamp that Steve's switch had turned on.

"Sorry to do this, but I had no place else to crash," Fury said slowly, ever-so-slightly glancing towards the large window of the hotel room as he typed something else into his phone before turning it around to show them again.

SHIELD COMPROMISED.

Billy's hand curled into a fist as he bit his lip. Steve glanced at the message before looking Fury in the eye. "Who else knows about your...wife?"

Fury shook his head. "Just...my friends..." he breathed, showing them another message as he got up and out of the chair, crossing the room to get closer to Rogers. 

YOU, ME, AND BILLY.

"So we're friends now, are we?" Steve asked. Billy got a sudden, strange tingle in the back of his mind, something that screamed at him and told him something was very very wrong. He knew it was his magic reacting to something... but what?

The sudden shattering of glass and spray of bullets shooting through Fury was enough to make him panic and drop to the floor. Steve was over him in moments, using his shield to block whatever dared to come through the hotel window from hitting himself or Billy. 

When the noise stopped, Steve started moving Fury away from the window. "Billy, call this number-" He said, digging a card out of his wallet and handing it to the boy before glancing towards the window to find a figure standing atop the roof of another building across the street and adjacent from the park. He went to move, only to have Fury grab his wrist and shove something into his hand. 

Billy didn't get a good look at it, but it looked high-tech. The person over the phone- he assumed it was an agent since the card Steve had given him was some sort of SHIELD emergency hotline, said they'd have a team there soon. Steve pocketed the device he'd been given before running to the window and glancing down.

"I gotta go after him," he said, glancing back at the boy.

"Lemme give you a lift," Billy said, standing up and running to the window. He climbed up onto the window sill the leapt outward, yelling the Wizard's name and transforming into his godly persona. He held his arm out for the blonde to take and flew off in the direction Steve had pointed. He ended up chasing a dark figure over a series of rooftops, Steve hanging from his forearm as he flew.

"Drop me, Captain!" Steve said, and Cap did just that- sending him careening shield-first into the man and knocking him backward. The man turned on his heel and narrowed his eyes at Steve as he threw his shield, the man's metal arm shooting out to catch it out of mid-air like it was a plastic frisbee. 

Marvel froze, watching the scene unfold beneath him. Lightning began to dance around his form and he shot a bolt downward towards the man, only to have his own lightning redirected back at him when the man aimed Cap's shield towards him in an attempt to block.

Captain Marvel was left to bring his arms up to block his own attack, which forced him backward through the air quite a bit, as the man threw Steve's shield back at him. When the light faded, the man was gone, and Steve was running towards the edge of the roof. Marvel took off after him, hovering in the air and searching for the assailant. "How- how could he have just vanished?" he breathed, descending and landing beside the blonde.

The man was breathing heavily, eyes searching the quiet streets below them. "I don't know..." he replied, glancing down at his shield. 

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

The man was breathing heavily, eyes searching the quiet streets below them. "I don't know..." he replied, glancing down at his shield. 

- - -

Billy stood beside Steve as they watched Fury's operation- the doctors had already pulled out two bullets from his chest and still have three more to go. He swallowed thickly as he watched them stick up one part of the director's chest. The door to the viewing room opened, and Natasha came in, worry on her face as she came closer to the window. 

"Are you two okay?" she asked, glancing at the boys before looking towards Fury.

"We're fine, Nat," Steve replied, his eyes glued to the man being operated on.

"Do...do we know if he's gonna make it?"

Steve shook his head slowly. "No idea..."

Billy struggled to hold back a yawn, trying to shake the exhaustion from his head as the doctors started to struggle with Fury. "Maybe someone should take him outside," a nurse said, glancing towards Billy as the doctors began to shock the director with defibrillators. Steve glanced at the woman before looking back at Billy, who had his tired, worried eyes glued to the window. 

"Come on," Steve said, grabbing the boy's shoulder gently. "It's late...you need to rest." 

The sound of doctors urgently trying to revive Fury echoed through the viewing room. When the monitor let out a long, monotone beep, Steve picked BIlly up into his arms and carried him out. Billy didn't fight him, his eyes still glued to the man on the operating table. He wasn't dead. He could feel the energies around the man, Fury wasn't dead- not yet. 

He kept his eyes glued to the door as Steve walked out of it with him, swallowing thickly as he rested his cheek against the blonde's shoulder. Steve brought him to a waiting room and sat him down on a couch, glancing back in the direction he'd come from to find Natasha leaning against the door frame.

He needed to tell that the man wasn't dead, that his aura, his soul was still connected to his body and that he couldn't be dead-

Something stopped him from speaking up. What if Fury wanted everyone to think he was dead? What if he needed them to think that? The boy sighed, rubbing at his eye tiredly as Steve got up and talked to Natasha about the man.

Another man came into the room, gaining the trio's attention.

"Rogers, SHIELD wants you back at HQ," the man said, glancing at Natasha before looking back at Steve.

"It's 1 in the morning, can it wait? We're in the middle of something."

The man glanced at his watch before rolling his eyes and talking into his radio. "Rogers is requesting the summons be pushed back until morning," he said, getting a garbled mess of noise back at him. "Alright- fine. SHIELD, first thing in the morning," the man said before leaving the room. 

Steve sighed and shook his head at the man before turning his attention towards Billy. "You stay here, I'm gonna go with Natasha to see Fury. They're gonna get him processed and everything, and after that, I'll be back... try to get some sleep, okay?" Steve said, running a hand over Billy's hair and getting a nod from the tired 12-year-old as he leaned back against the armrest where his head was.

Maybe he should just let sleeping dogs lie for now.

- - -

When he woke up, Billy found Natasha sitting in one of the waiting room chairs, a magazine in her hands as she flipped absently through it. She glanced at him when he noticed he was awake, and her gaze softened. "Sleep well?" she asked, closing the magazine and tossing it onto the coffee table.

Billy sat up and rubbed at his eye with the base of his palm. "Where's Steve?" he asked, glancing around the room.

"He should be back pretty soon, I can't imagine his meeting lasting any-" Natasha furrowed her brow when her watch suddenly lit up with an alert. "What..." she breathed, bringing up a small. hologram and looking over it.

"What is it?" Billy asked, sliding off the couch and shaking away his tiredness.

"SHIELD's declared Cap a fugitive...they think he had a hand in Fury's death."

Billy's eyes widened. "What? But it wasn't Steve, I was there! It was this guy on the roof, he shot Fury through the window-"

"What guy on the roof?" Natasha asked, closing the hologram with a shaky breath and glancing at the raven. Billy had a split second of thinking that maybe she couldn't be trusted- Fury had said that SHIELD was compromised afterall- but the worry on her face mixed with the fact that he knew she was more loyal to the Avengers than to SHIELD had him throwing those doubts out the window. 

"I didn't get the best look at him, it was dark."

"Give me what you do know." 

"Uh, he was fast and strong- he snatched Steve's shield out of the air like it was nothing with his weird metal arm," he said, causing Natasha to tense. "What? Do you know him?"

"He's...He's a ghost story," she replied, dropping her head into her hand as she sat down. "Someone with over two dozen confirmed assassinations in the past 50 years..." she trailed off, shaking her head before looking at the boy. "They call him the Winter Soldier- and he's not someone to be messed with."

"Why would he be coming after Steve or Fury?" Billy asked, furrowing his brow at the woman. She shook her head and sighed.

"No idea... he's a hitman. I don't understand why..." she trailed off. 

Billy bit the nail of his thumb in thought- no, no. He could trust Natasha. He knew he could. "Fury said that SHIELD was compromised," he said, looking the woman in the eyes. "Maybe- maybe someone realized he knew and sent this Winter Soldier guy after him?"

The redhead was quiet for a moment. "And if Cap knows that SHIELD is compromised..." she met the boy's eyes. "They'd do everything in their power to make him look like the enemy."

A knock on the door got the pair to look up and towards the source of the sound, finding Steve standing there in a hoodie and sweatpants, hood pulled over his face. Billy felt relief wash over him as he toward towards the man and hugged him tightly, getting a hug in return as the blonde glanced towards Natasha.

I don't have much time to explain, but you need to know that SHIELD is-"

"Compromised. I got it..." she said as Billy pulled back. "The working theory is the Winter Soldier, that guy you and Billy fought on the roof. I'll fill you in on the way," she said.

Steve fished that weird device Fury had given him out of his pocket and showed it to her. "Fury wanted me to have this. I have no idea what it does, but he thought it was important," he said.

"Then we should figure out just what it does," Natasha said, patting the man's shoulder and moving past him through the doorway. "Come on, we need to start moving now before SHIELD finds out you're here and locks this place down."

Billy and Steve were quick to follow Natasha out of the hospital and climb into her car before speeding off. "We need to open that thing first and foremost. We can take it to an electronic store and open it there, that way we can't be traced back to a home," Natasha said as she passed another car on the road. 

"We need to go to this place first," Steve said, pulling out a strip of paper and showing it to her. 

"You know you can add those to contacts, right?" the red-head asked with a smirk, getting a roll of the eyes from Steve. They pulled up at a small duplex and got out, Steve leading the way up to the front door. 

"What're we doing here, Steve?" Billy asked, glancing around in confusion.

"You're gonna stay here, hopefully, while Nat and I try to figure this out," Steve said, glancing back at the boy before ringing the doorbell. "We have to lay low, and both a kid and a man in bright red spandex draw way too much attention, Billy."

The 12-year-old furrowed his brow at the man angrily. "Where's the trust, Steve?! You've known me for more than a month and you don't trust me?"

"I do trust you, Billy," Steve said, looking the boy in the eyes. "But stealth is not your strong suit."

It wasn't really something Billy could argue with- but who cared about being stealthy when you were bullet-proof? He pouted slightly as the door opened, revealing Sam Wilson in athletic garb. "Hey man," Sam said in confusion, glancing from Steve to Billy to Natasha. "Hey little man...?" he trailed off, looking at the child.

"I'm so sorry about this," Steve said, causing Sam to furrowed his brow even further. "I need a huge favor from you- could you watch Billy for a couple of days? We have some really important business to take care of, and a lot of people are trying to kill us right now."

"Pretty much everyone we know," Natasha added.

The man blinked, glancing down at the kid and looking at Natasha before looking back at Steve. "Not everyone. Come on, Billy," he said, gesturing for the kid to come inside. The raven sighed, glancing up at Steve before coming inside. 

"Thank you, so so much- we'll be back in a couple of days," the blonde said before taking off after the red-head and climbing into the car. They sped away and Billy was left alone with a man Steve had known for like, three days. 

The raven sighed, glancing around the place before looking at Sam. The man was staring at him, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the counter. "So..." he said slowly, eyes narrowing in thought. "Captain Marvel?"

Billy blinked.

"I've been doing some research into that hero named Captain Marvel ever since you said you were him. Big guy- black hair like yours, sure. News says Marvel just appeared out of the blue one day and started helping out the Avengers. Then, about a week later, a random kid started popping up during the Avengers outings as civilians."

The boy glanced around, slightly nervous all of a sudden. Was this guy leading up to something? Was he gonna do something to Billy?

"I've seen some crazy stuff, Billy...but I find it hard that you, a twig of a kid, could possibly be Captain Marvel. Sure, the sudden appearances kinda line up, I'd even say that you look like the guy. But its gonna take a lot to convince me that-"

"SHAZAM!"

The lights in the duplex suddenly flickered and went out, leaving only the light streaming in through the windows and the glowing lightning bolt on Captain Marvel's chest to illuminate the room. 

"Holy shit."

- - -

Three days later, and Billy was lounging on the couch in Sam's living room, waiting for the man to come back from his morning run. He'd already had over a dozen panicked calls from Tony over the past couple of days, checking in, making sure he was okay, and asking if he'd gotten any updates from Steve since he couldn't get a hold of the man himself. 

He'd given him the same answer every time- he was fine, and he had no idea what Steve and Nat were doing. He was busy texting Peter now, asking what Loki was up to and seeing if the teenager had finally managed to convince the God to use the phone Tony had given him- he hadn't. 

Billy sighed, leaning his head back against the armrest and staring at the ceiling. The jostling of the door singled Sam's return, and he gave the man a wave as he walked through the door, sweating and breathing heavily. "Hey kid," he said as he caught sight of him lounging on the couch before going to the kitchen.

"Any word from Steve or Natasha?"

"Nope...I hope they're okay," Billy said, setting his phone down on his chest as he watched Sam pull orange juice from the fridge and drink it straight from the jug. 

"I'm sure they're fine- they're tough," Sam said, screwing the cap back on his orange juice and putting it back into the fridge. At a knock at the door, both of them paused and looked towards it. 

"Maybe that's them!" Billy said excitedly, sitting up as Sam opened the door. It was, in fact, them, as they came into the duplex sweaty and covered in ash and dust. "Whoa...what happened?" Billy asked, clambering up from the couch and coming over to the pair. 

"SHIELD tried to blow us up with a missile," Natasha said, ruffling the boy's hair. "But we're okay- for now," she said, glancing towards Steve, who looked exhausted. 

"Yeah...for now."

They all ended up in the living room after Natasha and Steve had gotten a chance to shower and change, talking about the things the pair had learned and trying to figure out some kind of plan.

"So the question is who at SHIELD could launch a massive missile strike?" Natasha asked, leaning against the wall as she looked around at the boys. 

"Pierce," Steve said, meeting her gaze. "But he's in one of the most secure buildings in the world..." he trailed off, glancing towards Billy. "He can't be working alone, though. The algorithm we found that'll get those helicarriers in the air was on that hijacked ship," Steve said, looking towards Natasha.

"So was Jasper Sitwell..."

Steve sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "So the real question is how two of the most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD agent in broad daylight," he said, glancing at Billy when he lit up.

"I might be able to help out with that," Sam said, tossing the man a file. Steve glanced down at the Manila folder before grabbing it and opening it.

"You said you were a pilot..." the blonde said, a small grin on his face as he looked back towards Sam.

"Never said pilot," the man replied with a smirk. 

"You're a Falcon," Natasha said, glancing at the file before meeting Sam's gaze.

"The Falcon. I'm the only one left of that squadron. And there's only one flight pack left in existence, locked up in Fort Meade."

"So I take it we're doing a little smash and grab and then we're gonna interrogate us a terrorist?" Billy asked, a grin on his face. "Sounds like an early lunch."

- - -

Captain Marvel flew upward, hovering in the air and smirking when the man Natasha and Steve were interrogating glanced back towards him in fear. The man looked back at the agents watching him, swallowing thickly as they cornered him on the edge of the roof.

"You wouldn't just toss me off- that's not your style," the man said, trying to work up his confidence as Steveheld his jacket. The blonde narrowed hid eyes at the man and grinned, setting him down on the edge.

"You're right. That's more her thing," he said, stepping aside and allowing Natasha to kick the man off the edge. He started screaming, falling through the air over the edge of the building. "I think that sandwich I ate gave me indigestion," he said after a moment as Cap touched down on the edge of the building.

"Yeah, deli food will do that to ya," Marvel said with a chuckle.

The man's screams suddenly grew louder as Sam flew upward, metallic wings outspread as he tossed the man in his grasp back onto the roof with a grunt. The man started to scramble towards the door, only to have Sam land in front of him and block his exit. 

Captain Marvel dropped down off the edge of the roof and picked him up by the collar of his suit with ease, holding him aloft as Steve and Natasha came closer. The man panicked, struggling against the demigod's grip. "Zola- Zola's algorithm is a program for choosing Insight's targets!" he said anxiously, bringing his hands up in a meek attempt to guard his face. 

Steve narrowed his eyes at the man. "What targets?"

When the man didn't answer, Captain Marvel jostled him, making the man whimper. "Y-you! the secretary of the UN, Stephen Strange, a high-school senior in Connecticut, a wealthy prince in the middle east, Tony Stark- anyone who's a threat to Hydra," he replied, staring fearfully at Steve as Marvel's grip tightened slightly on the man's clothing. "Now...or in the future..." he breathed, swallowing thickly when Steve's gaze narrowed further.

"How could it possibly know something like that?" He growled, Natasha placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder to keep him from shaking the answers from the man. 

A hysterical laugh escaped the man, his eyes full of fear as a twisted, scared smile appeared on his face. "How could it not?! The 21st century is a digital book- bank records, search histories, voting patterns, medical records, emails, phone numbers- that algorithm evaluates peoples' pasts in order to predict their future," he said, letting out a shaky breath as his smile vanished.

"What does that mean?"

The man's wide eyes glancing vaguely downward as Steve probed him for more information. "I'm a dead man...Pierce is gonna kill me-" he breathed, only for Captain Marvel to jostle him. "Agh-! uh- the helicarriers, you've seen them- they...they start scratching names off the list...a few million people at a time."

Marvel's grip tightened on the man. "I should throw you off this roof right here and now- and make sure no one's there to catch you," he said as the cogs in Steve's mind turned. 

"We have to stop this," he said, glancing around their small group. "And he's our key to do it," he said, jabbing a finger in the man's direction. Captain Marvel furrowed his brow, picking the man up a little higher and glancing at him before looking back at the blonde.

"What's the plan?"

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"What's the plan?"

- - -

Their plan, while not fool-proof, should have worked out fine. Instead, they were now standing in the middle of a wrecked street, cars littering highway and jamming the roads as Steve, Natasha, Sam and Captain Marvel faced off against a myriad of SHIELD agents- or were they Hydra agents?

It didn't really matter- what mattered was that they were shooting at them, had already killed the guy they were going to use to bypass SHIELD security and shut down the launch of the helicarriers, and were now attempting to take the group out.

Marvel used his body to shield Nat and Sam from the spray of bullets coming from one side of the road while Steve used his shield to block the bullets from the other side. Natasha had long since pulled out her guns and started shooting, though she wasn't able to take many of the goons out with the group being pinned down behind a car like this. 

Not to mention this Winter Soldier guy- he was the entire reason this had turned into an all-out bullet hell, and now he was getting away. "Shield your eyes!" Cap said, a ball of light growing between his palms. He threw the magical energy in the direction of the agents shooting at him and it exploded into a burst of light, causing the men to cry out in pain and writhe on the ground.

"Sam, take my spot! I'm gonna go after that Winter Soldier guy!" Cap said before rocketing upward and taking off after the man. He caught up easily, divebombing the man and tackling him to the overpass- cracking the asphalt in the process. Gunshots rang out in the distance as Cap forced the man down, only to get a swift punch from a metal arm to the jaw that had him stumbling backward. 

"Ow- that actually hurt!" Cap said, bringing a hand up to touch his jaw before looking towards the Winter Soldier. The man who had leapt onto Sam's car and forcefully yanked their key out the window was staring at him silently now, standing up and glaring daggers in his direction. His tactical goggles were gone, showing inky black ink smudged around his eyes that gave the area a sort-of domino mask appearance.

The man pulled out a knife and launched himself towards Marvel with a surprising amount of speed, only for Cap to narrowly dodge the blade and maneuver around the man. He went to jab his elbow into the small of the soldier's back, only for the man to turn on his heel, grab Marvel's arm, and flip him over his shoulder- sending him over the railing and crashing onto the street below.

He sent the demigod into the pavement before leaping after him, mirroring the raven's previous move and attempting to slam the knife in his hands through Marvel's chest. When the knife shattered on impact instead, the Winter Soldier's eyes widened. He clambered up and tossed away the broken knife, narrowing his eyes at the demigod.

"Betcha didn't see that comin'," Cap said from the ground, giving the man a smirk before he launched himself at him, using the full extent of his speed to punch the man across the jaw. The Winter Soldier was thrown back a few feet, only to turn and land cleanly on the road, his metallic fingers digging grooves into the pavement as he stopped himself from flying too far. 

The man took a running start before pulling out a strange, rainbow-tinted knife- one that had a familiar aura to it. Cap narrowed his eyes at the object and narrowly dodged a swipe from the soldier, using the man's momentum against him and successfully driving his elbow into his back. He caused the man to fall to the ground, only for him to roll and get up quicker than Marvel anticipated. 

The Winter Soldier growled and tackled Marvel from behind, slamming the knife into his side and making him cry out in pain.

Magic. 

It had to be magic. 

The soldier withdrew the knife from the demigod's side and moved to strike his heart-

-only to be slammed into by a spinning, metallic disk.

The man was knocked away from Captain Marvel by the force of Steve's shield, sending him stumbling backward and causing him to drop the rainbow knife on the ground. Marvel winced, turning over from his spot on the ground to find the pair duking it out. 

The Winter Soldier pulled out a handgun, and Steve vaulted over a car to kick it out of his hands before pulling up his shield to guard against the spray of bullets from another gun. He managed to get in close and attempted to slam the edge of the shield into the Winter Soldier- only to have the man grab the edge and use his other hand to punch Cap in the gut. 

Steve twisted the shield out of the man's grip, forcing him back a bit before throwing it at the man once more- The soldier caught it and threw it into the side of a car, embedding it in the metal there. The blonde glanced at the shield before narrowing his eyes at the man and running towards him, intent on fighting with or without it, it seemed.

The man pulled out a knife and spun it in his hand- it was another rainbow-tinted knife. This one too, had that same, familiar aura to it- both were twisted though, like looking in a funhouse mirror. Billy knew he recognized the magic- was it Dr. Strange's? No, it couldn't be his, Strange's was distinct and foreign to the boy.

This-  this felt familiar in the same way the Rock of Eternity felt familiar.

Captain Marvel sat up on the road, hand pressed against his side as he watched Cap fight with the Winter Soldier. Steve managed to kick the man into the side of a car, but he recovered quickly, using that knife in his hand to swipe at the Avenger. 

Marvel knew he needed to move- he could help Steve with this fight- but the pain in his side was foreign to him in this form. He glanced down at it, moving his hand to find golden liquid dribbling down his side and covering his hand. He let out a shaky breath as he stared wide-eyed at it. He'd never bled as Captain Marvel before...

"Ichor..." he breathed, staring at the golden liquid covering his fingers before pressing his hand firmly against his side again. He could sense someone coming up behind him and tensed, lightning crackling around one of his forearms before he realized it was Sam. 

"Whoa- whoa...what happened to you?" he asked, glancing towards Steve as he continued to fight the soldier before looking back towards Marvel.

"Ngh- magical knife," he said, lifting his hand to show the man the golden blood on his hand before pressing it against his side once more.

"What the- why is it gold?"

"It's ichor...blood of the Gods..." Cap said with a wince. Why wasn't he healing? His healing factor should have long since kicked in for this- so why was nothing happening?

Steve managed to force the Winter Soldier into digging his knife into the side of a van, pulling him down the side of it before it inevitably got stuck in the metal and the blonde managed to land a kick on the man's stomach and force him away. Steve pulled his shield from the side of a car and just barely blocked a punch from the soldier before he was able to slam the edge of the shield right into the man's face.

He was sent stumbling backward, the black muzzle on his mouth falling uselessly to the ground as the man breathed heavily. He turned his attention towards Steve, angry, soulless eyes glaring daggers at the man as the blonde seemed to freeze in place.

"...Bucky?" the blonde breathed, staring at the soldier as if he'd turn to dust at any moment.

The soldier's eyes turned slightly confused but remained just as angry.

"Who the hell is Bucky?"

The man pulled out a gun and aimed it right at Steve's stunned face- Sam's eyes widened and he took off towards the man, wings outspread as he kicked the soldier and knocked the gun out of his hand. Sam landed between the man and Steve, eyes narrowed at the man as he scooped his gun up off the ground.

He aimed it at Steve, and Captain Marvel threw out the hand not holding his side. He summoned lightning to flow through his fingers and arc through the air, sending the energy towards the Winter Soldier and drawing his attention. His eyes widened at the sight of lightning coming his way and narrowly avoided it, leaping backward as the energy connected with a car and caused it to explode. 

Steve brought his shield up and Sam did the same with his wings in order to protect themselves from the heat of the explosion, wincing as splintered metal flew everywhere. The pair glanced towards him, worry flashing in Steve's eyes at Marvel's condition. The demigod dropped his arm and laid down on the street as the smoke began to clear- the Winter Soldier was nowhere to be found.

The sudden sound of wailing sirens rang out through the air as Natasha came into Marvel's field of view, kneeling down beside him as a squadron of armored cars descended upon the group. Shield agents surrounded them, guns trained on the four people as more cars surrounded them and kept them from escaping.

Natasha tensed above him and he winced when SHIELD agents surrounded them and forced him to sit up. They grabbed hold of Natasha and clasped thick metal cuffs around her wrists, and Marvel glanced toward Steve and Sam to find the same thing happening to them. 

An agent came up to him that radiated nervous energy- no doubt they'd seen what he could do by now. He must have noticed the sweat beading on Captain Marvel's brow and the hand placed firmly against his side, cause he seemed to swallow his fear and grab the man's arm to place a cuff on it.

Cap let him- there was no way he'd be able to fight off the lot of them like this, plus there was no telling what they'd do to Sam, Steve, and Natasha if he fought back. The agent pulled the demigod's hand away from his side, tensing slightly at the sight of golden liquid still dribbling down his side.

"Medical- I need a temporary patch over here. We don't need a bleed-out during transport," he said into his radio, snapping the other cuff around Marvel's wrist. He could feel his magic quiet down inside him, becoming a low thrum in his core as another agent came over and patched up his side hastily.

The pair heaved him up to his feet, causing him to wince, but they ignored him- they guided him and Natasha, along with Steve and Sam, towards an armored truck. They were loaded in and sat down, and the thick metallic doors slammed shut.

"Are you okay, Captain?" Steve said worriedly, looking at the demigod's side and the golden color staining his bright red suit.

"I'll be fine... I just gotta do a healing spell and I'll be right as rain..." he breathed, leaning his head against the wall of the truck. He left out the bit that the wound should have already healed, that he'd never had to perform a healing spell on himself before because there'd never been a need to- but he was exhausted right now.

The blonde quieted down as the truck jerked, signaling their departure from the area. A few minutes of silence passed, listening to the hum of the engine and the sounds of the city passing by around them before Steve spoke up again, his lost eyes trained on the floor.

"It was him..." he breathed, causing the trio to look at him. "He looked through at me-" he said, glancing towards Natasha before his gaze moved to Sam and then Billy. "-like he didn't even know me."

"How is that even possible, Steve? Barnes died like, 70 years ago," Sam said, leaning against the wall of the armored truck beside Natasha.

Steve dropped his gaze to the floor again. "Zola," he breathed, his voice flat and tired. "When Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on him." He glanced towards Sam. "Whatever he did helped Bucky survive the fall...Hydra must've found him."

"None of that was your fault, Steve," Natasha said, looking the man in the eyes. The soldier's gaze dropped to the metal floor once more, a sigh leaving his mouth as the truck jostled the group.

"Even when I had nothing...I had Bucky. We were like brothers, Nat..."

The redhead winced, sucking air through her teeth as she shut her eyes tightly. Cap furrowed his brow at the woman. "You're hurt, Natasha," he said, and she grinned tiredly at him.

"What else is new?"

Sam glanced towards the pair of guards sitting back there with the group- masked and in full body armor, with pulsating electric batons in their hands. "We need to get her a doctor, she could bleed out in the back of this truck," he said to the female guard. The woman sparked her baton at him, making him rear his head back before she suddenly slammed it into the neck of the guard beside her, electrocuting him and causing him to slump over.

The group stared wide-eyed at the woman before she pulled her mask off, shaking out her hair as she muttered about the tight mask she'd been forced to put on. Cap glanced towards Steve and Natasha worriedly, but the pair looked relieved to see this woman- so he'd go with it for now. She glanced at Sam before looking at Steve confusedly.

"Who's this guy?"

- - -

Not only had this woman, (who he'd been told was named Maria Hill) managed to get them out of the armored truck, which was last in the convoy, and into another armored truck, but she'd also brought them to a weird, abandoned army base as well. The truck pulled to a stop as Marvel finished casting the spell to heal Natasha's shoulder, the pair glancing towards the door as it opened. 

Marvel clambered down first, rubbing absently as his fully healed side as he helped Natasha, Steve, and Sam out of the truck. Everyone was exhausted and nerves were frazzled, but they followed Maria without question as she le them to the concrete base and opened what looked like a jail cell door. 

The group was led down a long hallway lit sparsely with old lights, and found themselves in the company of one or two SHIELD agents as they passed. Maria led them around a corner before holding open a curtain of plastic flaps, revealing none other than Nick Fury, lying on a hospital bed in the middle of the room. Machines dinged and buzzed around him, the heart monitor beside the man beeping steadily. 

The man noticed them, picking his head up with a smirk at the sight of the group. "About damn time," he breathed as they came closer.

A doctor came into the room, asking if anyone needed medical attention, and Maria asked him to look at Natasha's shoulder- the place she'd been shot and that Cap had healed. As he did, Fury launched into an explanation as to what just was going on.

"They cut you open...your heart stopped," Natasha said as the Doctor leaned back and away from her.

"Tetrodotoxin B. Slows the pulse to one beat a minute," Fury said, and Marvel breathed a laugh.

"I knew you weren't dead!" he said, grinning at the man as he shook his head. "Your soul never left your body, there was no way you were actually gone," he continued, getting a wide-eyed look from Steve.

"Wait, you knew he wasn't dead and you didn't tell us?"

Marvel rubbed the back of his neck. "I wasn't sure if that information needed to be kept secret or not. Obviously he faked his death for a reason, right?" the demigod asked, glancing towards the director and finding him smirking at the man and shaking his head.

Steve glanced towards Fury. "Why all the secrecy? Why not just tell us?"

Maria decided to speak up then. "Any attempt on the director's life had to look successful."

"Can't kill you if you're already dead..." Nick added. "Besides..." he breathed, glancing around at the group. "I wasn't sure who to trust."

An hour or so later and the group were sitting around a table, discussing what Hydra's plan was and what they could possibly do to stop it. Cap was relieved that the tingle in his side where he'd healed himself was gone by now- it was weird to feel that constant sense of wrong in his abdomen- it was something he didn't want to feel again.

"We have to stop those helicarriers," Natasha said, glancing around the room.

Fury opened a case, sliding it around to show off three technical-looking computer chips. "We have to find a way to get one of these server discs inside each of those helicarriers. Once they ping off one another the virus in these chips should spread throughout their systems and take them down. It's vital that these chips make it inside every one of the helicarriers," he said grimly. "After that, we can salvage-"

"Salvage? No- there can't be any salvaging, Nick," Steve said, getting a furrowed brow from the man. "SHIELD has gotta go down, right alongside Hydra."

"SHIELD had nothing to do-"

"You said so yourself that SHIELD's been compromised," Captain Marvel added, staring at the director before glancing towards Steve.

"Hydra grew right under your nose inside of SHIELD and nobody noticed," Steve continued, blue eyes trained on Fury. "I get that you probably didn't know about Bucky, but would you have told me if you did? Or would that have been compartmentalized too?"

Steve crossed his arms over his chest. "SHIELD, Hydra...it all goes."

"Gee, Rogers, and here I thought you enjoyed working at SHIELD," a new voice, one that was familiar to everyone in the room (aside from Sam) said, causing the group to glance towards the doorway. Clint stood leaning against the doorframe with an arrow in his hand, fiddling with the point before twirling it and putting it back in his quiver.

"Clint- how did you-" Maria got a look from the archer before he rolled his eyes. 

"Come on, shit starts going down and I get a call from Rumlow of all people that says Fury here is dead?" he asked, jabbing a thumb towards the man. "Something didn't smell right. So I started digging, found out Cap here had been made a fugitive, and that led me down the rabbit hole of trailing you guys here," he said, moving towards Marvel and leaning against his shoulder.

"I wanna help- fill me in. Why's SHIELD gotta go and what does it have to do with Hydra?"

"Hydra's been growing inside of SHIELD since it was founded," Natasha said from her place at the table. Clint furrowed his brow, glancing towards Fury. "He didn't know, Clint," she added. His gaze softened. 

"Well, I figured something was screwy when I turned on the TV and found you guys getting hauled into an armored truck, but I didn't think it was this bad..." the man said, standing up and walking towards the table.

"So what're we gonna do about it?"

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"So what're we gonna do about it?"

- - -

Captain Marvel was explaining what he and Steve had been up to the past couple of days to Clint when Sam and Steve came back in from going outside, the latter looking more torn up than before he'd left.

"Alright- suit up," Steve said as he came into the room, looking around at the assembled Avengers and honorary Avengers they had.

"We should be sayin' that to you, Rogers," Clint said with a smirk, to which Maria cleared her throat.

"We have that covered," she said, tossing a duffel bag onto the table. Steve furrowed his brow and unzipped the bag, pulling out an old, red, white, and blue uniform.

"This..."

"Hey, that's the same uniform that's on display in the Smithsonian!" Cap said wide-eyed as he glanced towards Steve with a grin. The blonde shook his head at the old threads, glancing towards Maria with a smirk as he shouldered the bag.

"Well, if you're gonna fight a war, you gotta wear a uniform."

Twenty minutes later and Maria Hill was leading the group of heroes through the brush and trees that surrounded the old military base. Clint took Natasha's place as she went off on her own, bringing up Marvel's tail as he followed Steve and Sam through the brush.

They came to the water's edge, and the group looked to the demigod. "This miiiiight sting a bit, so be warned," he said, shutting his eyes and allowing his magic to coalless between his hands. A glowing ball of energy appeared in his hand, warping and bending the air around it as it grew to the size of a basketball.

"Lanuae Magicae..." He breathed, eyes opening as the ball between his fingertips exploded outward in light, absorbing the group suddenly. When the light dissipated, the heroes found themselves in a stairwell. Marvel furrowed his brow, glancing down at his hands.

"Dangit- this- this isn't the right place, I meant to put us on one of the helicarriers," the demigod breathed, bringing a hand to his head and gripping his hair tightly out of frustration.

"It's okay, Captain- we're inside the Triskellion... we should be close," Maria said, taking the lead and moving up one flight before stopping at the door. It suddenly opened, revealing a wide-eyed agent. Maria pulled her gun on him, aiming right between his eyes and causing him to freeze.

"Excuse us," Steve said with a smirk, causing the man to throw his hands up in surrender and step aside. Maria kept her gun trained on him as they passed before she pulled out some cuffs and bound his hands.

"Go, the helicarriers are on this floor- I'll make sure he doesn't move," she said, allowing the rest of the heroes to move on without her. Steve took the lead, moving through the corridor before pausing at the sight of a door. 

He glanced back at Sam, Captain Marvel, and Clint, before looking back at the door and opening it. Inside were a small group of technicians, who immediately put their hands in the air at the sight of Sam with blasters aimed in their direction. "Move it," Steve said, and the men scrambled out of the way. 

"Attention all SHIELD agents, this is Steve Rogers," Steve said, leaning into a microphone as his voice was broadcast over the sound system. A small smile crept onto Marvel's face at the sight. "You've heard a lot about me over the last few days- some of you were even sent to hunt me and my friends down."

Clint glanced at Marvel worriedly before looking back towards Steve.

"But I think it's time you finally knew the truth," Steve said, letting out a small, shaky breath. "SHIELD isn't what we thought it was," he continued, the people in the room all staring at the super-soldier. "It's been taken over by Hydra, and Alexander Pierce is their leader." 

Clint's eyes widened, his hand curling into a fist angrily. "That bastard..." he breathed, staring at the floor.

"The project Insight crew, as well as STRIKE team, are Hydra too...and I don't know how many more, but I know that they're in the building, and they could be standing right next to you. If you allow those helicarriers to take off, millions of people will be in danger. Hydra will be able to kill anyone who poses a threat to them- anyone who doesn't do as they say."

Steve's jaw set as he spoke. "They shot Nick Fury, and it won't end there, I guarantee it- unless we do something to stop them. I know- I know, I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high. It always has been. If I'm the only one willing to pay that price, then fine- but I don't think that I am."

The blonde's voice cut out over the loudspeaker and Sam grinned at him. "You plan that? Feels like you should go into public speaking instead of military work," he said with a chuckle. The moment of respite was over quickly, though, as sirens began to wail and the ground began to shake.

"That can't be good," Clint said, looking around before glancing out the window. "Yeah, definitely not good," he said, staring out at the body of water that surrounded the base. He moved to the computers, working quickly and bringing up data. "They're preparing to launch," he said, continuing to bring up schematics and data.

"2 is in the air already, and 3 is about to take off- so is 1," the archer said, glancing back at Steve worriedly. "I'm gonna try to take them down from in here- maybe there's a manual override. You guys get out there and throw your weight around," he said, turning his attention back towards the computers in front of him.

The trio nodded and took off, darting out of the room and down the stairwell. 

- - -

The men came running out of the base to find two of the three helicarriers in the air, and the third on its way up. "Three helicarriers, three of us- it's like fate," Marvel said with a determined grin. "I haven't fought a whole ship for like, three months!" he said excitedly as lightning began to dance around his form.

"Me and Zappy here'll take the ones already in the air, you get the one that's rising," Sam said, grabbing the chip he was tossed from Steve. Cap snatched his own out of the air before grabbing hold of Steve's forearm and lifting him up into the air, tossing him towards the rising helicarrier before launching himself like a rocket towards the ship that was highest in the air. 

He grinned to himself as he approached the ship- it felt like old times, taking on some crazy contraption Luthor or Sivanna built. A smiled widely as turrets suddenly trained on him, crossing his arms over his chest as they let lose a volley of bullets.

They bounced off him harmlessly, and he yawned dramatically before clenching his fists and shooting towards the ship. 

The guns were taken out in seconds, ripped off their hinges and dropped like stones to fall harmlessly into the water below. "Way too easy," he said with a laugh, glancing at the chip in his hand before looking towards what had to be the main piloting area of the ship- it was towards the front and covered in glass, so he could assume that was where you sat if you wanted to drive the flying behemoth.

He shot towards the glass, only to have massive gun-looking objects emerge from the top of the helicarrier. He furrowed his brow at the objects before they suddenly were shooting lasers at him- his eyes widened as he narrowly dodged the blast, face scrunching in frustration as one of the beams cut through his cape and singed it.

"HEY!" he yelled, glaring at the helicarrier. "You're really lucky I don't have to mend this thing myself!" he growled before the lightning dancing around his form arced outward. He threw his hands towards the laser turrets and forced the electricity to run through his fingertips and connect to the metal, causing the guns to explode and send up a plume of smoke.

Cap took this opportunity to shoot himself through the glass of the cockpit, shattering the window and landing on the smooth metal floor. He stood and glared at the space people in the room, all who had their guns trained on him. "You know, I really don't think Nazis belong in the 21st century. Why don't you all go back to the 40's?" he asked, glancing around at the 6 or so agents staring at him.

"No? Well, why don't you chill out then?" he said with a grin, throwing his hands forward. "Rigescunt Indutae!" he yelled, causing ice to shoot forward in a flurry and freeze the agents solid. "Alright, now let's see..." he said, glancing around the room and spotting what looked like a large, cylindrical device filled with computer components. 

"Looks like as good a place as any..." he said, walking over to the station and opening it up with a small shock. He slid the chip into one of the ports and closed the device back up. Sirens began to blare around him, and he glanced towards the people he'd frozen. 

He moved to the control panels and slammed his fists down into them, causing them to spark and jolt with electricity. The helicarrier began to shake and tremble, and Marvel took that as his cue to leave.

"First one's locked in!" the raven said, pressing his fingers to the comm in his ear as he shot through the hole in the window and hovered in the air, moving to use his body as a living wrecking ball and take out one of the jets. He tore through the thick metal and watched it explode outward, sending a trail of smoke upward. He grinned, watching the massive ship begin to fall out of the air and sail downward towards the water below.

He heard static over the line before Sam's voice crackled in. "Awesome- mind lending me a hand then?" he asked as explosions rang out through the device. Marvel turned his attention towards the second helicarrier, finding Sam swooping and diving in order to dodge the turrets firing at him. Two were already down, but the rest were trained on the Falcon currently doing loopsin the air to avoid being shot.

He shot off like a rocket in the man's direction, plowing through a pair of turrets and causing them to explode before shooting through two more pairs. Thick smoke trailed up from the broken turrets as Sam shot at the agents that had come out onto the helicarrier's landing platform to shoot at them. 

"Steve, how you doing?" Cap asked as he launched an arc of lightning in the direction of a group of men, the energy exploding outward and electrocuting the agents, causing them to jitter and drop to the ground. Sam managed to take out a couple more agents before the same laser canons that had been present on the other helicarrier sudden emerged from this one as well. 

"About as good as I can be, Marvel!" Steve replied with a grunt as the sounds of agents fighting against him came through the mic.

"Sam, watch out!" Cap said, tackling the man out of the air and shielding him as the laser cannons aimed towards him. They narrowly dodged the bright red beams, spiraling through the air before landing on the helicarrier's runway. "You okay?" Cap asked, sitting up and rubbing his head before shaking off the disorientation. 

"I'm good," Sam replied, bringing his wing up to shield himself from another volley of bullets. "These guys are relentless!"

"I got 'em," Marvel said, narrowing his eyes on the agents before the additional sound of an ending caught his attention. "By the Gods- Sam, mind distracting that jet?" He asked, causing the man to glance towards the fighter jet soaring upward with its guns trained on them. 

"Gotcha," Sam replied, tossing the demigod the chip and taking off, leading the jet away from Captain Marvel.

With him gone, Cap turned his attention back towards the agents- who were still shooting at him. Seriously, you'd think they would notice that their guns weren't doing anything to him, but hey- goons were goons regardless of the universe, he supposed. He launched another volley of electricity towards the group before picking off the stragglers, ending up with a whole mess of unconscious Hydra agents laying on the runway.

"God damnit!" Sam said through the comms as wind rushed through the mic. 

"You good?" Steve asked with a grunt.

"I'll be fine- aha! Take that!" Sam replied.

"Gimme an update, guys," Clint said through the comm, and Marvel took this chance to speak as he kicked the thick, metallic door to the helicarrier open and sped inside.

"One helicarrier down, about to crash into the water, another on the way. I just gotta put this bad boy inside the terminal and number two will be goin' down," he said, moving at a speed that would make Flash proud as he sped through the make of corridors and rooms. He finally ended up in cockpit number two, a number of agents immediately training their guns on him.

"Really don't have time for this, guys," He said, moving in a bright red blur and snatching the agents' guns away and knocking them out with a swift punch to the head before plugging the chip into the mainframe. "Aaaaand number two is locked in," he said, bursting through the glass in the front of the cockpit and hovering in the air, watching the smoke rise from turrets on the second helicarrier.

"Two down, one to go," Clint added.

"Steve, how you doin' on that last one?" Sam asked, dropping downward and moving past Marvel. The demigod followed suit, heading towards the last flying ship with Steve inside. 

"You guys got eight minutes," Clint said through the comms, making the raven tense. Eight minutes until these things linked up with the satellites and started taking people out by the millions- even if only two of the three were fully operational, it could still cause havoc.

No way were they going to let that happen.

"Shit- guys, we got a problem- three's veering to the left. It's gonna clip two on its way down and destroy the base, with everyone inside, if we don't do something about it."

"Sam, go help Steve- I got the ship," Marvel said, rocketing towards the falling helicarrier and placing himself between the second and third. The demigod rolled his neck and smirked up at the massive hunk of metal hurtling down towards him in a fiery mess and put his arms out, flying upward and utilizing all of Heracles's strength in order to try and shove the thing back and keep it away from the other ship and the base.

He struggled against the weight of the helicarrier, muscles straining and sweat beading on his brow as he pushed with all his might. The ship was barely moving in the direction he needed it to and was still falling out of the sky. If he could just keep it from crashing into the other helicarrier and careening into the base, he'd consider it a win.

"Last helicarrier's virus is locked in," Steve's voice said through the comms as Marvel continued to try and push the damn overweight flying ship from veering too much to the left.

"Clint, turn them on!" the demigod yelled, his voice strained.

"Wait- we got company, don't launch the virus yet!" Steve said before his mic fizzled out momentarily.

"What kind of- ngh- company?" Marvel asked, his jaw set as he struggled.

"Shit- company of the violent, raccoon-lookin' kind," Sam said before a blizzard of gunshots could be heard over the line. He needed to get in there and help them, he couldn't let them face the Winter Soldier alone, especially not now that they knew he was Steve's long-lost buddy.

"Gah!" Sam cried out in pain before the whirring of wind rushed by in the Captain's ear.

"Sam are you alright?!" Cap asked, eyes wide as he finally, finally managed to get the helicarrier off its collision course and force it towards the water below.

"My wings! Shit- Cap I need some help!!" Sam yelled and Marvel flew up and over the burning helicarrier as it fell to look for Sam- when he caught sight of what looked like an overgrown bird falling through the air, he launched himself towards it, arms out to catch the man.

With Sam in his arms and breathing heavily, he flew down to the ground and deposited him there. "Go- Steve needs help," the man said, shoving the demigod away. The raven nodded and turned his attention on the last standing helicarrier before taking off towards it.

"Sam's grounded- I'm on my way, Steve," He said, the lack of response from the blonde only causing him to pick up speed.

Marvel heard Clint's voice come over the line and tell Sam that Rumlow, leader of the STRIKE team, was heading up to Pierce's office- the same office that Natasha had managed infiltrate and lockdown. "On it," Sam replied as Cap shot through the air towards the helicarrier. He flew up to find Steve and Barnes fighting in the glass belly of the ship, the former doing his best to defend rather than attack.

"Steve!" Cap called out, causing both the men to glance towards him. Steve used this as a chance to kick Barnes off of him and throw his shield, causing it to slam into the Winter Soldier's chest and make him stumble back. "Steve, we gotta go so Clint can take this thing down!"

"I can't just leave! He might take the device out!" Steve yelled, shield up as the man shot at him. Marvel glanced towards Barnes before narrowing his eyes and flying towards him. That metal arm was shiny enough, here's hoping it was conductive too.

Lightning danced around his forearm as he grabbed hold of the man's metallic arm, sending electricity through him and making him jitter and cry out in pain. The man brought his leg up and managed to twist Marvel's arm so that if his bones could break, they would have snapped like twigs. Instead, Marvel cried out in pain and pulled his arm back, touching down on the platform as the soldier growled at him.

Thin veins of smoke were trailing upward from his form, and he looked ragged. So lightning would do the trick then.

Steve ran towards the man with the intent of bashing him with his shield, only for the soldier to use the railing at his side to plant both feet in the center of the blonde's shield and kick him backward. The shield went flying, clattering on the glass floor below the platform the trio was on and leaving Steve without his main weapon.

"Bucky, I won't fight you anymore!" Steve yelled, only to have the man pull out a rainbow-tinted knife, the new bane of Captain Marvel's existence, and glare at the super-soldier. "You know me. We were like brothers. We grew up together- my mom, Sarah would make us soup whenever it got cold, and you always thought it was super fancy because she added chicken stock to it," he said, arms out placatingly.

The Winter Soldier just continued to glare at him.

"Bucky..." Steve shook his head at the man. "I can't fight you. I can't fight my brother."

"That makes one of us," He said, launching himself towards the blonde and attempting to swipe at him. Steve was able to dodge and block for a moment, only to have the man's knife rammed into his shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. Barnes tackled the blonde and twisted the knife in his skin, growling angrily as he stared at Steve.

"Do it- I won't fight back..." he breathed, staring the man in the eyes as Marvel watched. He had a feeling Steve might have a plan, but he had no idea what it could be. "I'm with you til the end of the line, Bucky...don't let this be the end."

The soldier paused, his eyes widening in shock as the helicarrier rumbled around them. He swallowed thickly before rage engulfed his face again and he grabbed the knife from Steve's shoulder, intend on plunging it into the man's chest.

"Not cool man!" Marvel said, throwing his arms out and sending his lightning coursing through the man.

"Marvel No! You'll kill him!" Steve yelled from his place on the ground as he clambered up slowly, holding a hand to his shoulder as blood stained his uniform. The lightning sent the soldier tumbling over the edge of the platform, jolting as he landed on the glass floor far below them.

"Oh god-" The blonde ran to the edge and looked over it worriedly, some of the tension leaving his shoulders when he saw Barnes below, still breathing and groaning from the pain.

"Steve, we have to go!" Marvel said, pulling him back from the edge.

"One minute guys! Come on!" Clint said through the comms. "Get out of there or I'm gonna have to activate it with you inside!"

"But Bucky-" Steve glanced back at Marvel, who was already flying towards him. He grabbed hold of Steve, flying downward towards Barnes and the blonde's shield. Steve grabbed the shield while Marvel heaved the barely conscious man over his shoulder. 

"Come on!" the raven yelled, grabbing hold of Steve again before crashing through the glass wall and rocketing away from the helicarrier as fast as he could (without bursting Steve's eardrums, that is). "Clint! turn it on!"

The helicarriers still in the air shuddered suddenly before the jets keeping them aloft suddenly began to die and the weapon systems that were left began to target one another. The helicarriers opened fire on one another as they sailed down towards the water below, Steve and Cap watching tiredly from the air. 

"We...we better get back," Steve breathed, glancing up towards the demigod's face.

"What about him?" Marvel asked, lifting the barely conscious Winter Soldier up by his jacket collar.

The blonde seemed to think for a moment before meeting the raven's eyes- he went to speak, but Sam's voice suddenly came in through the comms. "Natasha! Please tell me you got that helicopter in the air!" he said panicked as the rumble of destruction raged around him.

"41st floor, northwest corner!" Nat's voice came through, sending a wave of relief through the demigod. She'd been radio silent ever since infiltrating the office- it was good to hear her voice. The pair glanced towards the base to find the second helicarrier gliding past it as it fell, digging into the side and causing the building to erupt in flames.

"Seriously!? After all that work the other one's gonna crash into it now?!" Cap asked wide-eyed as he stared. Steve stared at the destruction before glancing towards the Winter Soldier.

"I thought Natasha was supposed to be our best pilot- i'm thinking even Steve might be a better one than this, and he crashed his plane into the ocean!"  Clint's voice came through the comms. 

"Are you guys okay?" Nat asked, getting an affirmative from both Marvel and Steve. "Where's the Winter Soldier?" 

"We got him..." Cap said after a moment. "I'll contain him until we can figure out what to do with him. Maybe Tony could-"

"That's not a good idea," Natasha said through the line, causing the man to furrow his brow.

"How? We have that- that- containment thing that can hold the Hulk, it'll be perfect for him."

Natasha was quiet.

The demigod sighed, shaking his head. "Fine- Steve needs medical attention, and we can figure out what to do after that. I'll contain him for now, but I really think we should talk to Tony about this. He'll know what to do."

"We got what looked like paramedics grouping up down in the park," Clint said as the helicopter Cap had begun to follow started to make its descent. "This is gonna be a media shitstorm..." he muttered, causing Marvel to laugh.

"Please, this is easy compared to the kind of things I'm used to dealing with- the Justice League is way more destructive than you'd think," Marvel said with a chuckle. 

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"Please, this is easy compared to the kind of things I'm used to dealing with- the Justice League is way more destructive than you'd think," Marvel said with a chuckle. 

- - -

The elevator doors opened and Billy trudged into the living room tiredly, his backpack slung loosely over his shoulder as he made a beeline for the couch. Peter glanced up from his homework and glanced at the group as they exited the elevator. "You're back!" he said with a grin as Billy slumped over the armrest and face planted into the cushions.

"Jarvis, can you tell everyone they're back?" Peter asked, glancing towards the ceiling before getting up and jogging over to the adults. "How was it? Me and Mister Stark watched the helicarriers going down- are you guys okay? What about SHIELD, what's gonna happen to it?" he asked in a rapid-fire, making Steve blink and glance towards Natasha.

"Wait, who's that?" the brunet asked, tilting his head at the sight of Sam. 

"Thmfm Smn..." Billy said, his face still pressed against the couch cushions. Clint chuckled and ruffled Peter's hair as he passed him, tossing his own duffle bag on the floor near the couch. 

"I think Sparky's saying that that's Sam. Steve invited him to join the Avengers," he said, walking towards Billy and grabbing the kid by the ankles. He yanked him up and set his ankles on his shoulders, making the 12-year-old laugh. 

"Cliiiint! Noooo! I'm tired!" Billy laughed as his shirt fell and covered his face. The archer laughed and spun the boy, pausing only at the sound of a short gasp. "What?" he asked, glancing towards Steve with a furrowed brow as he stared at Billy's chest.

"Billy..." The blonde breathed, getting a confused look from the boy as he pulled his shirt up off his face. Clint set him down on the couch and the boy flipped upward, sitting up and staring at the archer. 

"What?" he asked, blowing some of his ebony hair from his face. 

"Those- those scars," the super-soldier breathed, causing Billy to tense. He swallowed thickly, averting his gaze Steve stared at him. Thankfully, Tony and Bruce came into the room to distract the group. He came up to Rogers and immediately started grabbing at him, checking him over before staring up at him worriedly. 

"I saw the news...we watched the helicarriers go down. Are you okay? What happened? You were radio silent for days, Steve- I was worried..." he breathed that last part, seemingly trying to play it off as one teammate worried about the other.

Steve's gaze softened and gave the man a tired, soft smile. "I'm fine, Tony."

"You should still let me scan you- just to be safe."

"I was cleared from the hospital, Tony- if the doctors think I'm okay, then I'm fine," the blonde replied, grabbing hold of the smaller man's calloused hands. "What about you? Have you been eating?"

"I've been making sure that he does," Peter said proudly, getting a grin from the blonde.

"At least someone here is responsible."

"Hey!" Tony said indignantly. "Brucie Bear is pretty responsible," he said, getting a roll of the eyes from the man in question. "Aside from you people worrying the hell out of me and not calling me, Thor or Bruce in for back up, I need to know why there's a random guy in Hulk's time-out pen," he said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder and towards the elevator.

"Jarvis alerted me when you guys first put him in there, but he couldn't dig anything up other than the fact that he looks freakishly similar to a certain guy from the 40's," Tony continued crossing his arms over his chest and raising a brow. "Sooooo....who is he?"

"He's-"

"William! Thank the stars you're alright," Loki said, coming into the room and kneeling down to check on the boy sitting on the couch. The smaller raven brightened simply at the sight of the man, clambering into his arms and allowing the God to pick him up.

Thor came trailing in after the raven, brow furrowed as he followed the lanky God. "Brother, you can't just leave in the middle of our discussion on Asgardian politics, I need someone to talk to if I am to-"

"Thor," Loki bit out, glancing back at the prince. "If I were to discuss Asgardian politics with anyone, it certainly wouldn't be you," he said before turning his attention back on the boy in his arms. Thor glanced towards the others with a sigh.

"I was this close to heading to Washington DC myself- be thankful Stark convinced me you all could handle yourselves- or, well, that William could at least," the man said, glancing from Billy to Steve and the rest for the group, furrowing his brow at the sight of Sam.

"You were worried about us?" Billy asked with a grin.

The God raised an eyebrow, glancing back at the boy like he'd said something cheeky. "You. Worried about you. And only marginally. The rest of these Midgardians I couldn't care less about, but you- well, a human with the ability to do magic is exceedingly rare, so count yourself in my good graces because of that," he said, trying to play off his display of affection as anything but.

Billy simply grinned wider and hugged the God's neck. "I missed you too, Loki," he said with a smile. If Lokis' grip tightened a hair, Billy wouldn't tell.

"Back to the rando- who is he?" Tony asked.

Steve sighed, rubbing the back of his back nervously. Why was he hesitant to tell Tony that the man was Bucky? Obviously, Natasha knew the reason, but neither was willing to spill the beans- no matter how much the boy had bugged them on the flight home. 

"He's Bucky."

Tony furrowed his brow in confusion. "Like, Bucky Bucky? James Barnes Bucky?" he asked slowly. At Steve's nod, Tony blinked. There was a pregnant pause before he spoke again. "I knew Jarvis wasn't wrong- he''s never been wrong before," he said with a grin. "So why's he locked up then?"

"Hydra got a hold of him after he fell. He's been...brainwashed, or something. He doesn't remember me," Steve said, causing Tony's grin to vanish. "And I don't know how to fix him."

The brunet seemed to think for a moment, scratching at his beard before he brought up a hand and started wagging a finger at an idea that had popped into his head. "One of my R&D guys was going on about some illusion tech he had been working on for a while now. He said it scans your brain and can project images- ones that are pretty much lifelike..." Tony said.

"If I can get him to hand over the plans for that rather than sell it to the military, I might be able to tweak it. Then we could use it to help Barnes re-live some of the things that make him who he is."

"What do you mean, Tony?" Steve asked.

"I mean we could show him the things that used to be important to him- when you saved him from that Hydra camp, that uh- that story of the time he tried to stop a bunch of bullies from beating you up and ended up getting beat up instead, that kind of thing," Tony said with a smirk. "Jog his memory, and couple that with some therapy- we might be able to bring him back."

"Sure- it's not a perfect fix. I honestly don't know how much of him is left in there, if it really was Hydra that got a hold of him...but if he reacts to any of it, then we have a chance to bring at least some part of the old James Barnes back."

A small, hopeful grin appeared on Steve's face. He glanced back at Natasha, who's watching trepidatiously, before looking back towards Tony and nodding. "Yeah- yeah. let's do it."

"Slow your roll, there, Capsicle, I gotta actually convince the man to hand over the plans first," Tony said with a chuckle, patting the super-soldier's cheek sarcastically before turning his attention towards Sam. "Now- who is this and why is he here?" he asked, looking the man up and down.

"You the guy with the wings?"

Sam blinked, swallowing thickly before holding out his hand. "Uh- Sam Wilson, Mister Stark. And yeah- though they're kinda useless now," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Don't worry about it- I'll make you some new ones, Sam, and you'll be out in the field in no time," Tony said with a smirk, getting a wide-eyed look from the veteran. "Now, you're welcome to pick out a room if you want- Cap's quarters are in the south-east corner of the tower if you wanna be near him," he continued, going over a mental checklist before grinning at the man.

"I'll get you an ID card and we'll introduce you alongside Captain Marvel and Spider-Man at the press conference."

"Wait, wait- you're gonna let me join the Avengers, just like that? No interview, no background check, no nothing?" Sam asked, clearly confused.

Tony pointed toward the ceiling. "Background check," he said before pointing towards Steve. "Interview. If Capsicle trusts you, so do I, Sam."

"Wait, wait- you said press conference- when is it?" Peter asked excitedly as Loki set Billy on the floor. "I have waited for this day for so long, Mister Stark, please don't tell me it's like, months away-"

"It's next week."

Billy and Peter glanced towards one another excitedly. "Yes!!" The teenager said, pumping his fist as Billy laughed. "Spider-Man: the Webbed Avenger," he said with a smirk, putting his hands out like he was showing off an illuminated sign.

"You've been spending way too much time with Tony- his ego's rubbing off on you," Billy said with a grin, only for the 15-year-old to widen his eyes and pull the boy into a headlock.

"You take that back!"

- - -

Eventually, the group dispersed, the varied heroes going back to work or heading to their own private quarters for some very needed time off. Billy left Peter to finish his homework and went to find Loki- he found the man sitting on a bed in one of the guest rooms, floating lanterns surrounding him in the dark room as he read a book in silence.

"You know the light switches work, right?" Billy said, coming into the room closing the door behind him. The god glanced up from his book with a small grin and shook his head at the boy.

"Yes, but the ambiance these give is unparalleled," he replied, eyes going back to the yellowed pages of the tome in his lap.

"I think you just like showing off that you can do magic," Billy said as he clambered up onto the bed. "Cause you know if makes Bruce and Tony uncomfortable," he said, sitting down and grinning at the lanky man.

A smirk appeared on Loki's face at his words. "I will admit that does bring me joy as well."

There were a few moments of silence before Billy spoke again. "Is it...is it okay if I ask you a question?" he asked, thumbing the hem of his shirt anxiously. Loki looked up from his tome and place a bookmark between the pages before closing it.

"Something bothering you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Kinda."

Loki said nothing, and Billy took that as his cue to explain. "Well, while we were in DC, I fought that guy down in the hulk cage- James? He uhm... well, I fought him as Captain Marvel, obviously, but..." he chewed on his lower lip in thought. "Well, he had these knives..."

"I thought your skin was impervious to blades as Captain Marvel."

"It's supposed to be...it always has been...until now. Well, okay- you see, he tried stabbing me with a normal knife at first- and of course, it shattered- they always do." Billy swallowed thickly, still playing nervously with his shirt. "But then he pulled out this weird, rainbow knife."

Loki narrowed his eyes in thought.

"It had a weird aura to it, and I know it was magic, I know magic when I see it- but I couldn't place it. It takes a lot to hurt me, Loki, a simple enchanted weapon shouldn't have been able to break my skin."

"What was this strange aura?"

Billy rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not sure how to explain it- it felt like looking at a funhouse mirror. It was familiar, but I just couldn't place my finger on it. It felt like a twisted version of the Rock of Eternity, the place where my powers come from, but I've already check this universe- the Rock of Eternity is nowhere to be found."

The god rubbed his chin in thought, staring at the boy before narrowing his eyes slightly. "And this James- he works for that one organization...Hydra, I believe it was," he asked, getting a nod from the boy. A soft sigh came from his mouth. "Well...to be frank, William, it sounds like it's your own magic being used against you."

Billy furrowed his brow. "What- but how? I haven't met any other sorcerers besides you and Dr. Strange, how could Hydra possibly-" he paused, a spark igniting in his mind and causing dread to pool in his stomach.

"The roadblock..." he breathed. 

"The...what?"

Billy shook his revelation off, looking up at the God worriedly. "I conjured a roadblock when I first got here, and Hydra managed to steal it. We got it back, and we thought we'd done so before they could do anything with it..." the 12-year-old swallowed thickly. "They...they must have found a way to siphon my magic off of the roadblock..."

Billy ran a hand through his hair, gripping the black locks tightly as he tried not to panic. "They- they used my own magic against me, combined it with knives that can actually break my skin-"

"William."

"There's no telling how many of those they've made, or what else they've done with it. What if they made some kind of ray gun-"

"Willliam."

They can't have possession of my magic- there's no telling just what they could do with it-"

"WILLIAM!!"

The boy froze, glancing towards the frustrated God. "Calm down, boy. You have to calm down. We'll figure this out," he said slowly, looking the boy in the eyes. "I'll make sure of it."

"How- how can you be sure? I couldn't- I couldn't live with myself if Hydra used my magic against innocent people..." Billy breathed, tears beading in the corners of his bright blue eyes. The taller raven grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him into his lap, hushing him gently. Billy melted into the touch slightly, though panic still wracked his frame.

"I'll make sure of it, William. I swear to it."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"I'll make sure of it, William. I swear."

- - -

Billy struggled to sleep that night, despite the exhaustion tugging at his core. His thoughts ran rampant as worst-case scenarios came and went through his mind, causing him to stare absently at the ceiling for a good hour before his eyelids finally began to droop.

The raven blinked, and the ceiling above him vanished- being replaced with a bright blue sky. He furrowed his brow at the sight, sitting up slowly and glancing around. The aching soreness in his limbs was gone, the lingering headache too. He found himself in a field of wheat, which confused the daylights out of him- how did he get here?

The 12-year-old clambered up, dusting the dirt off his jeans and looking around. "Where...am I?" he muttered to himself slowly, the warm air around him soft on his skin. He swallowed thickly before taking a step in a random direction. The wind picked up behind him, blowing at his back and urging him forward.

"Okay, okay- i'll- i'll go this way..." he said, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to get it out of his face. "What is this place though...?" he asked aloud, his voice echoing through the field- though he wasn't sure that was even possible. 

"Kid?" 

The voice was distant and faint, but the sound made the 12-year-old's heart skip a beat. He knew that voice, better than any other- it was John Constantine's voice, surrounding him as he picked up the pace.

"John?" He called out, looking around for the blonde-haired magician. "John, where are you?"

"Kid?" John's voice blew through his ears again, riding the wind around him and making the boy spin in an attempt to find the man.

"Kid where are you!?"

"John- John, I'm here!" Billy yelled, looking around frantically. It'd been so long since he'd seen the man- where could he be? Billy didn't even know where here was, but if John was there too they could figure it out together!

"John!" Billy called out again, the wind smothering his voice like a weak fire.

The flickering image of John shoving his way through the field of wheat appeared in his peripheral, making Billy gasp and immediately book it towards the Brit. "John!" he said with a grin, lighting up at the sight of the man looking around him with a furrowed brow. 

"Kid, where the Hell are you?" John called out, bringing a hand up to cup it around his mouth. "I'm not searchin' this whole place, Sparkplug, so come out!" 

Billy shoved the wheat out of the way and crashed into the man's legs, hugging him tightly and making the man's eyes widen as he stumbled backward. "What the Hell-" he asked as he looked around, a ball of flames erupting in his palm as he tensed.

"John, it's me!" Billy said, looking up from where he was holding onto the man.

"...Kid?" John breathed, eyes widening as he looked around. He didn't seem to notice Billy holding onto his legs. "Wha...what's goin' on here?" he asked, brow furrowing as Billy let go and took a step back. The flames in his hands died as he narrowed his eyes at the air around him.

"How are you here, John?" Billy asked, looking up at the man and furrowing his own brow when the man didn't answer him, and instead simply continued to look around in suspicious confusion. "John?" he tried again.

When he didn't get a reply from the man, he reached out and grabbed hold of the edge of his trenchcoat. The man moved, head whipping towards the fabric that refused to move in Billy's small hand. "...John?" he tried again.

"Kid...that really is you..." John said, staring at the air his coat was being hung up on. He didn't meet Billy's eyes, so he could only assume that John couldn't actually see him. "What- what the Hell- where are you? What's goin' on? Did Hades snatch you up again- cause I swear, I am not afraid to drive a right hook right into a bloody God's face-" 

"No, no no no- John, I'm okay..." Billy replied with a grin. Though- it did get him thinking. This field...he'd never been in any fields. Maybe- Maybe he was dreaming? That'd explain the weirdness of it all. Though, if he was dreaming-

"Well, where in Zeus's name are you then, Kid? When you didn't show up for your trainin' this afternoon I- uh...Chas got worried."

Billy swallowed thickly, his grip tightening on Jonh's coat as his brow furrowed in thought. Wait, that afternoon? What did John mean by that? Sure, when he'd been sucked into the Avengers' world he'd been scheduled to go train with John that afternoon, but... he'd already been in this place for nearly two months...

Had it been less than a day back home?

The raven let out a shaky breath and looked John in the eyes- even though the man couldn't see him. "I'm...well, I- I- I don't know how to explain it without sounding bonkers."

"Try me, kid."

Billy swallowed thickly. "I'm in another universe. Not- not another dimension, where there are other versions of me or the League on another Earth- I mean a whole new universe, with completely different heroes and villains and a different history- I- I- it's been nearly two months for me, John-" the 12-year-old let out a shaky breath. 

"Another universe...Kid, what- How are you in another universe? For that matter, how are you talking to me right now?" 

Billy glanced around the field he stood in. "W-where are you?"

"The bloody Rock of Eternity."

"That- that makes sense, kinda. I- I somehow opened a portal to this place in the Rock of Eternity. Since it's at the nexus of time and space, at least for our universe, there must be some kind of overlap with that world and this one... I mean... that's my best guess at least."

John brought a hand up to scratch at his chin in thought. "Okay... alright, I'll...I'll talk to that bastard Fate, then. See if he's willing to climb off his high horse and help you poor sod get home," he said, glancing back down at where his coat was still being held tightly. "Are you okay, Kid? You're not hurt?"

A small smile appeared on Billy's face. "Yeah- i'm- I'm fine. There's....there's a lot of things that are different about this place, but I found the main hero team of this universe, and...I've kinda been helping them out."

John rolled his eyes, a smirk appearing on his face. "Of course you have."

"...and I kinda told them about me...like, who I really am."

John raised a brow in his direction, looking just a hair to the left of where BIlly's eyes actually were. Billy brought up a hand to rub at the back of his neck out of habit. "They took it well... surprisingly well, actually...its..." he grinned, shaking his head at the thought of everything that had happened since he got there. "...it's been nice."

A sudden gust of wind sent ice through Billy's veins, causing him to furrow his brow and tense. He looked around in confusion as John shook his head. "Well...good on ya, I guess," he said, though Billy wasn't really listening.

He sensed another presence there, but he wasn't sure who- it was cold and dark, but familiar. The smell of Ivy and wintergreen blew past him, causing the boy's eyes to widen. "Loki...?" he asked, looking around the field. 

"What? Kid, what are you on about?" John asked, raising a brow as he stared at the open air where he assumed Billy was. 

"Uh...nothing...it's- it's nothing," he replied, shaking his head of the thoughts. He was sure that was Loki's magic he'd sensed- he'd gotten familiar with it over the past month and a half, but maybe he was wrong? He glanced back towards John, only to spot Loki standing over the man's shoulder, half a head taller than the blonde and inspecting him like he'd personally offended the God.

Billy's eyes widened at the sight of the lanky raven currently staring John down and swallowed thickly. "Are you- are you real?" He breathed, eyes narrowing as the God's gaze turned towards him. 

"Asgardians learn to dream walk when we're children, William," Lokie replied, glancing towards the blonde before looking back at the 12-year-old. "So yes. I am real."

"Billy, what is goin' on over there? Who're you talkin' to?!"

John turned towards the boy, effectively pulling the edge of his trenchcoat out of Billy's hand. The boy stumbled forward, only to land in Loki's arms as John's image flickered and vanished. "John!" Billy yelled, scrambling away from the God's arms and running to where the magician had been previously. 

"John! No, wait, John-" He looked around in a panic, arms out and feeling the air for the missing man. "No no no no no...." he breathed, unable to stop the tears that began to well in his eyes. Loki stood, watching the boy quietly before setting a hand on his shoulder.

"William..."

Billy rubbed his fist against his eye, trying to wipe away the small tears that had appeared there. He sniffled as the God picked him up and hugged him close to his chest. "I- I didn't realize I'd miss him so much..." he mumbled against the dark green fabric of Loki's tunic. "...how- how much I'd miss all of them..."

The much taller raven sighed, glancing towards the spot John had been standing. "I think it's time to wake up."

- - -

Billy woke to light streaming in through the window in his bedroom, his eyes opening slowly and blinking at the warm light that filled the room. He sat up slowly, rubbing at his eye with a  yawn and attempting to think about what he'd just dreamt. 

Everything was fuzzy, a mixture of colors and faded imagery- but he remembered seeing John. It made his heart ache for the man, as well as the others back home. The boy brought his legs up to his chest and hugged them loosely, resting his cheek on his knees in thought.

He may not have been able to remember the dream, but he could remember that it hurt for some reason. A soft sigh escaped his lips before his bedroom door opened and Peter poked his head through. 

"Hey, Billy...?" He questioned softly, glancing towards the boy as he sat on the bed. "Jarvis said you looked like you could use a friend," he said, coming further into the room when Billy didn't protest. "You okay?" the brunet questioned as he clambered up onto the bed.

Billy nodded slowly, still hugging his legs.  "Yeah...just homesick, I guess," he said, glancing towards the teenager. "Aren't you supposed to be at school?" he asked, tilting his head slightly as he stared at the 15-year-old.

Peter chuckled, shaking his head at the younger boy. "Billy, it's Sunday. I just got back from a run with Steve- which I don't recommend in the slightest, by the way," Peter said with a laugh, and it was only now that Billy realized the teenager was wearing athletic clothing. "but when Jarvis said you were upset I dropped everything and came running."

"You didn't have to do that...It was just a bad dream," the raven said, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck nervously. 

"Trust me, I know how much those suck, Billy. You wanna talk about it?" Peter asked, scooting towards the boy and leaning against the headboard beside him. At Billy's hesitant shake of the head, Peter glanced towards the ceiling.

"Well...you wanna join me in some friendly neighborhood spider-man-ing then?" he asked with a grin. That got a chuckled out of the younger boy, which made Peter's grin widen. "I hope you know I'm taking that as a yes." 

Billy smiled, shaking his head at the 15-year-old. "It's been a while since I went on a good, old fashioned patrol," he said, watching as Peter rolled forward and tumbled right off the edge of the bed with a grunt. He snorted as the brunet popped back up, looking around in a daze before smirking towards Billy. 

He gave the raven a thumbs up as he stood. "Good- meet me on the deck in ten minutes then, alright?"

Billy shook his head at the boy as he left the room cheerfully.

"Alright."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"Alright."

- - -

"How do you think the Winter Soldier's doing?" Captain Marvel asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, watching as Spider-Man pulled off his boot and emptied a rock from it. The teenager glanced up at him, the whites of his mask bending to furrow a single brow in confusion as he pulled his boot back on.

"I mean, that cell is made to hold the Hulk, so I'm sure he can't get out. Plus, he doesn't have any gear or weapons."

"That's not..." Cap sighed. "That's not what I meant."

Spider-Man stood and popped his back. "What do you mean then?"

"Steve said that Hydra brainwashed him somehow...that they wiped his memories or something," Cap said, plopping down on the edge of the building and staring out at the city. "I just... I wish there was something I could do. It can't be easy losing your best friend to mind manipulation."

Peter pulled his mask off with a swift tug, brunet hair puffing outward as he sat down beside the larger man. "Well...can't you? You can do magic, right? Maybe there's a spell or something that could make him remember Steve."

Marvel chuckled, shaking his head. "It's not that easy, I'm afraid. If it was a spell that made him forget, I could undo it easily. But...if its technology, which it probably is since this universe doesn't seem too magically inclined, there's not much I can do."

Peter leaned back, glancing up at the clouds overhead with a grin. "Well, with your expertise in magic and my expertise in technology- maybe we could come up with something together."

Cap raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "You're the tech expert, huh? Does Tony Stark not exist in your world?" he asked, getting a mock-surprised look from the teenager. 

"Rude. You know I met Mr. Stark before I became Spider-Man, right? I was an intern for him first."

"You'd think that'd make you less of a star-struck nerd," Cap replied with a laugh, nudging the brunet and getting a narrow-eyed look in return. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I get it. He's your hero," he said, glancing up towards the same clouds Peter had previously been watching. 

"I still can't seem to talk right when I'm around Superman. I've looked up to him since I was little- he reminds me so much of my dad..." Marvel's gaze dropped to the streets below, shaking his head slowly. "Whenever I look at him, it feels like I'm talking to him again...my throat closes up and I can't seem to think straight."

Peter set a hand on the bigger man's shoulder. "...Come on, lets get to work. Take our minds off things," he said, standing up. Captain Marvel nodded in response, following suit and glancing out towards the city below.

"Where to?"

- - -

"Spider-Man, what are these things?!" Captain Marvel asked as he narrowly dodged a beam of bright red light aimed at his chest. A trio of giant robots were stomping their way through Central Park, and when Spider-Man and Captain Marvel had intervened, they'd locked on to the World's Mightiest Mortal.

"I have no idea, Cap!" Spider-Man replied in a panic, shooting a myriad of webs in an attempt to stop the lumbering metal giants. "But whatever they are, they aren't playing nice!"

Marvel narrowed his eyes at the center robot currently shooting at him, weaving through the air and narrowing his eyes when a beam cut through his cape and singed the bright white fabric. "Hey! Watch it!" he yelled, launching himself towards the giant robot. "Listen, I don't know who sent you three, but you're definitely not the first giant robot I've fought!" He growled as he soared towards the metallic giant.

The repeated sound of thwips split the demigod's attention, causing him to glance towards Spider-Man as the teenager attempted to wrap one of the robots up with his webs. Marvel glanced towards the robot he'd been intent on crashing into, the found himself staring right into a pair of bright red beams coming right for him. 

The raven brought his arms up to shield himself from the blast, only to be knocked backward and shot out of the air by the force of the beams. He landed on the grass with a heavy thud, digging a trench into the earth before coming to a stop. "Ngh... okay, so maybe the giant robot I usually fight can't do that," Marvel said with a groan, sitting up and shaking the dirt from his hair.

"Still won't stop me from taking you down though!"

He moved to launch himself at the robot once more, only to catch sight of Spider-Man being flung through the air as the robot he'd webbed up burst through the sticky restraints. "I gotcha Spidey!" he yelled, tapping into the speed of mercury to dash through the air and catch the teenager before he could crash into a massive oak tree. 

"Ow...thanks Cap," Spider-Man said as he was set down on the ground. "Okay- you said you've fought giant robots before, how do you usually take them down?" He asked, glancing towards the demigod.

"Well- usually my lightning is enough to fry big guys like this- but I get the feeling that won't work here!" Cap said as the trio of robots turned their attention towards them once more. "We gotta move!"

Spider-Man shot a web in one direction while Captain Marvel took off in the other. Instead of splitting their attention like intended, though, the trio focused fully on the demigod soaring upward. 

"Cap! They're only paying attention to you!" Spider-man yelled.

"Okay- okay, maybe we can use that to our advantage!" Marvel turned in the air, glancing back towards the giants and bringing his hands together to allow lightning to coalless between his fingertips. "This may not take you down, but maybe it'll give you something to chew on!" he yelled before launching the electricity towards the robots. 

The lightning danced around the metallic bodies before vanishing, causing the raven's eyes to widen. "Okay, not good," he said, narrowly dodging another beam of light. "I could really use some help here, Spidey!"

"I'm trying, Cap!" the brunet yelled, launching a line of webs and attaching them to a pair of trees. The leader of the trio lumbered forward, attention towards the sky as it walked right into the line of web and tripped over it. 2 tons of metal came crashing down onto the ground, causing it to shake as the robot sputtered. Spider-Man shot towards the robot, leaping up onto its back and using his webs to restrain the robot on the ground.

"Here's hoping that sticks!" Spidey said before taking off towards the other two, who were still attempting to shoot Captain Marvel out of the sky.

A sudden cry of pain from the demigod had Spider-Man's attention snapping towards him, eyes wide as he caught sight of the man plummeting towards the ground. "Captain!" he yelled, taking off in a desperate attempt to catch the man- even though he was 20 yards away. 

Spider-Man shot a web towards the demigod, only to have something suddenly rip through the substance and shred it. It caused Peter to come to a screeching halt as his eyes widened further. He glanced towards Cap, only to find someone grab him out of mid-air and land on the ground.

"What the-" Spider-Man shook off the shock and took off towards the man once more, furrowing his brow at the sight of a bulky man in a yellow and brown suit hunched over Marvel...sniffing him? "Hey! Back away from my Captain!" Spidey yelled, settling into a defensive position as Marvel groaned and started to wake up.

"Ngh...wha...?" the raven glanced up towards the man hunched over him, and the man reared back slightly- only for what looked like three, long daggers to come sliding out of his knuckles and be held up against the demigod's throat. "Whoa...easy there- what- what's goin' on- who are you?" Cap asked, not moving from his place on the ground as he started up at the man- his face the epitome of calm.

Though Peter supposed if he had impenetrable skin he wouldn't be too worried about knives at his throat either. Speaking of Mr. Knives-for-knuckles, the man glanced towards him with a growl, the corner of his mouth turned up in a snarl. 

"What're you two doing fightin' sentinels?" he growled, glaring daggers at Peter while still holding Marvel in place. The raven sighed, glancing towards the robots that were turning their attention towards the trio once more.

"Can we do this later? We still have two more standing!" he said, only to cause the man to look up. His expression darkened even further before he pulled back from Marvel and stood.

"Stay outta my way, punks," he said with a glare before launching himself towards one of the robots. Captain Marvel sat up and rubbed at his neck, glancing towards Spider-Man.

"Come on- we can't let him have all the fun, can we?"

Spider-Man sighed, shaking his head at the man. "Your idea of fun and mine are very different, big guy," he said, glancing towards the giant robots and watching the growling man stab his claws into the thick metal of the robots.

"And what is the deal with that guy? I mean, I know my powers are weird, but he has knives coming out of his knuckles! Not to mention the fact that he saved you from crashing into the dirt and then threatened you?! Pick a side!"

Captain Marvel chuckled. "Oh, you would not do well in my world, Pete. This guy is barely a 5 on the weirdness scale- then again... not much can compete with a mind-controlling alien worm or a rage-fueled super cat," he said with a grin, causing Spider-Man to shake his head at the raven with a sigh. "Come on- one should be much easier to take down with both of us on it."

"Lead the way, Captain," Spidey said, shooting a web towards a tree and taking off.

The pair ended up making quick work of the giant robot, the demigod managing to pull its head off after Spider-Man restrained it between a trio of trees. The pair glanced towards the giant robot their new frenemy had insisted on taking on, only to find it torn apart like some kind of wild animal would tear into a carcass.

"Where did he go?" Spider-Man asked, looking around for the man in question.

"Over there," Marvel said, pointing towards the only remaining robot- the one they'd restrained earlier. The man was running towards it, knife-claws drawn as he leapt into the air and stabbed them downward into the metal hull of the robot. 

Beams of light erupted from the robot's eyes, launching in the direction of Marvel and Spider-Man. The demigod's eyes widened and he threw out a hand, muttering a spell and conjuring a golden shield of light to protect them from the blast. 

When the light vanished, they found themselves staring at the growling man slashing through the optics the beams had come from before leaping off the metal body and landing on the ground. The man's claws slid back into his knuckles with a 'snikt' and he stalked towards the pair, scowl still on his face.

"Now, what the hell were you two doing fightin' sentinels?" he asked angrily, the whites of his eyes, one of the only things covered by his mask, narrowing as he looked between the two.

"I'm guessing a sentinel is what those giant robots are, then," Cap said, resting a hand on his hip as he looked at the man casually. The man sniffed at Marvel again, something that confused him and kind of weirded him out of he was honest, before snorting. 

"I saw them target you, but you don't smell like a mutant, Bub."

"A mutant?" Cap asked, tilting his head slightly and raising a brow in question. He glanced back towards Peter for some kind of explanation- he'd never heard of mutants before. 

"Mutants are-"

The man growled, eyes narrowing further when the teenager started to speak. "Mutants are humans born with a genetic mutation in their DNA. Gives 'em powers...how do you not know what's mutant is?"

"Oh! Like meta-humans!" Marvel said with a smile, thinking back on the League's database of meta-humans. "We have those back home. People born with powers or the potential to develop them, rather than people given their powers."

The man narrowed his eyes even further- if that was even possible. "Back home? Where the Hell are you fr-" he suddenly froze, eyes snapping upward as the familiar sounds of repulsors filled the air. Captain Marvel and Spider-Man followed suit, their gazes trailing upward to look at Iron Man floating in the air. 

"What's going on here?" Tony asked as he landed between Marvel, Spidey, and the man. "Logan, what are you doing here?" he asked, turning his attention towards the man.

"Stark..." the man, Logan, growled. His claws slid out of the skin between his knuckles as he glared the billionaire down.

"Whoa there, Logan. Calm down. I'm not here to fight. I just came to see what the commotion in Central Park was, that's all," Tony replied, bringing his hands up as his helmet opened with a slight hiss. "We can be amicable, here, Wolverine."

The knives slid back into the man's skin and he straightened slightly, but Marvel could tell he was still tense- like a cornered animal. He gestured towards the giant robots- the sentinels, before crossing his arms over his chest.

"I was sent out to wrangle these things and take them down before they could target any mutants in New York. They ended up targeting big red over there," he said, gesturing towards Marvel with his chin.

Tony glanced over his shoulder towards the man and furrowed his brow in confusion. "Cap, you're not a mutant," he said, causing Logan to roll his eyes.

"World's smartest man my ass."

Tony turned his attention back towards Logan with an unimpressed look. "Look, the sentinels are taken care of, so why don't you go home and leave the clean-up to us?" he said, resting a hand on his hip as he spoke. 

"And let this kind of tech fall into Stark Industries hands? I don't think so, Bub," Logan growled.

Tony sighed, bringing a gloved hand to his face to pinch his nose. The group glanced toward the sky at the sound of helicopter blades, watching as Steve leapt out of the jet before it could touch down on the ground and come jogging over. 

"I take it everything's taken care- Logan?" Steve paused, staring at the mutant previously growling at Tony. The man's gaze softened slightly, the corner of his mouth turning upward.

"Punk," he said, getting a chuckle from the soldier.

"What happened here?" the blonde asked, putting away his shield and crossing his arms over his chest as he glanced between Logan and Tony.

"Sentinels. Stark here wants me to leave the clean-up to him, and I just know that somehow Stark Industries will end up with a shiny new weapon to unleash upon mutant-kind," Logan said, his grin gone and replaced with a snarl as he glared at Tony.

"Whoa, whoa- Logan, calm down. That's not what's happening here. The Avengers are going to be in charge of cleaning this up- with the help of what remains of SHIELD. Tony's not going to be making any weapons out of the sentinels," Steve said, stepping between the pair and putting an arm out towards the mutant.

"Besides- everyone knows Stark Industries stopped making weapons back in 2009, Wolverine," Tony said with a roll of his eyes.

"Right, because that suit of yours just a fancy vacuum, ain't it." 

Tony's helmet came down as his hands clenched into fists. Captain Marvel's eyes widened slightly and he threw out his hands, enveloping Tony and Logan in glowing spheres before anyone could start anything. "How about we not start another fight?" he said, holding his arms out as he looked between the pair and came closer. 

Steve sighed, glancing between the pair before looking towards the raven. "Thank you, Captain Marvel, but you can let them go. They know better than to start a fight, especially out in the open like this," he said pointedly, looking between the billionaire and the mutant. 

Logan muttered something under his breath and Tony retracted his helmet once more with a roll of his eyes. Marvel sighed and released the pair, plopping them down on the ground. "If you say so, Steve."

"Marvel, Spider-Man, why don't you two go help the rest of the Avengers clean up while Logan, myself and Tony talk?" Steve asked, glancing between the pair. Marvel nodded once, grabbing Spider-Man's arm and tugging him along as the teenager groaned.

"Clean-up duty, it's always clean-up duty..." he muttered, getting a laugh from the raven.

"Can't always be fun and games, Spidey," Cap said with a grin, snapping his fingers and causing a pair of brooms to appear out of thin air and fall into their hands. The brunet sighed, glancing towards Clint to find the man being yelled at by Natasha after he tried to climb inside the robot carcass.

"I guess. But this was supposed to be a night of friendly neighborhood crime-fighting, not mutant-hunting robot smashing."

"Well, there's always tomorrow."

"I have school tomorrow."

"At 9 pm?"

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"I have school tomorrow."

"At 9 pm?"

- - -

Logan ended up spending the night after Steve mentioned something about Bucky Barnes- apparently, Logan was much older than he looked, since he supposedly served with Steve during World War 2. Captain Marvel had learned not to take anything at face value by this point, so he simply shrugged when Steve told them about his brief time with Logan during the war.

He somehow ended up accompanying Steve and Logan in going to the cell Barnes was being held in, following the pair quietly as they made their way down the hall and Steve punched in his access code for the room. 

The metallic doors slid open and allowed them access to a wide room with a large, transparent cell in the center. James was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the floor blankly as the trio walked in. He made no move to show that he saw them, but for some reason, Cap was pretty sure he knew exactly where they were, even if he didn't look at them.

"Damnit..." Logan breathed, coming closer to the thick, glass-like material and staring at the man. "Barnes..." he said slowly, swallowing thickly at the sight of the man. "Those bastards did a number on you, didn't they."

Steve stayed quiet, his hand clenching into a fist. "We're trying to figure out a way to get his memory back. Tony's working on a technical solution of course..." Steve trailed off. "Do you think that Professor Xavier..."

Captain Marvel furrowed his brow at the look Steve was giving Logan. A hopeful, desperate look. Who was Professor Xavier? A scientist? Maybe he was someone who could help Tony in finalizing the tech he was trying to get access to from one of the SI workers. 

Logan sighed, bringing a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. "I dunno Rogers. As much as I don't trust Stark to handle something like this, I don't know if the professor would be able to dig anything up."

Steve bit his lip, ducking his head slightly. Logan sighed and put a hand on the super soldier's shoulder. "But it's worth a shot, I guess. I'll see if the bastard's up for a trip to New York. But no promises he is," he said, getting a surprised smile from the blonde. 

"Thank you, Logan."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... now where am I sleepin'?" he asked, turning on his heel and walking past Marvel.

"Jarvis, will you guide Logan to his room for the night?" Steve asked, glancing upwards.

"Of course, Captain Rogers."

"That's spooky, punk," Logan said before leaving the room- and leaving Marvel alone with Steve and Bucky.

The raven came closer to the cell and to Steve, glancing at the man before looking towards the man in the cell. "You don't think Tony's way will work?" he asked slowly, gaze moving towards the blonde.

"It's not that. I have full faith in Tony's abilities, but we have no idea how long it's gonna take for him to get access to that tech... and I can't wait forever. My friend is in there, Captain, and I can't just stand by and watch him suffer."

Marvel put a hand on the blonde's shoulder, giving him a small grin. "We'll get him back, Steve. You just gotta have a little faith."

- - -

The next week went by in a blur. Professor Xavier couldn't make it until the next Friday, so Steve was left to wait and spread his anxious energy to the rest of the Avengers. This culminated in what Tony called a "mandatory stress-relieving culmination of the minds", which was just Tony-speak for movie night. 

While half the team may have been against the idea, none of them were a match for the combined forces of Tony and Billy's puppy-dog eyes.

So that was how they all ended up strewn about the couches and chairs in the living room, some people laying across laps and others on the floor hugging pillows as the movie on the TV played. It was nice- probably the most domestic Billy had ever seen a superhero group be (if you didn't count the Young Justice team, that is. Those guys were basically family to one another). 

Billy found himself as one of the last people awake, snuggled up between Clint and Bruce as the bucket of popcorn Clint had been clutching the entire night threatened to fall out of the man's grip and spill onto the floor. 

The small raven managed to untangle himself from the heroes without waking them and rubbed at his eyes as he clambered to his feet. He caught sight of Peter sleeping with his head pillowed on Tony's shoulder, the genius snoring softly as his arm held his head up just barely.

Steve was snoozing in one of the armchairs, Bruce and Clint at his feet while Natasha slept on the other couch against Thor's arm. Sam was snoring sprawled out in another armchair, and Loki had long since left this hodgepodge of heroes and was likely sleeping in his own bed- leaving Billy as the only one left awake.

The 12-year-old smiled softly at the sight of the slumbering heroes, shaking his head gently at them before moving around the couch and heading for the deck. He slid the glass door open and walked out onto the launch pad, bare feet smacking against the concrete as a gentle window blew through his hair. 

"Hey, Jarvis?" He asked aloud, taking a seat near the edge of the platform.

"Yes, William?"

"What do you think about fate?"

"Fate, William?"

"Yeah, like destiny. Providence."

"May I ask why you want to know my thoughts?"

Billy rolled a shoulder in thought. "I dunno... I just...I guess I've been thinkin' a lot lately. About my home...about this place. I just... what if it wasn't an accident that I was sent here? What if it was some kind of fate? The longer I spend here..." he swallowed thickly, grabbing hold of a bar and gripping it tightly. 

"...The less I wanna leave."

Jarvis was quiet for a moment, and Billy sighed. "Nevermind...ignore me, Jarvis. Sorry..."

"William-" 

"Just- just ignore me. I don't know what I'm talking about..."

Billy leaned against the pole, staring tiredly out at the city below. What had gotten into him? How could he possibly think that staying here was even an option? He had a home to get back to, a whole life in a whole other world- he couldn't just abandon the people that need him.

Still...it was nice to be a part of something like this.

"The Avengers have become like a family to me...I haven't had a family like this since I was little," he muttered, letting out a shaky breath.

Sure, the League was fine- he got along with them fine and good, even joked around with people like Flash and Cyborg- but they weren't close. Not like the Avengers were. They didn't live together, eat together- there wasn't this unspoken bond between the League members like there was with the Avengers. 

The League felt like work.

The Avengers felt like family. 

It made Billy feel conflicted- he wanted to go home, of course he did- but at the same time, the thought of leaving the Avengers for what could possibly be forever made his stomach turn. "I-  I need some air," he said, standing up and taking a few steps back from the edge of the building before running towards it full force. 

He soared forward for a brief moment before tumbling into a freefall, wind whipping at his face as he grinned. If nothing else, this always felt the same.

"SHAZAM!"

One crackle of thunder and bolt of magical lightning later, and Captain Marvel was soaring through the sky, unsure of where he was going but knowing that he needed to go. Something in the back of his mind told him it was late- much too late, and that a growing boy like him should be asleep at an hour like this, but he ignored the thoughts.

Solomon was always overprotective, that was another thing that wouldn't change.

The demigod touched down atop the Empire State Building, his golden boots touching down on the radio tower as he crouched down to sit on his legs there. He hugged his knees loosely, resting a cheek on his knee as a sigh escaped him.

"Feeling philosophical, are we?"

The familiarity of the voice did nothing to stop it from scaring the daylights out of the demigod and making him scramble off the top of the building and into the air. His fists clenched and body tense, he glanced wide-eyed at the source of the sound- only to find Tony hovering in the air behind him.

How had he not heard the man's repulsors? He must have been more out of it than he thought.

"Tony..." Cap breathed, bringing a hand up to run it through his hair. "I thought- I thought you were asleep."

"I was," Tony said, touching down on the top of the building and allowing the demigod to follow suit. "But Jarvis woke me up when you left the tower."

Guilt suddenly grabbed hold of the raven. "I- I didn't mean to wake you up, I had no idea that-"

"Billy, it's okay- I'm not mad, kid. I pull all-nighters all the time- this is actually more sleep than I've gotten in a while," he said as his helmet slid back and revealed his face. "I wanna know what's up with you, though. J said you had some questions...that you were doubting something."

Marvel rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "It's- it's nothing..." he said, getting an unimpressed look from the billionaire.

"Right...wanna try that again?"

Marvel sighed, dropping his hand. "...I'm conflicted."

"On what? Does this have to do with the whole Professor X thing? Cause if you're offended on my behalf, I can assure you that-"

"No, no- it's not that."

Tony furrowed his brow. "Then what is it?"

The demigod shook his head. "You guys mean a lot to me," he said slowly, getting a confused look from the genius.

"You're saying that like it's a bad thing. Is this the part where you tell me that you were secretly some kind of spy for Hydra or AIM or something the whole time and now you're questioning your loyalties because of the compassion we've shown you?"

Captain Marvel blinked, staring at the brunet openly. "...I'm sorry, what?"

Tony blinked. "...nothing. Continue."

Marvel shook off his confusion and sighed. "I'm conflicted because I know that eventually I'm gonna have to leave. I don't belong here, I have a job to do back home, people who are depending on me to save them but..." he trailed off, glancing up to look Tony in the eyes.

"...but I want to. I wanna belong...you guys may not feel the same way, but you've become like family to me. I know it's only been two months, but you guys ave shown me more hospitality and compassion than anyone else in my life, Tony," he said, unable to stop the moisture coalescing in the corners of his eyes.

"Whoa, kid," Tony said, putting his arms out placatingly. "Not feel the same way? Billy, kid, trust me when I say that you've done nothing but good for this group. We've loved having you around, Sparkplug. Hell, as far as I'm concerned you're just as much a part of this chaotic family of heroes as Peter is."

Marvel shoved a palm against his eye in an attempt to push back tears.

"Come on, kid...it's late. Let's leave the philosophizing for after breakfast, alright?" Tony said, giving the man an encouraging smile.

"...Alright...sorry, Tony."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Kid."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Kid."

- - -

When Saturday finally rolled around, Billy wasn't sure what to expect. Steve and Tony told him that Professor Xavier was a nice guy with the power to read minds- very reminiscent of a certain martian he couldn't help but think.

Though Clint and Natasha didn't seem to trust whoever this guy was- or Logan, for that matter. Bruce couldn't seem to care less, while both Thor and Loki didn't know what mutants were so they didn't really have a stake in any of this. Peter was right beside him in the middle of it all since he'd never met any mutants beside Logan- he wasn't sure what to expect either. 

"So if he's a telepath, does that mean he knows our secret identities?" Peter asked, sitting at the bar beside Billy as the Avengers waited for Logan and the professor to arrive.

"Pete...you're the only Avenger with a secret identity," Billy said with a raise of the eyebrow before gesturing towards the other heroes in the room. 

The brunet gave him a pout in response, making the raven chuckle. "I mean seriously, I think you're the only hero I've met who actually has a secret identity in this world."

"They're here," Steve said, standing up from where he'd been sitting and staring out the window as a sleek black jet descended onto the landing pad. The jet extended a ramp downward, and a man in a wheelchair descended it, followed by Logan- in casual wear, sure, but there was no denying that the man was Logan.

Especially when he growled at Clint as soon as the archer got too close.

"Professor Xavier," Tony said with a grin, greeting the man with a handshake. "Pleasure to have you, sir."

"It's a pleasure to see you again after so long, Tony," Xavier replied, glancing towards the boys sitting at the bar with a slight furrow of the brow. "Your protege, I presume?" he asked, glancing back towards the billionaire. 

"Oh, uh, yes- the brunet, Peter. Started out as an intern but quickly became part of the family on the account of his spider powers," Tony replied with a chuckle.

"And you, son? Who're you?" Professor Xavier asked, glancing towards Billy and making the 12-year-old squirm. 

"Um...Billy. My name's Billy."

"Billy's from another universe. He's kinda stuck here until we can find a way to send him home," Steve said, clapping a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Come on, Tony and I'll show you to where Bucky is."

The raven watched as Tony and Steve lead Professor Xavier and Logan to the elevator glancing towards the other heroes that had gathered to greet the pair- namely Clint and Natasha. "So what now?" he asked, tilting his head in question.

"We let them work- not much we can do, Squirt," Clint said, ruffling the boy's hair as he passed him. "I'm gonna make lunch- anyone want anything?"

Peter jumped at the chance, following the sandy blonde into the kitchen and leaving Billy alone to stare at the elevator doors.

"You know they won't care if you go down there, right?" Natasha said from her place on the couch, flipping lazily through a magazine. The boy glanced towards her with a slightly furrowed brow.

"But this feels kinda personal- like its something that isn't supposed to concern me."

Natasha closed the magazine and tossed it onto the coffee table before sitting up and looking at the raven fully. "Tell me, Billy- who was the one that managed to get both Steve and Barnes out of the helicarrier as it came down?"

"Well..."

"дитя, if you hadn't've been there, Barnes likely wouldn't be in that cell as we speak. Go if you're curious. The worst they can do is tell you to leave."

A small smile graced Billy's face and he nodded, taking off towards the elevator. "Jarvis, please take me to the Winter Soldier's cell," he said, the elevator jerking into motion as the metallic doors slid shut.

- - -

Billy walked out of the elevator and into the large room where Logan, Tony, Steve, and Professor Xavier were, only for Logan to turn his attention towards him and furrow his brow. His eyes narrowed for a moment before he glanced towards Steve. 

"What the Hell is that kid doin' in here?"

The blonde looked towards Billy as he came closer. "That's Billy, Logan. You two have already met," he said, ruffling the boy's hair as he came to stand beside the super-soldier. "He helped me get Bucky back here."

Logan raised an unimpressed brow at the boy before snorting. "No wonder you smell like ozone."

"So what're you going to do, exactly?" Tony asked, scratching at his chin as professor Xavier watched Barnes sit on the edge of his bed. "Cause we haven't been able to get a response out of him at all. He only eats when no one else is around and doesn't move from that spot when there are other people in here- hardly moves from it even when there aren't other people in here."

The professor tilted his head slightly, watching the man closely. "He has some kind of mental barrier in place," he said slowly, eyes widening slightly when the man inside the cell suddenly winced and brought a hand up to his head. 

A sudden cry of pain had Steve rushing forward, pressing his hands against the glass. "Stop, you're hurting him!" he said in a panic, watching as Barnes was left breathing heavily and gripping the edge of the bed as his hair fell into his face.

Steve glanced back towards the professor, who had a hand to his temple and Logan crouching down to check on him. "Professor, you okay?" the hairy man asked, his body tense as the seemingly elder man nodded.

"I'll be fine, Logan. There are just more walls than I anticipated."

"Why did that hurt him? You said it wouldn't hurt him," Steve said, turning his attention back towards the Winter Soldier in the cell.

"It shouldn't have, Steven. Hydra must have put in some sort of failsafe in order to keep their programming in check," the man in the wheelchair replied, leaning back and rubbing at his chin in thought. "I'm not sure what I can do with those restrictions in place."

"Maybe we should try it my way- break down a few walls, and bring you in for a whammy," Tony said, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm sure we can figure this out if we combine our resources."

"And if that doesn't work, we could always try magic," Billy added, gaining the attention of both Logan and Steve. The former's eyes narrowed at the boy.

"No way in Hell am I letting you sorcerers play with a man's head," he growled, only for Steve to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Ignore him, Billy. If it comes to that, we'll take you up on the offer- but for now, I think we'll stick with what we know, okay?" the blonde said with a worried grin. The raven nodded slowly- did they not trust him? He'd never said that he specifically would do that magic. He'd meant someone more like Loki or Dr. Strange... maybe it was just the magic itself that they didn't trust? 

In a world with so little of it, Billy really shouldn't have been surprised. 

The 12-year-old sighed and nodded, glancing back towards the Winter Soldier. "So what happens to him until you guys can figure this out?"

"He stays here," Steve said, watching the man who used to be his best friend breathe heavily. "Until we find a way to help him."

- - -

Tony was having some major trouble in getting access to one of his workers' technology, by the sound of the man's frustration as he vented to Clint in the kitchen. Billy couldn't help but overhear him as he poured himself a glass of juice from the fridge.

"I mean seriously, you work for me, in my R&D department for Christ's sake, and you won't even let me look at the damn thing? What even is that?!" Tony asked, rubbing at his temples as he leaned back in his chair.

"Dude, just fire him. If he's working in your lab and using your equipment to make the thing, you can just fire him and all his stuff is forfeit to the company, right?" Clint asked before shoving a fistful of fires in his mouth.

"Of course, but I'm not gonna fire the guy just because he won't show me his work. He says he wants to wait until it's finished-" the billionaire groaned, hand moving to rub at his eyes tiredly. "Beck is a hard-headed man, and I have a feeling he wants to weaponize the thing he's making. If it comes to that, I'll have to fire him- it's against protocol to create weapons while working at SI."

Clint rolled his eyes before raising an eyebrow in question. "He signed a contract?"

"Of course. But again, I can't just fire him out of the blue. I don't have any proof- just a hunch. Beck's one of the only people working for me that reminisces about the days when my company still made weapons. The only reason I keep him around is because he's a diligent worker- not to mention the things he comes up with."

"You'll figure it out," Clint said with a smirk, standing up and taking his empty plate to the sink. He passed Billy on his way and ruffled the boy's hair, making the 12-year-old smile.

"Who's Beck?" Billy asked as he climbed up into Clint's vacated chair.

"Just a guy who works for me. He's the one that came up with the idea for that memory machine," Tony said, dropping his hands into his lap. "Quintin's just a headache to deal with. Ego's as big as mine half the time," he added with a smirk, getting a grin from the boy. 

"What're you up to?"

Billy took a sip of his drink before setting it down. "I'm just waitin' on Peter, like always. I can't wait for him to be about of school for the summer- we can do so much with him not gone for most of the day," He said with a smile.

"Well, it's only April, so you've got a while to wait there, kid," Tony replied with a grin, leaning back in his chair.

"Wait, it's April?" Billy asked with wide eyes.

"Yeah- the 3rd."

The boy blinked, sitting back in his chair. "My birthday was on the 1st. I'm a teenager now..." he said, slighty in shock, a small grin appearing on his face as he spoke. His words, however, caused Tony to pause and stare at the boy openly. 

"Wait wait, hold on, your birthday was two days ago and you didn't tell us?"

The raven shrugged, grabbing his glass of juice. Had he been supposed to? "Um...no... I guess not..." he mumbled. 

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kid, you gotta tell us shit like this. The Avengers never pass up a chance to throw a birthday party," he said, smirking at the confused kid.

"I thought birthday parties were only for like, toddlers and stuff."

"What?! Who told you that?"

Another shrug. He hadn't had a birthday party since he was 4 or 5- he wasn't sure if people even had birthday parties past that age. "I dunno...I just... I haven't had one since I was little so..." he trailed off, ducking his gaze in order to keep himself from talking more.

If he kept going down that road he might let it slip that he was homeless- he'd already done that with Steve, he really didn't need Tony worrying about his well-being too.

"That's a travesty, kid- your folks never threw you one after you turned five?" 

Billy stayed quiet for a moment- the thought of his parents made his chest tighten. He hardly ever thought about them nowadays, the only exception being when Superman was being particularly symbol-y and giving Captain Marvel a headrush at how similar he was to his father. To think about what might have been, the things he could have experienced with them had they not died- it made him tear up.

Tony tensed, his brow furrowing slightly. "Shit, I'm sorry- is that a sore subject?"

"No, no," Billy said, shaking his head with a watery smile as he rubbed at his eye. "My um..." he tried to swallow the lump forming in his throat as his voice cracked. "My- my parents died a week after I turned six..." he said slowly, drawing in a shaky breath.

This might've been the first time he'd ever said that out loud...first time in a long time that he'd had to think about the reality of it.

"They...uhm...they were archeologists," he continued, smiling wistfully at the glass in his hands as tears bead in the corners of his eyes. Another shaky breath in and his grip tightened slightly on the glass. "The pyramid they were excavating...it..." his voice cracked. "It collapsed in on them..."

The 13-year-old brought a hand up to his eye to rub at the tears and pinkened skin. "I only learned after I got my powers that it was one of my villains' fault."

"I'm sorry...I...I'm sorry," he said, letting go of the glass on the table and bringing both hands up to rub at his eyes as the tears fell. He couldn't help the small hiccups that came out of him as Tony moved swiftly, sweeping him up into his arms and hugging him tightly. 

The boy's face crumpled as he buried it in Tony's jacket, sobs wracking his frame as the billionaire hushed him gently. 

"I'm sorry, kid...I didn't know."

Billy stayed quiet, content just to stick close to Tony- he wasn't sure how the man was able to comfort him so easily like this, but he was- then again, both Clint and Steve were able to do this too. It was nice.

"Tell you what- we'll throw you the best party ever to make up for all the ones you never got, okay?" He said, pulling back and looking the kid in the eyes. "We can do it this weekend- oh, wait, no- this weekend's yours, Peter's, and Sam's official introduction as Avengers to the public..." he trailed off, setting Billy down on the floor and rubbing at his chin in thought.

"The weekend after that might be too long of a wait..." he muttered, lips pursed in thought. He glanced towards the boy, raising an eyebrow in question. "What do you say to a party after the ceremony? Pizza, cake, ice-cream- we can rent someplace out or something."

"You don't- you don't gotta do anything fancy for me, Tony," Billy said, barely suppressing a hiccup as he wiped the remaining tears from his eyes. "I don't need a party."

"Well obviously you don't need one, but something like that's never stopped me before," the billionaire said with a smirk. "How about roller skating? You enjoy that?"

"Never been."

"Ah- well, a great time to learn. I don't think Clint's ever been roller skating either- it'll be fun to see him flounder."

Billy couldn't help but chuckle at the man. "You're a menace, Tony."

"I think that title belongs to Peter, actually."

Billy rolled his eyes at the man, butterflies swarming in his stomach at the thought of Tony's plan. A real birthday party, just for him- he couldn't wait.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

Billy rolled his eyes at the man, butterflies swarming in his stomach at the thought of Tony's plan. A real birthday party, just for him-

He couldn't wait.

- - -

Billy left the kitchen with a laugh as Tony pulled out a tablet and shooed him off- something about party planning and decorations. The 13-year-old shook his head at the man, shoving his hands in his pockets and heading back out into the living room. 

He was still waiting for Peter to show up- and the teenager was running late, if the time was right. He was supposed to be there 5 minutes ago...maybe he'd run into some Spidey trouble?

Billy plopped down on the couch and glanced towards the TV, the cartoon currently playing not catching his interest. It was boring just waiting around like this, but there wasn't much he could do other than wait for a call from the brunet or wait for him to appear.

Tyche must have been looking over his shoulder that day, cause as luck would have it the elevator doors opened with a ding, sliding open to reveal a grinning Peter Parker- along with two other people. 

Billy sat up from where he'd unceremoniously flopped down on the couch, tilting his head in slight confusion at the pair slightly behind Peter. "Uhhh..." clambered up from the couch as the brunet babbled on about things to the pair. 

"Oh, oh, and this- this is Billy. He's basically like my little brother at this point," Peter said, slinging an arm around Billy and hugging him. The boy tried to ignore the ache those words put in his chest. "Billy, these are my best friend in the whole world; Harry Osborn and Michelle Jones- though uh, just call her MJ- trust me, she doesn't like to be called anything else."

"Um- it's nice to meet you," the raven said with a grin. So these guys were Peter's friends? Did they know about Spider-Man? Why hadn't he brought them around before? And why was Michelle giving him the narrowed eyes of a Bat-Family member?

"Pleasure to meet you, Billy," Harry said with a grin, one hand in his pocket as the other reached out to shake the 13-year-old's. "Peter's actually mentioned to you a lot in the past couple of months. How'd you manage to get in so good with him? He spends more time with you than he does me," the copper-haired teen said with a chuckle. 

"You sound jealous Harry," Peter commented with a laugh.

"Oh he is- he's just unwilling to admit it," MJ added with a smirk.

"Why do I hear the sounds of pubescence? Pete, you here?" Tony asked as he poked his head in from the kitchen and glanced up from his tablet. "Oh- you brought guests."

"You said it was okay, Mr. Stark, but I can- uh, we can-"

"Relax, Kid. It just slipped my mind is all," Tony continued, glancing down at the tablet and tapping on it for a moment before coming fully into the living room. "Osborn, right?" He asked, glancing towards Harry and holding out a hand in greeting.

"Uh- yessir," Harry replied slightly nervously, shaking the billionaire's hand before shoving it unceremoniously into his jean pocket.

"And you must be the infamous MJ," Tony continued, turning his attention on the coil-haired girl with a smirk on her face. "Peter talks a lot about you, kid," he said in a stage whisper, holding his hand up to block his mouth from Peter, who was turning beet red. 

"Okay, okay, okay, enough! We're gonna go to the lab if that's alright, Mr. Stark," Peter said, getting a shrug from the man.

"Fine by me- but stay outta my workshop. Oh, and we're having a birthday party for Zappy over there on Saturday after the Inauguration of the new Avengers. You should invite your friends here- Billy could use some people closer to his own age there."

The raven in question rubbed the back of his neck nervously, already knowing the question that was about to come out of Peter's mouth.

"Wait, when's your birthday?"

"Um...well, uh- it was on the first..."

The brunet's eyes widened before he picked Billy up in one fail swoop. "Dude! Why didn't you say anything?! You're officially a teenager now!" He said with a laugh, getting amused rolls of the eyes from both Harry and MJ. "We gotta celebrate!"

"I thought that's what the birthday party was for," Billy said as Peter set him down on the floor.

"Well, yeah, but I mean you and me gotta celebrate. We can brainstorm while we're in the lab- Harry's been cooking up some ideas for new spidey gear," Peter said with a grin, getting a furrowed brow and look of slight shock from the younger boy.

"Wait, what?" He asked, glancing towards Peter's friends. "You guys know he's Spider-Man?" he asked, staring at the pair behind Peter. They nodded, and Billy turned his attention back towards the teenager in question, who was rubbing the back of his neck anxiously as if he'd just gotten in trouble.

"I thought you were gung-ho on keeping your identity a secret," Billy said with a laugh, only to get a roll of the eyes from the brunet. 

"Like Peter could keep anything from us," MJ said, getting a betrayed look from the boy.

"Pete's a terrible liar as is- I'm kinda surprised he hasn't let his identity slip to the public yet, to be honest," Harry added, getting a dramatic gasp from Peter.

"I've been betrayed- Jarvis, are you seeing this? The absolute betrayal coming out of these two- why am I friends with you guys again?"

"Pretty sure its cause you're a massive nerd and because Flash somehow managed to convince the entire school that you have some kind of weird, contagious rash thing in second grade and the rumor never went away?" Harry replied, crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk. 

Billy snorted at the trio- it was more than obvious they were close. He was glad Peter had someone to confide in, someone that was on his side no matter what- the pair reminded him of Freddy back home, the stubborn blonde-haired boy who had a habit of getting into trouble and dragging Billy down with him.

The raven was shaken from his thoughts by Peter motioning the group down the hall and towards the lab- Billy followed behind as Harry launched into a story about a time when Peter, for some reason, thought it was a good idea to go up again someone with the supervillain name of Doctor Octopus with nothing more than a red hoodie, some blue sweatpants, and a ski mask- something the trio had come to refer to as the 'Beta Spider-Man' outfit. 

"And this idiot decides to take him on without any web-shooters! Like, a staple part of his outfit!" Harry said with a laugh as Peter opened the lab door with a shake of his head. 

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you know- I'd like to see you do any better, Harry," Peter said as he flopped down into a rolling chair and let it glide across the concrete floor before hitting a lab table. "It was like, my third night being Spider-Man, okay?"

"Honestly, Harry probably coulda done better," MJ replied with a smirk. "I mean, at least he wouldn't have gone out to fight crime in sweatpants."  

Peter glanced towards Billy with pleading eyes. "I'm being bullied. They're bullying me. Stop them."

Billy just shrugged in response. "They're your friends."

- - -

Footsteps echoed throughout the dimly lit hall as the lights flickered above. The snowstorm raging on outside had already taken down two generators- and sending a mechanic out there before the storm passed would be a waste of a man. 

No- they would make do with the limited power they had for now. They could work with it. They'd worked with less in the past.

A tall figure clad in dark material pushed open the lab door slowly, casting light into the room and allowing his shadow to fall over the hunched form of their organization's lead scientist. A recent prize- one they had been lucky enough to obtain in the panic of SHIELD's downfall. 

They may have been the good guys, but even good guys had secrets they didn't want seeing the light of day.

"Is it ready?" he asked slowly, his boots clicking against the tile as he came up behind the man and brought a hand up to scratch absently at the calloused, crimson bone of his cheek. The man was tense- good.

A lack of fear didn't tend to end well for men employed under him.

"Not- not yet, sir. Without the asset, we can't collect more data...and the data he would have brought back has been lost to us."

The taller of the two slammed his fists onto the table, rattling the sensitive equipment around the pair as his anger boiled over for a fraction of a moment. 

"SCHEISSE!"

"We- we still have the initial data collected from the irregularity. I'm- I'm sure with another, w-we could finish the project, sir-"

He narrowed his eyes at the man before him, lip curled up in a snarl as he straightened and folded his hands behind his back. "You have a week to find me another irregularity..." he said slowly, causing the man to swallow thickly. It was a sight that warmed his core, made the rotten and blackened parts of his soul coo with delight. 

He leaned over slightly, grabbing the edge of the chair and tipping it back so he was standing fully over the man now. "And should the Avengers be alerted again...it will be your head," he growled, shoving the chair forwards and causing the man's gut to slam against the edge of the table.

"Y-yes sir- would- would you like me to call for Zemo, s-sir?"

The sound of that man's name was enough to make his blood boil- an uneasy alliance, one that had ultimately lost him the asset and the entirety of SHIELD. He set his jaw at the thought of the pompous purple imbecile.

"Zemo is a fool. An egotistical worm with a pension for catching the eyes of those damned heroes. The fall of SHIELD has sent him into hiding, the coward," he said slowly, glancing at the man out of the corner of his eye.

"No. I want you to watch them. Find that anomaly and exploit it in order to get us more data." The figure said slowly, turning his gaze from the trembling man sitting beside him to the screens of data in front of them. 

"But- but sir, we have no one to collect the irregularity should another appear- what is your plan, if I may ask?"

"Find us another irregularity...and I'll collect it myself if I have to."

"But sir, the Avengers."

Red Skull straightened, a smirk appearing on his face at the scientist's words. "They won't be a problem. They're holding a ceremony this weekend- a dedication to their own pride. Their guards will be weakened, and I have no doubt that the anomaly will be there as well."

"How do you plan on getting him back here, though, sir?" the scientist asked with a meager swallow.

"I have someone I will contact... an ally, of sorts." The man said slowly, narrowing his eyes on the screens around him. "Trust me...the Avengers won't know what hit them."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"I have someone I will contact... an ally, of sorts." The man said slowly, narrowing his eyes on the screens around him. "Trust me...the Avengers won't know what hit them."

- - -

The large, circular room was dim, the lights flickering to life when Billy entered it. His gaze snapped towards the man in the cell before him, who was currently laying on his back and staring at the ceiling, motionless. As he came closer, the man stirred, shifting over into his side as he laid on the bed, but made no other movements. 

A hand on the boy's shoulder kept him from getting any closer- he glanced back to find Loki gripping him tightly with a warning look. "Don't even think about it, William," he said, heading towards the control center. 

The pair had been asked to check up on Barnes after the Tower had been hit in today's monster attack- and Billy couldn't help but think about how far the Avengers had come in trusting Loki. A month ago, they wouldn't have even left him and the god alone in the same room together, and now they were being trusted with something as big as this.

Sure, he was there as a sort of buffer between Loki and any mischief he may try and pull, but Billy had full faith in the man that he was on the right track.

Billy glanced back at the god in question, watching as he looked over the machine and fiddled with the dials and holograms in an attempt to get it back to where it had been before the attack that had just happened before turning his attention back towards Barnes. He took a couple more steps towards the man, stopping when he was only a couple of inches from the glass.

The raven watched as the man lay on his bed, staring blankly at the wall as his hair fell into his face. 

"Hi..." he said softly, glancing back towards Loki again. He didn't seem to be paying attention to him- good. "I'm Billy," he said, looking back towards Barnes, only to find his dark brown eyes now focused on Billy. 

"Um... I thought I'd formally introduce myself..." he continued, though James made no movement to show he was listening... he just kept staring. "I was wondering where you got those knives of yours," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets as he watched the super-soldier.

Barnes' eyes narrowed ever so slightly- something Billy probably wouldn't have caught had he not spent so much time paying attention to Batman's subtle facial expressions. "I'm not- um, I'm not trying to interrogate you. I'm just... curious, I guess."

The man stayed quiet. "I uh, I'm the big guy. The one in the red suit," Billy continued, getting another 'blink and you miss it' reaction from the soldier. He widened his eyes ever so slightly before narrowing them at the boy. He must not have believed him- or at least, he was suspicious. "You don't have to believe me," Billy continued after a moment, placing a hand against the glass and glancing towards it when electricity thumped through his fingers.  

The boy knew the cell was electrified (in addition to the wards he himself had placed on it), and that, were anyone besides himself or Thor touch it, it'd be more than painful. This resistance to the element he had was one of the only things that carried over from his magical form, and this wasn't the first time he was thankful for it.

James' eyes were still focused on him, and Billy could almost see the gears in his mind working.

"Look, um... I know that you're supposed to be the bad guy and all and that those- those knives of yours were probably made from my magic but..." he trailed off, placing his other hand against the glass as he dropped his gaze.

Where was he going with this?

Did he really think that he could reach this guy when his best friend couldn't even do it?

Billy sighed. "Look...I saw you hesitate on that helicarrier. There's-" he brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. "There's gotta be a good man in there somewhere," he continued, looking up from the floor and into the cell.

His eyes widened at the sight of the Winter Soldier staring at him completely, his gaze calculating as he stared at the boy. Billy swallowed thickly, blinking at him slowly. "We'll help you. It's what we do," he said with a grin, causing confusion to bloom on the soldier's face. This only caused Billy to giggle in response. 

"William, get away from there!" Loki said from the control panel, causing the boy to glance back towards the God.

"Sorry, Loki! Comin'!"

The soldier's eyes never left him.

- - -

Captain Marvel straightened the cape at his shoulders, thumbing the edge of the fabric as he let out a shaky breath. He rolled his shoulders in an attempt to quell his nerves, but it didn't do much. A chuckle from behind him caused the demigod to glance away from the mirror and look towards Peter. 

"You nervous?" the 15-year-old asked as he pulled off his mask, tilting his head slightly as he ran a hand through his messed up hair. 

Captain Marvel let out a sigh, rolling his shoulder again. "A little. You?"

Peter chuckled. "Of course I am- I've wanted this for ages...my brain just keeps telling me dumb stuff like 'what if they don't like you?' and ya know... weighs on ya," he replied, plopping down on the chair with a grunt.

Marvel turned fully away from the mirror, setting his hands on his hips. "Dude, you'll be great. They'll love you," he said with a grin. "I mean c'mon, how could they not? You're Spider-Man."

Peter shook his head with a grin, wringing his mask in his hands as he leaned back in the chair. "Yeah...I hope you're right. I already got Jameson breathing down my neck, I really don't need him getting proven right," he said, dropping his gaze.

"That old reporter guy, right?" Cap asked, tilting his head as he shifted his weight on his feet. "Ignore him- h's just some cranky old guy who can't see how awesome you are."

Peter shrugged. "You're right, I know you're right, I just... I don't want him to talk badly about the Avengers just cause they finally lt me join, you know?"

"Dude- you really think the Avengers would care if some random reporter started talking bad about them?"

"Well, I-"

"Boys?"

The pair glanced up and towards the entrance of the room, where Steve was standing in full Captain America garb- helmet included. "We're just about ready to start. You boys ready?" he asked with a grin. Peter hopped up, a smile suddenly on his face.

"Sure are Steve- but I think Sam's still in the bathroom," Peter said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. 

Steve glanced towards the bathroom with a nod, before turning his attention back towards the pair. "Alright- well we start in 5 minutes, so be ready," he said before leaving the room and shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

Peter and Marvel nodded in unison. The shorter of the two pulled on his mask with a deep breath as the door to the bathroom opened and sam walked out. He grabbed his wing pack off the couch and pulled it on, clipping the buckled and fastening things before turning it on. "Did I miss anything?" he asked, glancing between the two.

"Nope- Steve just came to tell us we got 5 minutes before we're up," Cap replied with a grin.

"Nice."

"Oh- don't ask me how, but that reminds me. Your birthday present came in the mail this morning," Sam said, glancing towards Captain Marvel. 

The bulkier man blinked, tilting his head in confusion. "Wait, you got me a birthday present?"

"Yeah- Steve told me your birthday was on Tuesday, so I thought I'd get you something you could open at your party," Sam replied with a grin.

Marvel had to resist the urge to blush, settling instead on grinning widely, and shaking his head. "You didn't have to do that, Sam," he said as he watched Sam pulled his bright red goggles down over his eyes. "I'm fine with cake- even that is a lot if I'm honest," he said with a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Sam replied with a smirk as he unfolded the bright red metallic wings from his pack with a grin. "Well, like it or not, you're gettin' one," The trio glanced towards the door at the sound of music playing, Sam taking the lead as he opened the door. "Now let's do this thing."

Marvel and Spidey followed him out, trailing behind a red-haired woman in a pencil skirt (Cap was fairly certain her name was Pepper Potts- Tony had spent more than one occasion gushing about the women and how much she did for him) as she led them down the hall and towards where the stage had been set up. 

It had been built just outside of Avengers tower, with a handy back door leading into the building. Pepper opened it for them and they walked through and out onto the grass behind the stage- Clint was waiting for them, sitting on the edge of the stage and fidling with the head of one of his arrows.

"You guys ready?" he asked with a smirk, putting the projectile away and standing up.

"Hell yeah, man," Sam replied, getting an excited nod from both Spider-Man and Captain Marvel in response.

"Well good- cause Steve's sappy speech is almost over. Get ready for your grand entrance," the sandy blonde said with a grin.

The sound of thunderous applause and music kicking up was their cue to part the velvet curtain and step out onto the stage- so they did. The trio filed through the center of the curtains, looking out into the sea of people that had gathered on the front lawn of the tower. 

Cameras flashed and reporters tried futilely to ask questions in the brief moments they had wherein Captain Marvel, Spider-Man, and The Falcon were smiling and waving to the audience before them.

They lined up on stage as Steve tapped the mic attached to the podium, Tony at his side clad fully in armor (minus the helmet, that is- he was busy grinning with dark sunglasses on his face instead).

That made sense, Cap thought- the pair were sort of like co-captains of the 'Avengers Ship' so to speak. The crowd wasn't settling down, causing the super soldier to grow slightly frustrated. Cap watched as Tonny just grinned, leaning forward to look out at the crowd over the top of his sunglasses.

"Alright, let's get this party started, huh? Save your questions for later, folks," he said, successfully quieting the crowd (namely the rowdy reporters upfront). Tony took a step back, gesturing Steve towards the mic as he pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"Thank you, Tony," he said, straightening the papers in front of him mas he looked out at the crowd. "Well, I'd first like to thank these brave heroes for first of all..."

Cap probably should have been paying attention (which, technically he was, but it was more Solomon than him- he'd done this plenty of times where he zoned out during a League meeting) but he found himself staring out at the crowd instead. There was a huge amount of people here- the audience reached all the way to the crowded streets, standing on the lawn and looking up at them with rapt attention. 

Captain Marvel swallowed thickly and straightened, scanning the crowd in search of a familiar face. He furrowed his brow at the sight of a man in a trenchcoat- which, sure, that in itself was already sketchy (who wore trenchcoats nowadays?) but what made it more concerning was the fact that the man was staring solely at him.

His dark eyes were now locked with the Captain's- the man smirked. 

Marvel resisted the urge to launch himself from the stage and grab the man before he could bring any harm to anyone- he'd made the mistake of jumping to conclusions once before, he wouldn't do it again- but kept his gaze locked with the stranger.

He must have been tense, as he felt Peter's hand suddenly touch his arm. He blinked, glancing down at the teenager beside him. Even with the mask on, Cap could tell he was worried- those white lenses of his were narrowed slightly. "You okay, Cap?" he asked softly, tilting his head slightly. "You got electricity dancing around you."

Marvel blinked, glancing back out towards the crowd- the man was gone. 

"Y...Yeah..." he breathed, letting out a breath and shaking some of the tension from his shoulders. "I'm fine..."

Peter didn't look convinced, but he let it go anyway. 

"Please, ladies and gentlemen, give a warm welcome to our newest official Avengers!" Steve said, gesturing towards the trio before clapping warmly himself. Tony was clapping too, though his eyes were on Captain Marvel as the man looked out at the crowd. 

Marvel tried to let the strange feeling of wrong roll off his shoulders, but something was nagging at him, telling him that he should look into it. He would later- right now he had appearances to keep up.

"Thank you all for coming, but we gotta go!" Tony said with a large smile, one he reserved for the press as he slung an arm around Steve. "Steve-o here owes me a date," he said with a wink, causing the blonde to roll his eyes and the crowd to erupt into laughter.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"Thank you all for coming, but we gotta go!" Tony said with a large smile, one he reserved for the press as he slung an arm around Steve. "Steve-o here owes me a date," he said with a wink, causing the blonde to roll his eyes and the crowd to erupt into laughter.

- - -

Billy fiddled with the golden band around his wrist as he sat, fidgeting in his chair as the workers of the skating rink Tony had rented out sang their own, strange rendition of the happy birthday song before setting a red and yellow cake down in front of him.

The movement caused the cheap plastic vinyl covering the table to crinkle and bunch, only to be smoothed out by a steady hand. The table cover was adorned in Spider-Man's symbol, something he was sure was Peter's doing since he insisted on helping Tony plan the party. It wasn't like Tony knew how to throw anything less than a bachelor party, so Billy was thankful Peter was willing to help.

He shook his head with a grin at the thought- that would explain the red balloons adorning the place too- some of them had spider symbols on the sides. He glanced up at Steve as he started to light the candles, the blonde tousling his hair once the last candle was lit as he took a step back. 

With that, it was the Avengers (and company)'s turn to sing.

Badly.

Billy did his best to hold in his laughter as the heroes that surrounded him in casual clothes sang horribly off-key and an obnoxiously loudly- he was fairly certain some of them, like Clint and Tony, were doing it on purpose, too. If the exhausted look Natasha was giving them as she sang was anything to go by, this was something they did consistently. 

He snorted when Thor held the last note much longer than he should have before taking a punch to the arm from Loki, causing him to pause and laugh heartily.

Billy drew in the largest breath he could muster before blowing the candles out with a smile. The people around him clapped and Steve whisked the cake away to be cut and dished out. Peter, who sat beside him idly rolling the skates on his feet back and forth across the carpeted floor, brightened at the sight of Tony gesturing towards the separate table full of gifts.

He was on his feet in seconds, rolling towards the table and packing his arms full of the gifts to bring back to the 13-year-old.

Billy blinked in surprise when they were plopped down in front of him, Peter giving him a cheeky smirk in response. "You gotta open mine first," he said as Tony brought over a couple more and set them down.

"Which one is yours?" the raven replied, only for Peter to look out over the pile and pluck one from the top- a small red box with a gold string tied around it. A simple glance at it and you'd think it was for Tony, funny enough.

Billy took the box gingerly in his hands and glanced at Peter before looking down at the small box. He undid the ribbon and pulled the lid off, revealing a watch of all things nestled into the soft velvet fabric inside. 

"You got me a watch?" he asked, looking up from the box with wide eyes. 

"It's not just any watch," Peter said, leaning forward and grabbing the box. "We're twins now," he said, rolling up a sleeve to show off the same watch wrapped around his own wrist before pulling it back down and making a motion for Billy to hold out his arm.

Billy blinked as Peter fastened the soft leather around his wrist, bringing his arm back towards him to look over the gift properly. If he thought about it, it was a really smart idea- the little. button on the side must have been used to call, and he could swipe through contacts with his finger on the glass.

"Mine's from my uncle Ben... on the underside of the clock face, I had the maker engrave the same thing that's under this one," Peter explained as he undid his own watch and turned it over to show it to the raven. "With great power, comes great responsibility."

Harry nudged Peter with his shoulder, smirking in his direction and causing the teen to glance back at him with a grin. "Shut up," he said, though Harry hadn't said a word.

"Me next, Sparky," Clint said with a grin, his arms crossed over his chest as Billy grabbed the box covered in bright purple wrapping paper. 

- - -

By the time Billy was finished opening gifts, the table before him was packed with toys, books, games, and sentimental pieces. Most of the cake was gone and Loki was getting antsy- BBilly didn't blame him, that took forever and there were a lot of people here...half of whom Billy didn't even know.

"Alright, you kids go skate, we'll clean this up," Tony said, shooing the teenagers and preteens away from the table. Billy got up and wobbly made his way towards the rink, shaky on his feet as he tried to tip-toe across the carpet. A gentle but firm grip on his arm had him glancing up to find Clint, also clad in roller skates, helping him along. 

"Thanks," Billy replied, glancing towards the rink where Peter, MJ, and Harry were skating; seemingly about to have a race. "I've never really skated before," he said as he grabbed onto the railing that traced the walls of the rink, gripping it tightly and rolling across the light blue concrete floor as Clint skated idly beside him.

He watched as the teenagers took off, racing around the track and shoving one another while they laughed. It reminded him of Flash, in a way- he was always itching to race someone, and usually, Superman was the only one willing to take him up on the offer.

He was glad Peter and his friends were having fun, though- he smiled at the sight before turning his attention back towards his own feet. He had enough trouble just staying upright, there was no way he'd be racing any time soon. 

"You want me to stick around and help?" Clint asked, tilting his head as he moved in front of Billy and turned on a dime, skating backward in front of him while managing to hold the conversation like it was nothing. 

"Nah, it's ok. I got this," Billy replied, moving slowly along the wall. "Why don't you go show Peter who's boss though?" he asked with a cheeky grin as he glanced towards the brunet who had come in first in him and the other's race. 

Clint smirked, tousling Billy's hair before taking off towards the others. 

Billy focused back on his own feet before someone else joined him; this time it was Tony, with a very shaky-on-his-feet Steve trailing behind. Steve wobbled his arms in an attempt to stay upright, scrambling back and forth on the wheels below him before he finally managed to grab onto the railing attached to the wall.

"Hey, kiddo- you havin' trouble there?" Tony asked as he shoved his hands into his pants pockets. He cast a cursory glance towards Steve, who was still holding onto the railing and slowly skating along behind the small raven before turning his attention back down towards Billy.

"Nah, I got it- just wobbly is all," he said with a grin. 

"Well, why don't I help you out? Here," he said, offering his hand to the boy. Billy took it after a moment, hesitantly letting go of the wall and allowing Tony to guide him slightly away from it. steve watched warmly from where he was, a soft smile on his face as Tony instructed Billy how to move his feet to propel himself forward without falling over.

"You gotta do it like scissors- let your feet glide in and out, and once you have the hang of that you can use your toe stopper to push off and skate that way," Tony said, his grip on Billy's hand firm as the boy struggled to do as the billionaire instructed.

He wobbled and began to scramble, trying to get a grip with his feet against the smooth floor and leaning backward- only for Tony to yank him forwards and right him again. "Whoa there, easy. There we go," he said with a smile, easing Billy along. "Try again."

Billy wasn't sure why that made his heart ache in his chest. He blinked, swallowing thickly as Tony continued to urge him forwards with soft words of encouragement.

A cursory glance towards the middle of the rink saw him watching Peter, Harry, Clint, Sam, and Loki lined up along a line with MJ as their ref. Bruce and Thor were watching from the sidelines, leaning over the short banister that separated the rink from the rest of the building and cheering them on.

Natasha was chatting idly with Pepper at a table, each with a milkshake in front of them as they shook their heads at the chaotic mess going on on the rink. Coulson and Fury, (who had surprised Billy with their appearance) were talking to some of the other former SHIELD agents that must have been acting as some sort of security.

Everything considered it was so... domestic. It was peaceful, the air was filled with laughter and warmth, and Billy could feel his meager magic coil outwards in response. It was nice; he felt relaxed and happy- something he hadn't been able to say for a while. 

"Billy, kid, are you listening?" Tony asked, snapping his fingers in front of the 13-year-old's face.

"Wha? Huh?" Billy asked with a shake of his head, glancing back up at Tony. The billionaire huffed a laugh and shook his head, glancing back towards Steve with a smirk. 

"I was saying-"

The boy felt a wave of energy crash into him, causing him to lose his breath for a moment. Billy's eyes widened at the sudden chill that overtook him, bringing a hand up to grasp at his chest feebly. His eyes were locked onto the floor, wide and fearful as the feeling of wrong overcame him.

He hadn't even noticed Tony had stopped talking until he glanced up.

The man was frozen mid-sentence, his eyes still locked on Billy as his mouth was formed to speak the words he'd been about to say. The raven swallowed, furrowing his brow in confusion at the sight. He glanced around the room to find the others frozen as well- Steve, Natasha, Clint- they were all statued into a single moment. It made Billy's head spin and his heart pound in his chest at the sight.

He managed to wrench his hand free from the frozen Tony Stark to turn on his heel and glance around the room- and found Loki running towards him. He thanked the stars that the Asgardian wasn't frozen, but a glance towards Thor had him questioning why that was. 

He...he wasn't the one to freeze everyone, was he? 

"William, are you alright?" Loki asked, worry in his eyes as he skid to a stop, snapping his fingers and causing the skates on both of their feet to vanish before cradling the boy's face in his hands and looking him over.

"I'm- I'm fine. What's going on?" Billy asked, glancing around the room in fearful confusion. This wasn't right, and his magic was twisting in his gut in response. 

"I'm not sure...it's magic, though. I'm sure of it," Loki responded, standing up and narrowing his eyes as he scanned their surroundings. "It's the reason you and I weren't frozen with the rest of them."

That put him on guard. Anyone that had magic strong enough to freeze time wasn't someone to be messed with. Billy felt a ripple in the air to his left, hands clenching into fists tensely as Loki placed himself between the boy and the growing disturbance.

A sparking, circular, orange portal opened in the air, and Stephen Strange of all people stepped out of it and onto the smooth floor of the skating rink, the golden necklace hanging from his neck glowing bright green. He glanced towards the pair before looking around the room.

"There's something you should see," he said seriously before turning on his heel and stepping back through the portal.

It lingered there and Billy glanced towards Loki. "We should probably follow him," he said, taking a step towards the portal- only to have his arm grabbed by the god. Billy looked up at the taller raven with a furrowed brow, watching as he visually scanned the portal before sighing and letting go of his arm. 

"...fine."

Billy wanted to question him, but found his feet moving on their own accord. He moved to go through the portal, Loki right on his heel as he stepped through and into Strange's home. The air was ripe with mystical energy, and Billy could feel his internal clock ticking once more; time must have started moving again.

He shoved the thought of having to explain just where he'd gone to Tony in favor of following Stephen around the grand staircase and down the hall. Loki was right there beside him, tense as wire. Billy could feel the nervous ripples of energized magic wafting off the god from where he was- he must have been wary of this place.

Maybe Billy should have been too, but it was too similar to the House of Mystery for him to feel anything but a strange sense of deja vu tugging at his core. 

He missed Constantine.

The pair were led to a large, circular library of sorts, the shelves lined with what Billy could only assume were magical tomes and spellbooks. Stephen walked swiftly to a desk at the back of the room that was covered in open books and yellowing scrolls, rummaging through the various papers before finding what he wanted and glancing towards Billy.

He snapped open an old parchment, one that had an ink sketch of a strange gem inlaid in some sort of jewelry-like casing. Billy furrowed his brow at it- was there something he was missing? Sure, it was likely that this jewel was magical, but why was Stephen showing him specifically? Did it have something to do with lightning or something?

"This-" Stephen said, leaving the parchment to float in the air and walking around it to point at it, "-is the siege perilous," he continued, glancing between the pair who were looking at him in confusion. 

Loki blinked, bringing a hand up to rub at his chin in thought. "My understanding was that the siege perilous was a seat at your midguardian King Arthur's round table of knights," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Is this jewel in a chair of some kind?"

Stephen sighed, shutting his eyes for a moment before setting his gaze on Billy. "The siege perilous is a mystical key with the power to access the multiverse," Stephen said, causing the boy's eyes to widen.

This- this was the answer! The key to him getting home!

A small smile made its way onto Stephen's face. "Now you get it," he said, glancing back towards the gemstone. "Its whereabouts are unknown to me for now, but I believe that with this, we have a chance at getting you back to your rightful universe," he explained, looking back down at Billy.

"If that's still something you want, that is."

Loki set a hand on the 13-year-old's shoulder as he blinked blankly. What kind of a question was that?! Of course, he wanted to go home!

This thing- this weird gem could get him home. He could see the League, Constantine, Freddy- he could go home, back to Fawcett City, back to his old life-

He could...

He could go back...

...back to being alone.

The wind left him all at once, making BIlly's core ache as an icy chill coursed its way through his chest. He dropped his gaze to the floor, as if the patterned carpet beneath him would hold some kind of answer.

The 13-year-old let out a shaky breath, bringing a hand up to run it through his hair. 

He wanted to go home... right?

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

He wanted to go home... right?

- - -

Billy tilted his head as he leaned back against the couch, watching as a large horde of penguins huddled together against the raging blizzard surrounding them. He pulled the blanket wrapped around his shoulder a little closer to him, furrowing his brow in worry at the TV as the narrator explained the plight of the flightless birds.

"It's more important than ever for this colony to stick together during harsh weather such as this. With temperatures that dip into the negative '20s, huddling together for warmth and assurance is what really ties these birds together as a family," the British man explained, causing Billy to drop his gaze and change the channel hastily. 

-CLICK!-

"You have no idea what's going to happen if you go in there, Dean!" a man yelled, his hair whipping in the wind as he stared at another man from where he was tied up.

"We don't have any other options, Sammy," the man replied, grip on the knife in his hand tightening as he spoke. "It's this, or the rest of our family gets wiped out."

-CLICK!-

"That's what you don't understand! My friends make me stronger, they could never be a weakness!" a purple unicorn shouted, facing down a large, red, ape-centaur beast. 

-CLICK!-

"It just feels like I'm at a crossroads, and I have no idea what path I should take," a British man said as she sat in a chair, the woman in front of him giving him a worried look. "I mean how am I supposed to choose between this life I want to build with the detective and the duties I have here in Hell?"

-CLICK!-

Billy was beginning to think the universe was trying to guilt-trip him. Or maybe it was just bad luck... He turned the TV off with a sigh and tossed the remote to the side before flopping over on his side and lying down on the couch.

He turned his head to bury it in the couch cushions, groaning into them as he pulled the blanket he had up and over his head.

"I feel that," Clint's voice came from behind him, and the boy glanced up to find the dusty blond leaning over the back of the couch and watching him with a smirk. "What's on your mind? I can tell something's buggin' ya."

"It's...it's nothing," Billy replied, pulling the blanket slightly closer to himself. 

He knew that wouldn't convince Clint- the archer was stubborn, and the expression on his face solidified that. "Well, why don't we be bothered by nothing together then?" he asked, flopping over the couch and landing with a grunt on top of the 13-year-old. 

Billy yelped, squirming under the archer with a laugh as he attempted to get Clint off of him by slamming his fists into the man's back. 

"Oh, my bad, didn't realize this spot was taken," the blond replied with a grin, turning over to grab Billy before twisting and placing himself underneath the boy. He scooted his back up against the armrest and pillowed an arm behind his head, leaving Billy to lean against his chest with his blanket still tucked up to his chin.

Billy relaxed slightly, resting his head against Clint's chest as the man grabbed the discarded remote and turned the TV back on. "I think we have Thundercats recorded," the man mumbled, flicking through the recordings on the DVR. 

"Oh, yep- there it is," Clint said, lighting up and selecting one of the episodes before settling back into the pillow behind him. "You ever been this sh-"

The sound of an alarm blaring through the living room cut the archer's words short, passing his show and causing the pair to tense. Billy sat up as Jarvis brought a holographic view up in front of the TV.

"It seems the Wrecking Crew has taken it upon themselves to rob a bank on 22nd street," the AI provided helpfully, pulling up traffic cam footage of the area. The feed showed a group of four men breaking into a bank on the street, sending pedestrians and cars alike into a panic around them.

"That's great, just great- these morons are getting cocky enough to do this in broad daylight now," Clint groaned, letting his head fall back as the feed continued to play. "...hate the Wrecking Crew."

Billy hopped up and made his way towards the hologram, swiping through some of the data that Jarvis had on the group. "I can handle 'em, Clint," he said with a grin, glancing back at the archer happily. "I've dealt with plenty of guys like this back home," he said before closing the hologram down.

"You sure kid?" Clint asked, sitting up slightly. "I mean they're idiots, sure, but there's still four of them and only one of you."

"Can any of them wield lightning?" Billy asked, folding his arms over his chest and raising a brow. "Clint, come on. Let me have this win," he said, giving the sandy blonde his best puppy dog eyes. 

It'd be nice to have something to take his mind off of his musings; focusing on a crime would keep him from spiraling in a sense. Plus, these guys couldn't be any worse than Doctor Sivana or Mr. Mind, and he dealt with those guys on a weekly basis. 

Clint brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck with a sigh before leaning back into the couch cushions. "Alright kid, but don't come cryin' to me if the others decide to send in back-up," he said, picking up the remote and pressing play. Billy lit up with joy and took off towards the landing pad, a wide smile on his face as his sneakers thudded against the gravel. 

He leaped off the edge of the platform with a laugh before shouting the wizard's name and taking off through the air.

- - -

Captain Marvel didn't really need a map or anything to figure out where the robbery was happening- the thick plume of smoke rising from inside the city was enough of a beacon for him to follow. He soared between buildings and came to a stop mid-air at the sight of four men squared up against the NYPD- and severely out-classing them.

"Well, at least some things don't change," he mumbled to himself before launching himself down towards the scuffle.

He landed gracefully between the group, which consisted of a blonde guy in white and red- Piledriver, a black guy in green and yellow- Thunderball, and two guys wearing masks in green and yellow respectively. The crowbar in one of the guy's hands had a weak mystical aura to it and was wrapped loosely around the man that held it as well as the others in his group.

Captain Marvel rested his hands on his hips and grinned, tilting his head slightly as he met the eyes of who he assumed to be the leader- Jarvis's file said his name was the Wrecker. "How ya doin'? Hawkeye told me you guys are getting sloppy to try this in broad daylight- and I'm inclined to agree with him," he said lightly, causing the men to look at him in confusion.

"Who the hell are you, red?" Wrecker asked, his accent thick as his grip tightened angrily on his crowbar. The weak aura surrounding the object flared out slightly, but it wasn't anything major like the kind of power he assumed Mjolnir must have been able to put out. 

"Oh, you guys must not watch the news," Cap replied with a grin, bringing his hands up to crack his knuckles off-handedly. "I'm Captain Marvel, one of the new Avengers, and you guys are, well, the bad guys. I think you know what happens next, right?" he asked, his voice still light.

"We're the god-damn Wrecking Crew, you can't beat us all by your lonesome!" Wrecker chuckled, sneer on his face as he narrowed his eyes at the demigod. Marvel simply grinned back before glancing over his shoulder and grinning at the officers.

"Don't worry- I got this," he called out before launching towards what looked like the heaviest hitter.

He tackled the man in yellow with a silver helmet- Bulldozer, he was fairly sure his name was, his forearm pressed up against his chest as he slammed him into the brick wall. A thick cloud of dust rose up from the ground around them, shattered glass at the pair's feet as the man grappled against Captain Marvel's grip. The man suddenly headbutted him, causing the demigod to stumble back a step before shaking it off. 

The villain took this chance though and came at him like a bull, his head aimed right at Marvel's midsection. He took a quick step to the right and dodged the human bulldozer, only to have a thick metal chain suddenly wrap around the front of his throat. 

Marvel could feel the gentle waves of magic emitting from the chain, but he ignored it, despite the annoyance that it was going to be to deal with. "That's a- ngh- a cheap shot you know," he said, bringing his hands up to grab the chain and yank it forward. He swiveled on his feet and sent an uppercut right into the owner of the chain, Thunderball, causing the man to grunt and go flying right into the side of a dumpster. 

The ball and chain were dropped, but before Captain Marvel could grab it he found himself being lifted off the ground, his arms pinned to his sides. He glanced back to see Piledriver holding onto him, his large hands gripping the demigod tightly.

He allowed electricity to crackle along his skin, narrowing his eyes on the villain as it crackled and jumped from his bright red suit to the blonde's- the man cried out in pain and drew his hands back from Marvel, dropping him onto the ground. He barely made contact with the pavement before something hard slammed into his back, causing Marvel to hiss in pain.

He was slammed into a brick wall with a grunt, sending more clouds of dust into the air and obscuring the area around them. Marvel reached back to grab hold of whatever had run into him and shot upwards into the air with it in tow, teeth bared in annoyance. He managed to twist around to find Bulldozer growling at him, struggling against his grip and attempting to dig his dull nails into Marvel's golden bracers. The raven loosened his grip and left him to fall to the ground before following suit. 

He landed in front of the man as he groaned, pulling himself up off the pavement and glaring up at the demigod.

"You should-"

The demigod was cut off by a sharp pain blooming in the back of his head, causing him to stumble forward and trip over the silver-helmeted man on the ground. He winced, bringing a hand up to touch the back of his head gingerly and glance back at whatever had hit him. He swallowed thickly as the leader beat the crowbar in his hand against his palm, glaring at him from his feet.

"One against five? This ain't your fight to win, Sparkles," he said before running towards him with a shout, wielding the crowbar in his hands like a bat. 

Captain Marvel's eyes widened and he managed to roll to the side just in time to narrowly miss getting the sharp end of a crowbar to the face. He leaped to his feet to face the Wrecker, only to find himself surrounded by the quartet of men. 

His gaze flicked to the people that surrounded him, his mind kicking into overdrive as he thought of the best way to finish this. He needed to get that crowbar away from Wrecker- it was probably the source of him and his goons' power. That wrecking ball was probably another thing that should be dealt with since its owner was back on his feet and even angrier than before.

Great, and now Solomon was buzzing in the back of his mind, telling him there was something he was missing.

Wait.

The leader.

He'd said 'one against five'. But there were only four--

A sudden sharp prick in the back of his neck had him hissing in pain and reaching back with his hand. He plucked something from his skin, bringing it to his eyes to glance down at. His vision started to dance as he stared at the small vial in his hand, remnants of a glowing juice sticking to the glass. 

Captain Marvel swayed on his feet as his vision started to blur, his head spinning as the man around him laughed. 

"Nighty night, big red." 

He ended up falling forward, crashing hard onto the pavement and blacking out. 

"Good work," a new man said, lowering the gun he had in his hand and stepping out of the dust to take a closer look at the unconscious demigod on the ground before them. He crouched down in front of him, looking him over through the slits of his dark mask. "Get him loaded into the truck and get out of here," he said, standing up and cracking his neck before sheathing the pistol in his gloved hand. 

"And what about our pay?" the leader of the group asked, narrowing his eyes at the bulky man in black. "You ain't gonna stiff us."

"You'll get paid when this one," he gestured towards Captain Marvel, "is back at the base and chained to an operating table," he growled, his dark eyes narrowing through his paint-covered mask.

"And not a minute sooner."

- - -

"Damnit!"

Tony and Steve furrowed their brows in unison when they came into the living room with a pair of tennis rackets (one now broken, don't ask) and found Clint sitting on the couch and watching the TV like it held the secrets to the universe. 

"Everything okay, Clint?" Steve asked, handing his broken racket to Tony- who promptly dumped both objects on the floor and followed him into the room to stand behind the couch. 

"Yeah, it's fine, I'm just watching the kid fight. Wrecking Crew made a mess on 22nd street and Billy wanted to handle it himself," he explained, causing Steve to tense slightly. Tony rested a hand on his shoulder, giving him a look before glancing towards the TV.

"So what's the problem then? He's winning, right?" Tony asked, dropping his hand from the blonde's shoulder. 

"He was," Clint said, shaking his head at the screen. It was nothing but a grainy image of a giant cloud of dust that surrounded the fight. "Bastards kicked up the dust in their scuffle. Can't see shit now," he said with a shake of his head.

"J? Wanna help us out here?" Tony asked, glancing upwards slightly with a grin. 

The image on the TV was replaced with a series of camera feeds from around the area, each with only a partial view of what was going on. Still, it was better than no view at all. 

The trio watched as Captain Marvel jumped to his feet, glancing around at the four men that surrounded him. The Wrecker was speaking, but it wasn't anything they could hear due to the fact that these cameras were security feeds. Marvel opened his mouth to say something, only to freeze in place.

Tony furrowed his brow- something was wrong. 

They watched as Billy reached back to pluck something from his neck and look at it- Steve drew in a sharp breath. Clint's grip tightened on the arm of the couch as they watched Captain Marvel sway on his feet. He suddenly came crashing down like a stone, landing hard on the pavement and staying there.

"No..." Clint breathed, eyes wide as he shook his head. "No, no no no- we- we have to get there, now!" he said, leaping to his feet. Steve and Tony's eyes were still glued to the screen as Clint took off to grab his bow in a panic. 

"That's..." Tony breathed, eyes widening at the sight of the new man.

Steve's lip pulled back in a sneer. "Crossbones," he said lowly, his voice full of anger as he spoke a single word, rising from the couch with clenched fists.

"So that means...Hydra," Tony said with a sigh, bringing a hand up to rub at his face. The only thing keeping him from freaking out completely like Clint was the fact that he knew the kid was invulnerable- Billy had told them so himself, bullets, knives, they- they couldn't hurt him.

"Wait...how did that needle pierce his skin...?" Tony asked aloud, his eyes widening in simultaneous realization and dread.

Oh God.

Oh no.

"We gotta go find Billy," the pair said in unison, the tense air surrounding them permeating their words. 

"Avengers, Assemble- we have a code red." 

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"Avengers, Assemble- we have a code red." 

- - -

The raven woke up with a pulsing headache, his body sore and heavy as he slowly blinked his eyes open. He found himself staring up at a bright, buzzing light that hung above him, his body pressed against something cold and smooth. The pain he felt was a very dull thrum that ran through him, and he tried flexing his fingers in response. 

He felt electricity crackle just under his skin, but nothing leapt to his bulky fingertips- oh, he must still be Captain Marvel, that's good...

...why was that good?

He attempted to turn on his side and push himself up off wherever he'd ended up, but found his arms disobeying him. He glanced down to find his wrists trapped under a thick silver metal, one that pulsated the same kind of waves as Steve's shield. It wasn't magical or anything, but it still had a type of energy inherently tied to it. 

The harder the demigod struggled against the metal braces, the more he found them push back. He gave up with a grunt, sweat beading his brow as he laid back and attempted to look around his surroundings. Where was he? How had he gotten here?

Captain Marvel furrowed his brow in thought, trying to remember what had led him to this point. He'd been on the couch with Clint, then he'd gone off to top a robbery...and someone had shot him when the bad guys had surrounded him. 

The demigod tensed at that thought- he'd been shot- it must have been with some kind of sleeping dart, but needles couldn't piercee his skin, not unless they were made out of something like nth metal... and as far as he knew...that didn't exist here.

So what could have-

"Ah! So you are finally awake," a voice came through over the speakers that must have been in the room- the light buzzing above him mixed with his headache and ever-so-slightly spinning vision made it hard to see anything further than a few feet away. He tensed, reflexively pulling against the metal holding his wrists to what he now realized was some kind of operating table. 

Marvel thought for a moment about trying to slam his head against the silver surface, but it seemed to radiate the same energy as the cuffs...he'd probably just give himself a worse headache if he did that. 

"I must say, you really pissed me off with that stunt your Avengers pulled at my old base..." the voice continued, a germanic accent lacing his words. "But no matter. The data we'd already collected was more than sufficient in creating weapons capable of taking you down."

Marvel furrowed his brow in thought- so he'd been right. This guy- it had to have been Red Skull from what Steve had told him, had managed to analyze his magic and create a weapon from it- 

"Look, um... I know that you're supposed to be the bad guy and all and that those- those knives of yours were probably made from my magic but..."

The knives- right, of course, the knives! Those had been made from his magic- but had anything else?

"-and now, here you are." 

Oops... he must have been thinking while this guy was monologuing. 

"What do you want from me?" Marvel managed to get out, glancing around the room. He was searching for some kind of electrical flow he could trace back to where this man could possibly be hiding, but it was like the entire room was lined with rubber. The only feedback he got was from the light above him.

"You know I'm a beacon of magic, right? They'll be able to find me easily. You just gave away your hiding spot by bringing me here," he grunted, giving the metal trapping his wrists (and ankles, he now realized) another experimental tug. 

"Are you now? Well, then why don't you summon that magic and bring them here then?" 

Marvel narrowed his eyes at the mocking, triumphant voice. He was planning something. Was it a trap? He couldn't lead the Avengers right into one- especially not if this Red Skull guy had any of his magic on backorder. He set his jaw, continuing to cast his gaze around the room.

There had to be some kind of flaw to this- this guy didn't know him like his own villains, he didn't know what powers and weaknesses to exploit, he'd just gotten lucky. 

Well...they were probably already going to come for him anyway, right? He might as well make it easy for them. He narrowed his eyes at the darkness that surrounded him and curled his hands into fists, attempting to force his lightning to the surface. It buzzed and jolted under his skin, thundering in his core and looking for some outlet- only to find none.

Marvel let out a shaky breath at the feeling of some kind of barrier between his magic and the air around him, eyes widening slightly at the overwhelming feeling of wrong that washed over him.

"It seems to me that you're having some trouble, Captain Marvel..." the man said, his grin audible through the crackling speakers. "Perhaps your 'magic' isn't as powerful as you thought..." 

"...Or perhaps this room was constructed to block any sort of energy signals from escaping."

Captain Marvel felt a cold sense of dread wash over him, his nails digging into his palms as he listened to the man speak. The sound of scraping metal causing him to glance to his left- a door had opened, spilling bright light into the room before a figure appeared and blocked most of it out. The figure stepped forward, boots clicking against the concrete ground of the room.

The door behind him closed, casting him back into darkness until he made his way closer to the demigod and stepped into the light. Marvel tensed at the sight of him- sure, he'd seen the guy in a couple of photos and on security footage, but a few feet away from him was something entirely different.

His head was a dark crimson, with rigid brow off bone and dark sockets holding blood-shot eyes. He circled the raven as if he were prey- he guessed that in a way, he kind of was. Red Skull kept his eyes on Marvel as he walked, peering down the bridge of his nose in a way that screamed 'I think I'm better than you in every way'. 

"Captain Marvel..." the man said slowly, his name sour on the villain's tongue. "I must say, you are not what I had been expecting when I first came across those energy signals..." he said, pausing beside the man's head to lean over slightly and look him in the eyes. "To think that a simple, non-powered object merely touched by you could have so much potential energy trapped inside..."

He reached a calloused, boney hand out, and it was all Marvel could do not to recoil at the sight. The man moved a couple of loose strands of hair out of his face- ironically enough, giving him an imitation of the iconic spit curl Superman sported. His hands were cold- he radiated death. The darkness was suffocating to the light held in Marvel's chest, and he ached to get away from it.

"It causes me to ponder as to just what the living battery could accomplish...if properly harnessed." 

Marvel swallowed thickly as Red Skull stood up straight once more and moved to a small silver table beside the much larger one he was strapped to- how had he missed that? The red-skinned man grabbed a syringe of glowing blue liquid, holding it up and giving Marvel a wicked grin. "Though, we're obviously going to need a more substantial sample to work with...wouldn't you agree?"

Fire flashed through Red Skull's eyes as Captain Marvel strained against the metal entrapping him, bright blue eyes wide as he inched closer. Red Skull plunged the needle into his arm, breaking through the suit and piercing his muscle. He shut his eyes as pain erupted across his skin, the man's grin growing as he emptied the syringe of liquid into Marvel's system. 

It felt like someone he'd been stung by a thousand bees at once, the pain stinging and venomous as it spread from his arm to his chest, making him cry out into the dark room. 

"tsk, tsk, I thought you'd be a better patient than this."

His words were distant, the light above him suddenly too bright, the faint buzzing like cymbals crashing in his ears. His sight was dizzying, his head full of cotton as he tried to fight the urge to blackout. He could fight this- he'd been through worse, this- this was nothing-

There was the distinct sound of scraping metal again before a light appeared at his side, only causing him to screw his eyes shut and cry out again in pain. A cacophony of voices burst into the room, but it was too messy, too garbled for him to understand. There was too much going on at once, his body was on fire and the sound of ear-shattering, clanging metal had him wishing he were dead.

Something clashed against the metal around his ankles, and he faintly realized he could move them now. The thing clashed against the metal around his wrists too, but he was too out of it to move. He could feel something writhing inside of him, something wild and electric, but his mind couldn't reach just what it was- it was fighting back against the invader in his system.

But much like a virus or cold, it was taxing on his body- sapping him of any energy he may have had.

He couldn't find the strength to open his eyes and even try to look around to see what was happening- his resolve was fading, he just wanted to sleep- he wanted to go home, wanted to curl up with his stuffed tiger and sleep until the pain went away. 

The raven blacked out with voices echoing around him.

- - -

"What's the emergency?" Natasha asked as she came into the living room to find Steve, Tony, Thor, Loki, Clint, Sam and Bruce already there and talking. 

"Fucking Crossbones, that's what," Clint said angrily, glaring at the holographic data the group had in front of them. "Bastard took Billy."

Panic flashed through Natasha's eyes before she schooled her expression. "We'll get him back, then."

"We're working on it- Tony says he can track Captain Marvel's magical energies, but-"

"I can, trust me, my satellites have been tuned to the energy readings he gives off. But this- it's- he's not showing up anywhere. None of my satellites are coming back with date from anywhere in the world."

"How is that possible?" Loki asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Something must be blocking the energies from being dispersed into the air," Bruce supplied, bringing a hand up to rub at his chin in thought. "If we had some kind of surge of power, maybe whatever is holding the energies back could be overloaded."

"Depends on what's holding the energies back though, right?" Steve asked, his arms crossed over his chest. Bruce and Tony nodded in reply, eyes still glued to the date in front of them. Steve lowered his gaze in thought as Clint began to pace behind the group and mutter to himself. 

"Loki," he said, glancing towards the demigod. "Could you track him? Surely there's something your magic can do that our science can't," he said, causing Tony to squawk indignantly. 

"I- possibly, I'm not sure," Loki replied, swallowing thickly as multiple eyes turned towards him. "Allow me to try."

The god closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath as he attempted to focus his magic on Billy's. For a few moments that felt like hours, he felt nothing. It made a cold sharpness spike in his chest, dread and fear clutching at him as he pushed his magic out further in a desperate attempt to find the boy. 

"I- I can't sense anything," he said, eyes screwed shut in concentration. He felt a large hand touch his shoulder gently, causing him to tense.

"You can do this brother- I know you can."

"There's- there's something keeping me from sensing him. I'll have to keep-" Loki's eyes snapped open when a flicker of Billy's magical signature rang out through space. "William-" he gasped, staring ahead with wide eyes.

He blinked, shaking his head to clear it with a shuddering breath. "He's... he's in New York."

"He can't be- Hydra doesn't have any bases in New York City," Steve replied, crossing his arms over his chest in confusion. 

The elevator suddenly dinged, opening to reveal Peter running into the lounge as he tugged on his mask. The teenager tossed his backpack to the side, panting as he came to a stop. "I came as quick as I could- where's Billy?" he asked, concern heavy in his voice as he glanced around the group.

"Apparently, he's in New York somehow," Tony replied, brow furrowed in thought.

"The state, Stark, not the city..." Loki said with a roll of his eyes, leaning slightly against Thor. "Ngh...he's upstate," the god continued. "I'm not sure where exactly, but his magical signature appeared out of nowhere."

"Upstate New York..." Tony replied, bringing up a holo-map of the area. "The only things that are upstate are one of Stark Industries' warehouses and-" Tony paused, lighting up in realization. "Of course! Professor Xavier's Institute!" he said, fingers flitting across holograms in order to bring up an image of the mansion that belonged to the mutant. 

"What is he doing there, though?' Natasha asked, her brow furrowed in question.

"Let's go find out," Steve replied, picking up his shield and shouldering it.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"Let's go find out," Steve replied, picking up his shield and shouldering it.

- - -

Billy woke up to the sound of birds chirping. His head ached as he opened his eyes slowly, blinking against the soft light coming in through the window. A sense of deja vu washed over him as he blinked himself awake, staring up at an ornate ceiling above him. 

He tried to sit up, only have a sudden wave of exhaustion rush through him, causing him to sway in the bed he was laying in.

"Whoa there, honey, slow down," a voice said from nowhere, causing the boy to glance around the room in a tired confusion. The door to the room opened, revealing a long-haired redhead with a tray in her hands. "Take it easy," she continued, though the boy only just now realized she hadn't even opened her mouth.

She set the tray down beside the bed and opened the window beside the boy's bed a little wider before taking a seat. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?" she asked, finally opening her mouth to speak. She must have been a telepath, then.

"Tired..." Billy mumbled, watching her sleepily. He paused at the sound of his voice- his 13-year-old voice, tensing slightly in bed. The redhead chuckled, glancing towards the bowl of oatmeal she'd brought in on the tray. 

"Professor Xavier says you're one of the Avengers," she said, her eyes following the ceramic bowl as it floated up from the wooden tray and into Billy's lap. The raven swallowed thickly, glancing down at it before looking back up at her. "It's okay," she continued, setting her hands into her lap.

"I'm Jean Grey," she said, glancing between Billy and the bowl resting in his lap. 

He glanced down at the bowl warily, instincts telling him not to eat it, that he had no idea what was in it. "Your name's Billy, right?" the woman continued, her voice warm and encouraging as the raven looked up at her.

Definitely a telepath.

"It's okay, that won't hurt you. You need to eat something to help you get back on your feet, okay?" 

He nodded slowly, picking up the spoon and taking a bite of the warm mush. Wait, had she said something about Professor Xavier? Wasn't that the telepath Tony had called in to help the Winter Soldier?

"So that's why he left for Avengers tower then," Jean replied, getting a furrowed brow from the boy in response.

"That's rude," he mumbled, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. "You should know better than to snoop through people's thoughts like that," he said, upset eyes still on her. Jean blinked, bringing a hand up to rub the back of her neck guiltily.

"Sorry..." she replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Billy tensed again when the door to the room opened, revealing Professor Xavier himself along with a brown-haired man in a bright red visor. "Ah, Billy- glad to see that you're awake," the old man said she was wheeled into the room, his chair stopping beside the bed as Jean stood. 

"I take it that Jean here was kind?" he asked, only to get a scrunched up face from the 13-year-old.

"She needs to learn some telepathic etiquette," he muttered with a slight pout, causing the brown-haired man to snort. 

"I see," Professor Xavier replied, raising a brow at the redhead. "Why don't you two give us some privacy, hm? I have some things I'd like to discuss with our guest, here," he said, the pair nodding before leaving the room. 

"My apologies for my students... sometimes they simply can't help themselves," he said, folding his hands in his lap. "How are you feeling?" he asked as Billy started eating once more. 

"Fine... 'm a little sore though," Billy replied through a mouth full of oatmeal, causing Xavier to grin and shake his head slightly.

"I'd imagine so- I can't imagine what that vile organization must have put you through before we managed to get you out of there," the old man replied, leaning on one of the armrests of his wheelchair. 

"I don't know if they got a chance to do much of anything, really," Billy replied, playing with the spoon in the mush that filled the bowl in his lap. "I mean, it- it's a bit of a blur right now... but I remember that Red Skull, he... he wanted to harness my magic," he said, grip tightening ever so slightly as he thought of the overwhelming sense of wrong he'd felt when he'd been unable to call upon his magic. 

"I... I don't know if he was successful or not, though."

"Let's hope not," Xavier replied, leaning back in his chair as his gaze drifted towards the open window. "It's a wonderful day out. Do you think you'd be up for a short walk?" he asked, tilting his head slightly as he glanced back down at the boy. "I'm sure the Avengers are already on their way here to collect you. Why don't I give you a tour in the meantime?" 

Billy rolled a shoulder- other than the ache in his upper arm, he felt fine- sure, he was tired, but it wasn't anything worse than how he'd felt before on the streets after a particularly heavy rainstorm or a night spent running from CPS or dealers.

He missed Professor Xavier shifting his gaze away from the boy with a soft, shaky breath as he set the bowl down on the tray Jean had left behind. 

"Sure... but what is this place?" 

"It's a school for gifted youngsters like yourself."

"What does that mean?"

Professor Xavier chuckled. "I'll show you."

- - -

Billy followed the old man down a long and ornate hallway, lined with trophy cases and picture frames displaying all kinds of students- though, the thing that threw Billy for a loop was that it looked like all the students that went here had superpowers. 

Why hadn't the League thought of something like this?

Oh wait, yeah...they didn't think kids should even be in the hero business. 

"That there is the mess hall- and across the hall is one of the study rooms," Charles (as the man had asked Billy to refer to him as) said, wheeling himself down the hallway. "By the way, Billy," he said as they passed a classroom full of kids sitting in desks with that smelly guy with the claws in yellow up front ranting about something. 

The raven glanced down at him, tilting his head in question. "Yeah?" 

"I've been thinking about your predicament," he said as they turned a corner and came to a large room with a twin set of spiral staircases leading up to a second floor. The back doors, which were made of glass, opened on their own as the pair approached. 

"My predicament?" Billy asked, tilting his head slightly in question. Wait- did he mean how he was stuck here? 

"Precisely," Charles replied, though whether that was to his thoughts or his words, Billy wasn't sure. "I remember Captain Rogers saying something about how you were from another dimension, yes?" the telepath asked, glancing up at the raven as they made their way down into the vast backyard behind the mansion-turned-academy. 

Billy nodded, brow furrowed as he listened to the old man. Surely he didn't have some kind of student that could open up dimensional rifts, did he?

The raven paused at the sight of a pair of teenagers messing around in the courtyard, watching as one guy, who was seemingly made entirely out of ice, attempted to hit a blue-skinned guy with a tail. The blue-skinned one caught sight of them and gasped, tripping over his own feet and vanishing into thin air. 

He reappeared in front of the pair, landing on the ground with a grunt and glancing up at them with a tilt of his head. "Oh, hey professor," the teenager said with a toothy grin, his gaze flitting towards Billy. "I'm glad to see you're okay, kid," he continued, standing up and dusting himself off. 

"I- uhm, thank you?" Billy asked, furrowing his brow in question as he glanced towards Charles.

"Kurt here is the one who managed to get you out of that facility once Logan freed you," the old man explained, causing Billy to 'oh' audibly.

"Well, thank you, Kurt," Billy replied, giving the taller man a grin. The blue-skinned man grinned, nodding in reply. 

"You're much smaller like this- it's cute," Kurt said with a grin, only to get a look from Professor Xavier. "Oh uh- not in a bad way, I just- uh, you-" He was interrupted by a sudden snowball slamming into the side of his head, causing him to glance back towards where he'd come from.

"Excuse me," he said, vanishing in a puff of smoke and reappearing in the air above the man made of ice in order to tackle him to the ground. Billy couldn't help but laugh at the sight, shaking his head at the familiarity of the interaction. 

"Is everybody here wild and crazy like that?" the 13-year-old asked, glancing back down at Xavier as they continued their walk through the gardens. 

"Well, it is a school full of children with superpowers, so..." Charles trailed off, glancing upwards towards the sky. "The Avengers are approaching. Come, we'd best get to the landing pad," he said, rolling down the sidewalk a bit quicker.

"So what was that you were talking about with me and my, uh, predicament?" Billy asked as they made their way towards an open, grassy field.

"Ah, yes- well, the X-Men often come into possession of certain artifacts that have been deemed too dangerous to fall into villainous hands," Charles said as he came to a stop on the grass. "One such artifact's that we've recently collected is that of this little green and gold gem."

"A gem? So, what, it's like a Dreamstone or something?" he asked, ignoring the fact that the professor would have no idea what he was referring to.

"Well, from what I've been told, we think that this gem- this Siege Perilous, as it's been called, may have the ability to open a rift in the universe- to create a portal to another world. On its own, there's no telling where it could lead... but I'm sure there's a way that we could harness this power and channel it somehow. Perhaps we could aim it, in a sense, towards your universe..."

Billy's eyes widened- he'd heard that name before.

"...and send me home."

Charles grinned, nodding slowly. "Precisely."

The raven felt his heart skip a beat at these words- thus far him getting home had been an if, something that had still been up in the air, something that he'd been able to ponder if it was something he'd be okay with losing. The idea of him being unable to go home, being stuck in this universe for the rest of his life had been a thought he'd steadily come to actually...like. 

Now that him going home was a certainty, something that could actually happen-

The idea made him queasy. 

Sure, he'd wrestled with the idea before- talked to Peter about it, but now... now it felt like a death sentence. It felt like his path was being laid out in front of him, like he was stuck in the lane, like he wasn't going to get a say in this after all.

This was the thing Dr. Strange had told him about, and now that he knew where it was-

He'd have to tell him.

"That's- that's amazing, Professor..." he heard himself say as the rumble of a jet came into earshot. He glanced up hollowly, his heart aching at the sight of the now very familiar quinjet descending above them. 

Charles was watching him closely, his gaze searching for something as Billy raised a hand to try and block the wind from his eyes. 

The pair watched as the sleek black jet landed and the field, the ramp opening up slightly and allowing Hawkeye to force his way through the small space with a leap and run towards the 13-year-old. Billy brightened at the sight of the sandy blonde, a smile appearing on his face immediately as the man collapsed to his knees and pulled him into a tight hug.

"Fuck's sake, squirt- I was so worried," he said, clutching the 13-year old tightly as the ramp behind him came down fully and the rest of the Avengers followed suit. Clint pulled back to look the kid in the eyes, panic still echoing in his gaze. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Clint, I'm okay," he said, only for Steve to take a knee beside the archer and give Billy a concerned look of his own. He set a hand on the boy's shoulder, his touch warm.

"You sure, son? Loki says you were...dark, in a sense."

Billy nodded, placing his own hand atop Steve's gloved one. "I'm alright, Steve, just tired."

"Thank you, Professor. Seriously. I don't know how you found him, but thank you," Tony said, his hands in his suit pockets as he spoke to Xavier. The old man waved him off before folding his hands. 

"No need to thank us, Mr. Stark. We weren't going to leave an ally in trouble in a dangerous situation."

"Still- thank you. Where was this place anyway?" he asked as Clint finally allowed Billy some room to breathe and stood up. Billy walked over to the adults and couldn't help the grin that spread across his face when Tony instinctively reached out to ruffle his mop of black hair. 

"From what I was told, it was Canada. Logan and a scouting party were on the hunt for Sabertooth and managed to stumble upon the base after Hank registered some massive energy readings coming from a convoy truck. They followed and eventually ended up in the same place as Billy here," Charles explained, his gaze flitting towards the boy before looking back up at Tony.

"We were lucky to be able to get him out of there at all- they had him chained up in adamantium."

A tense air flickered through the group of assembled heroes, causing Billy to furrow his brow in confusion. What was adamantium? Was that the weird metal he'd been trapped under? It had to be, right?

"So add magical dampening to the list of things adamantium can do..." Bruce said, rubbing at his chin absently. "As if it wasn't a pain enough already to deal with..."

"Regardless," Steve said, taking a step forward, "You have our gratitude, Professor."

"Come on kid, let's get you home- Loki's worried sick about you," Tony said, causing Billy to chuckle in response. Now that- that didn't surprise him. 

"Gee, how can you tell?" Natasha asked with an unimpressed raise of the brow.

"You know, the angry ranting really is a bit of a tip-off," Tony replied with a smirk as the group turned tail and made their way back towards the jet.

Billy hung back for a moment, watching the Avengers climb aboard the vehicle before glancing back towards the Professor. "I...I'll get back to you, professor... um, about- about the siege perilous thing. I'll tell Tony about it," he said, giving the old man a half-smile before hoofing it across the lawn and clambering up the ramp of the jet.

"Alright, buckle up meatheads, time to go home," Natasha said from the pilot's seat, a grin on her face as the jet powered up.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"Alright, buckle up meatheads, time to go home," Natasha said from the pilot's seat, a grin on her face as the jet powered up.

- - -

Billy hopped off the end of the ramp and landed on the helipad with a thud, lost in his own thoughts as he walked towards the tower. He wasn't aware anyone was speaking to him until he was dangling a couple of feet of the floor, held at arm's length by Loki.

The god was staring at him with a worried look, but upon seeing the boy come back to himself, he pulled him into a tight hug. "I was worried about you, you foolish mortal," he grumbled, squeezing him before setting him down slowly.

"What in the nine realms were you thinking? What happened?" He asked, kneeling down in front of the 13-year-old and grabbing his hands. "Your magic's still weak...William, what did they do to you?"

"I'm- I'm alright, Loki," Billy said, pulling his hands away from the god and taking a step back. "They tied me up, that's all..." he said, unaware of the look Tony and Steve shared behind him. "Trust me, it's not the worst situation I've been in," he continued, rubbing his neck before he was suddenly swept up into a bone-crushing hug.

The boy wheezed, glancing to his left to find Peter holding him tightly, his face buried in the raven's back. "Nobody tells me anything around here," Peter's muffled voice said from behind, finally setting Billy down on the ground once more. "You're okay, right? No lasting damage? No scars?" he asked, causing Billy to chuckle. 

"You laugh, but you'd be surprised how often one of those things ends up being a product of missions gone wrong," Tony said as he passed, ruffling the pair's heads as he strutted into the tower. The rest of the group trailed along after him, Peter analyzing Billy as they walked towards the living room, the awe-inspiring sight of the setting sun over New York hardly even a thought in anyone's mind.

"I'm fine, Peter, really," Billy said as he clambered onto the couch, leaning back into the plush pillows. "I'm a tough urchin," he said off-handily, resting his head against his arm as Peter sat down beside him.

"Urchin?" Bruce asked with a raise of the eyebrow, a slightly concerned smile on his face. "Whatcha mean by that?" 

Billy's smile fractured slightly before straining, his body tensing as he tried to come up with some kind of reason. He glanced towards Steve, was giving him a knowing look- he'd forgotten about that little slip up in DC...it was a wonder the super-soldier hadn't said anything up until this point about it. "I- uh, well-" he stammered, only to gain the furrowed brow of Natasha for his efforts.

"What are you not telling us, Billy?" she asked, crossing her arms over his chest as she stood behind the couch and looked down at him. 

"N-Nothing! I'm not- it's nothing, you don't have to worry about it, really," Billy said, giving her a nervous smile and raising his hands in a placating manner. "I'm serious!" he continued at her unimpressed look.

Clint was watching him closely, studying his face- Steve was watching him, silently urging him to come clean- Natasha was analyzing him, Bruce was giving him a concerned look, Thor looked utterly confused by the whole situation--

Billy sighed, his shoulders slumping.

"Fine," he said, clearing his throat slightly. "It's- how do I put this," he said, bringing a hand up to chew on his thumbnail. "It's not as big of a deal as you're gonna think it is, okay?" he said, glancing around the enraptured group. 

This just got him even more confused looks, and a narrowed pair of eyes from Natasha.

"Back home...um... well, back in my world I don't...exactly...have a home. Well, not in the traditional sense- sometimes I stay the night in the House of Mystery with John whenever its mystical fields pass over Fawcett City, and other times I hunker down in one of the buildings on Hawks street-"

"You're homeless..." Bruce said slowly, his eyes widening in worried shock. 

Billy sighed, bringing a hand up to rub at his neck again. "It sounds worse than it really is, trust me-"

"How- how long have you been homeless, kid?" Clint asked, cutting off his explanation before he could even start.

"Uh, well..."

Tony furrowed his brows, leaning over the edge of the couch and giving him a worried look.

Billy sighed. "Since I was ten... I jumped around from foster home to foster home from when I was six to when I was nine, and then I just... didn't go back when they finally threw me out for the last time. I've been on my own for a while, it's nothing I'm not used to," he said, trying to shrug off the looks he knew he was getting.

He simply dropped his gaze to the carpet below, ignoring the Spider-Man-themed sneakers covering his feet. 

"What..." Loki started, allowing thickly before continuing. "What happened to your parents, William?"

A bittersweet smile crossed his face at the thought of his mom and dad; Their warm smiles, the gentle touches, the sound of his mother's laugh, his father's bear hugs- he hadn't sat down and really thought about them in so long. He'd long since accepted what happened to them... but it still hurt to think about.

He swallowed, bringing a hand up to swipe at the tears beating in the corners of his eyes. "They uh..." he sniffled. "They were archeologists," he started. He'd always been proud of his parents' jobs- they loved what they did and loved learning new things- something they'd instilled in their son at a very young age. 

"They went on this dig in Egypt...I was supposed to go with 'em, but I got- got sick a couple of days before and ended up st-staying home..." he said, ignoring the hitching off his breath that he was unable to keep down as he spoke.

The room was silent as he spoke, the air tense and sad as he bit his lip hard in an attempt to ground himself. 

"The temple collapsed..." he breathed, shutting his eyes tightly as the memory of the nanny coming into his room came to his mind. She'd held him tight for so long as he cried... when was the last time he'd cried like that?

He sniffled, rubbing at his eyes with his palms in an attempt to wipe the hot tears away. "I- I tried to be g-good," he stammered, unaware that he was crossing into blubbering territory. "they to-told me to be g-good and good would f-follow," he continued, his breath hitching as he spoke. "I w-was good, b-but I kept getting blamed for stuff and th-the other kids didn't like m-me-"

He hiccuped.

There was a sudden warmth surrounding him, causing the raven to open his eyes. He found Peter clutching him tightly, hugging him as if he were trying to protect him from the entire world. He pulled the smaller boy into his lap and pushed him against his chest, allowing Billy to bury his face in the teenager's warm sweater.

Something inside him broke, and he found himself sobbing against the 16-year-old, snot and tears soiling the fabric as Billy grappled with it. Peter simply held him, arms wrapped fully around him as one moved to rub his back in small circles. 

He didn't say anything- he didn't need to. Peter had told Billy before that he'd lost his own parents when he was only five- he knew this pain well.

"I...I think it's time for bed," Tony said after a moment, his voice low as he placed a hand on Peter's shoulder. "I'll call your aunt and tell her you're staying the night," he said before squeezing his shoulder and walking off.

"You heard him," Clint said, standing up and glancing towards the reach of the group. "Let's get some shut-eye...we've all had a long day," he said, patting Billy's back gently as he passed the pair. Peter stood, easily taking BIlyl with him and carrying him towards the raven's room as the group began to disperse. 

He shut the door behind him with a nudge of his foot, walking towards the bed and plopping down on the edge. Billy's curtains were still drawn open, casting the bedroom in a peachy golden light. The raven in question pulled back slowly from Peter's chest, sniffling and rubbing away the snot from his nose with the edge of his sleeve. 

"Sorry..." he mumbled, only for Peter to chuckle in response. 

"No worries. Everybody needs a good cry every once in a while, right?" he said, tilting his head with a sad smile. "You feeling any better?" 

Billy nodded slowly. "Yeah...I-I think so."

"Good- cause I think it's time for a showdown," Peter replied, maneuvering his way around the boy and bolting over to the large TV that looked like it had remained untouched in the near-four months Billy had been with them already.

"Mr. Stark said he had Smash bros..." the teenage hero mumbled to himself as he searched the shelves for video games. "Aha!" he said happily, pulling out the video game and hooking it up to the system attached to the TV. "You wanna play?" he asked, glancing back at Billy as he brought a pair of controllers to the bed.

The 13-year-old just shook his head, happy to wrap himself up in his comforter and lean against Peter as he started a game.

- - -

Billy woke up to find Peter snoring beside him, controllers still strapped to his wrists as he slept. The raven lifted his head to glance around the darkened room, looking towards the window to find the moon still hanging in the sky. A glance towards the clock by his bed told him it was 3 am, and that he should definitely be asleep.

The boy ignored this thought in favor of covering Peter with the comforter and sliding off the edge of the bed. His feet hit the soft carpet and he glanced back towards Peter to find him bundling the comforter around him snuggly. He grinned softly and made his way towards the bedroom door.

He may not have been meant to be awake at this hour, but it wasn't the first time he'd been up in the bewitching hours- and it certainly wouldn't be the last. He padded down the darkened hall and towards the kitchen, intent on getting a glass of water for his dry throat. 

Billy paused at the sound of a distant crash, his head snapping in the direction of Tony's lab. Was he still awake? The boy blinked, glancing towards the kitchen one more time before heading towards the door that led to Tony's lab.

The raven made his way down the stairs and around a corner to peer through the glass wall of the lab, finding Tony sitting at one of the workbenches with his head in his hand. A few feet from him sat a knocked-over tool cart, the various wrenches, soldering torches and micro saws scattered about the ground. That explained the sound- but it didn't explain Tony's state. 

With a flick of the man's wrist, a hologram was brought up, displaying what looked like a strange, warped version of one of Tony's armors. He brought his hand down to scrub at his face, rubbing grease into his eyebrows before folding his hands in front of him and staring at the blueprints as if they'd personally offended him. 

Billy took another step down, finding the glass doors opening automatically for him and allowing him access to the lab. At this sound, Tony turned his head and looked at him, blinking at the 13-year-old as his hardened expression softened. 

"Kid? What're you doin' up?" he asked, tilting his head ever-so-slightly and obviously ignoring the irony of that question. 

Billy swallowed thickly, wringing his hands as his gaze flicked between the hologram and the genius himself. "I woke up and I was thirsty, but I heard a crash and got worried," he said, taking another step into the lab. Tony sighed, leaning back in his chair and nodding slowly. 

"Sorry about that- got a bit frustrated," he said, looking back at the holograms in front of him before shaking his head at them. "How are you feeling?"

Billy shrugged. "I'm alright..." he trailed off, glancing up at the suit.

"What is that thing? A new armor?" Billy asked, trying to change the subject and continuing to make his way through the lab and closer to the billionaire- stepping over an overturned waste bin full of papers as he went. As he got closer, though, he realized he'd seen that hologram before.

"Oh- is that Arsenal?"

"Yeah..." Tony said, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at the specs. "I've been staring at this thing for so long I can't tell what's wrong with it anymore..." he said, glancing down at the boy. "But yeah, it's Arsenal."

"You said you'd been working on Arsenal since New York," Billy said after a moment, reaching out to spin the schematics that floated in front of him.

"Wasn't that like, 2 years ago?" he asked, and Tony nodded with a sigh.

"Yup."

"So...Arsenal's, like, a satellite or something? The League has something kinda like this- we use it to keep an eye on crime all over the world," Billy said, finally reaching the man and looking up at the blueprints.

"Is yours controlled by an AI?" Tony asked, raising a brow as he picked the boy up and set him on the edge of the counter. 

Billy shook his head in response, reaching out to touch the hologram and causing a 3D-model of a strange suit to appear. "Well, this AI would be able to deploy these specialty-made suits and take out any criminal threat it would need to- I'm just having trouble figuring out how to get the AI right, though..."

"That's so cool!" Billy said, lighting up as he spun the automated suit. 

"Yeah- it's just harder than you'd think to program an AI to be able to tell right from wrong, assess what situations require what amount of force, etcetera..." Tony replied, leaning back in his chair once more. "I'm stuck on it- I've been stuck on it for nearly a month now."

"Ever thought about incorporating magic?" Billy asked, kicking his legs back and forth. "Usually magic can help iron out some of the creases when it comes to hard science stuff," he continued. 

Tony gave him a smirk, shaking his head at the idea.

"I'm serious! I bet you could convince Loki or Dr. Strange to help you out- this sounds like it could save a lot of people... why wouldn't they help out?"

The billionaire sighed, continuing to stare at the schematics as if an answer would suddenly jump out at him. He brought a hand up to rub at his face again, wiping more grease across his cheek and causing Billy to laugh.

"What?" the brunet asked, only for Billy to grab a discarded rag and hold it out to him. "Ah."

After wiping his face the billionaire stood, scooping Billy up like a sack of potatoes and holding him at his side as he made his way out of the lab. The boy laughed and squirmed against his grip as Tony heaved him up and over his shoulder, carrying him upstairs and into the living room. He deposited the boy on the couch before plopping down beside him, settling into the plush material easily. 

"Leave that for tomorrow- for now, we should both catch up on sleep," he said, settling against the armrest as he grabbed the TV remote and flicked it on. Billy grinned, grabbing the throw blanket that had been folded over the back of the couch and plopping down on top of Tony's chest. 

The old man wheezed, chuckling as Billy settled against the arc reactor and covered both himself and the genius with the blanket. It was weird just how much of a cuddle-bug he'd become ever since arriving in this dimension- maybe it was because everyone was so charitable with their small touches and hugs towards him- maybe it was because he'd been touched starved ever since his parents died. 

He didn't know- nor did he really care, he thought as he snuggled up against the cool metal embedded in Tony's chest. Billy closed his eyes and listened to the soft hum of the device through the billionaire's shirt, drifting to sleep as the sounds of commercials washed over him.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

He didn't know- nor did he really care, he thought as he snuggled up against the cool metal embedded in Tony's chest. Billy closed his eyes and listened to the soft hum of the device through the billionaire's shirt, drifting to sleep as the sounds of commercials washed over him.

- - -

Billy balanced a large platter of food precariously as the glass doors opened for him with a whoosh. 

"Are you sure about this, William?" Jarvis's voice came from the ceiling, causing the boy to grin in response. He nodded as he brought the platter full of snacks closer to the large glass containment unit in the center of the room.

"It's fine Jarvis- there's a reason I offered to hang back while the Avengers went to check on one of the X-Men's Hydra leads," the boy replied, coming to a stop in front of the cell and watching the assassin that lay practically motionless on the bed.

"Hey," Billy said, gaining the man's attention as he rapt his knuckles on the glass. The shaggy-haired man looked at him, sitting up slowly and watching him closely. Billy simply smiled in return, causing confusion to bloom in Bucky Barnes' eyes.

"I, um, I thought you might like a change of pace," he said, holding the platter full of various snacks up a little higher. "I got some snacks..." the boy continued, glancing down at the tray before looking back at the man on the other side of the cell.

"Tony says he finally managed to get access to that memory machine... it's supposed to help you out, I think," he said, taking a seat in front of the cell and placing his hand against the glass. A small opening revealed itself at the bottom, allowing the boy to slide the tray inside before closing it back up.

Barnes simply watched him from his spot on the bed; the same thing he'd done the last two times Billy had been in here to see him. 

The raven brought his hand up to rub at his nose, folding his legs beneath him and tilting his head at the man. "I'm not gonna hurt you, you know," he said, causing the assassin to narrow his eyes at the boy. "What, you don't believe me or something?" Billy asked with a chuckle.

His smile faded when he saw Bucky glancing down at the tray of snacks before meeting Billy's gaze once more. "Oh...right, here, lemme show you it's not poisoned or anything," he said, opening the glass up once more and shoving his arm inside in an attempt to grab the platter. 

He must have shoved it too far in, though, cause he wasn't quite able to reach the tray. Billy laid down on his stomach in order to reach, the tips of his fingers nearly touching the tray before he let out a huff and dropped his forehead against the cold floor.

Great- how was he supposed to show Mr. Barnes he was just trying to help now?

Billy felt something bump against his hand, and he lifted his head to find Mr. Barnes nudging the tray closer to the boy with the toe of his boot. His gaze was dark, but his eyes were tired. Billy brightened, a small smile appearing on his face and causing the super soldier to avert his eyes. 

He didn't move back towards the bed, though, so Billy considered it a win. He stayed where he was, looming over the raven as Billy pulled the tray back through the opening and tore open a package of crackers. "I like these ones a lot- peanut butter may not be my favorite thing to eat, but it's really filling so that's a good thing when you don't have access to a lot of food at a time," he said through a mouth filled with crackers and peanut butter, unaware of the weak spark he'd just lit inside the man.

"Do you like peanut butter?" he asked, taking another cracker before setting the rest of the package back down on the tray and sliding it through the opening. Bucky looked down at it as it bumped into his boot before lifting his gaze to stare at the 13-year-old still happily munching on the snack in his hand.

He slowly sat down on the floor, his movements fluid and silent as he folded his legs under himself. He watched the boy eat before picking up one of the remaining cracker sandwiches in the small plastic packages and turning it over in his hand.

Billy grinned at him, shoving the rest of his own cracker in his mouth and picking himself up off the floor in order to mirror Bucky's sitting position. "It's okay if you don't like it, I just grabbed some stuff that was inside the cabinets. I think there's some dried plum chips there and some regular crackers and sunflower seeds too," Billy said as he tilted his head at the man and chose to continue rambling.

"I was gonna snatch some of Tony's freeze-dried blueberries, but he gets really testy when he can't find any and that's not really fun for anyone," he said, laying back down casually and jutting his hand through the opening of the slot fearlessly, palm up and open.

"Can you hand me another peanut butter cracker please?" he asked, causing the assassin in front of him to blink slowly and stare at his hand- he furrowed his brow ever so slightly at the golden band that encircled Billy's wrist as he slowly set the opened package of peanut butter crackers in the boy's waiting palm.

"Oh, my bracelet?" he asked, pulling his hand back through the hole and sitting back up as if he hadn't just shoved his hand into the metaphorical tiger's den with the confidence of someone petting a housecat. "It's magic- Dr. Strange and Loki had to enchant it so my atoms didn't tear themselves apart," he said, munching on a cracker as he watched Barnes grab a bag of dried plum slices slowly. 

The boy paid no mind to it, making it known that it wasn't a big deal that the assassin actually took him up on his food offer, continuing to talk about the bracelet.

"I'm not actually supposed to be here," he said after a moment, swallowing thickly and lifting his wrist up to look at it in earnest. His gaze turned sad ever so slightly, the weight on his shoulders making itself known once more. 

He heaved a sigh, dropping his hand and letting his gaze fall to the floor as the wind that had been carrying him dropped him like a stone. "I know I have to go back...I don't belong here, and it's obvious that my being here is just- it's making things harder on the Avengers than it needs to be..." he said slowly, his light blue eyes full of sadness as he spoke- full of defeat. 

Billy stood, abandoning his snack, picking himself up off the floor, and starting to pace. The assassin on the other side of the glass wall watched him silently, the only sound coming from his end being the slow, soft crunching of dried plum as he slid them into his mouth.

"I mean who knows how much of my magic Hydra actually has now-" he paused at the sight of tension suddenly flooding the winter soldier's frame, swallowing thickly before changing his line of thought.

"Um, I- I mean... well, it's just that magic is everywhere where I come from, woven into the very fabric of the universe, and here it's so... it's so.... scarce... it's nothing like I'm used to, and with no Rock of Eternity to ground it all it's just..."

Billy shook his head, shoving the thoughts from his mind before another quickly replaced it and caused him to huff.

"I- I have a way to get back, I know where the thing is... but I just..." 

"I don't know why this keeps being such a big deal for me. I-" he swallowed thickly, hands balling into fists at his sides as he came to a stop. He lifted a hand to rub at his eye, trying to force down the tears that had begun to bead in his eyes. "I gotta go back...I- I don't belong here..." he breathed shakily, as if trying to convince himself that this fact was true.

"But I want to."

He glanced back towards Barnes, who was staring at him fully, a familiar spark of recognition in the man's eyes. "I..." he dropped his gaze. "I want so badly to belong here...to have a real family here..." he hugged himself, his nails digging into the soft skin of his arms.

"But it feels like that's impossible."

He drew in a shaky breath before meeting the Winter Soldier's steely grey eyes once more. "Have you ever felt...caught between two worlds? Like- like everyone expects you to do one thing, but you can't help but feel like- like it's wrong?" he asked, his voice shaky and small as he stared at the enigmatic man.

"You have no idea, kid..." he heard the man mutter under his breath.

He blinked, a small smile appearing on his face as he took a step closer to the cell and putting his hands up against the electrified glass. "Mr. Barnes, I'm- I'm gonna try to help you before I have to go...if that's alright with you, I mean," he said, watching as something sparked inside the man's cold eyes- as if the simple act of giving the man a choice meant everything to him.

The man nodded once before standing, the bag of dried plums still in his hand as he toed the tray through the hole and towards the boy. Billy smiled in response, grabbing the tray and turning on his heel to leave.

He paused, though, to glance over his shoulder at the assassin who had taken up residence on his cot once more. "Um...th-thanks for listening to me ramble..." he said, quirking a half-smile towards the brunet. "Sorry I babbled at you."

Billy could have sworn he saw the man give him a hint of a smile before it vanished- he turned on his heel and left the room, thinking idly that he should put more dried plums on the shopping list that hung on the fridge.  

- - -

"Kid!"

John sat up in bed with a jolt, breathing heavily as sweat dripped down his forehead. He brought a hand up to his head, wincing as he threw his legs over the edge of the couch and leaned forward, trying to calm his racing heart as he set his elbows on his knees.

"Bloody Hell..." he muttered, scrabbling blindly for the box of cigarettes he'd set the night previous on the end table. Grabbing a cigarette and snapping his finger to set them ablaze, he drew in a deep breath before blowing it out and dropping his head once more.

"Johnny? You alright there mate?" the voice came from the kitchen, causing the blonde to let out a shaky breath before lifting his head to find a man with dark hair poking his head through the doorway. "Heard you yellin'."

"I'm- I'm fine, Chas," John replied, rubbing a hand over his face as he leaned back into the couch cushions. 

"Don't sound fine, mate. You haven't had a good night's sleep in three days- what happened at the Rock that's got you so riled up like this?" Chas asked, leaning against the doorframe as he wiped down a plate with a towel. 

John shook his head, taking another drag from his cigarette. "The kid...had an experience of...some kind... with him. Said he was in another universe," he said, giving Chas a look when the man raised an eyebrow at his words. "Been spendin' all my waking hours since lookin' over bloody spellbooks."

"Have you thought about tellin' the League? They might have somethin' that could get him back," Chas asked, rolling with the weirdness that came with John's line of work- Christ, he loved that man like a brother.

"Can't. I highly doubt those sods have anything that can open portals into other universes, for one- and for two, you know they don't know the kid's identity," John replied, standing up and shoving his cigarette into his mouth as he grabbed his trenchcoat and tugged it on. 

"Dr. Fate might be up there- didn't you say something once upon a time about him havin' mystical powers 'unlike anything you've ever seen' or somethin' like that?" Chas continued, watching the blonde puff out some smoke before taking the cigarette out of his mouth. 

"I'd rather summon the arse here than go up there and blow the kid's cover to everyone," John replied before snuffing out the stick in an ashtray. He rolled his neck with a grunt before shoving his hands into his coat pockets. "I'll be in the study if you need me..." 

Chas sighed, shaking his head at the blonde before turning on his heel and heading back into the kitchen. John made his way towards the old study with a sigh, running a hand through his hair in frustration as he thought about the kid he'd come to have a begrudging kinship with.

None of this made any sense- he hadn't even thought it possible to open a portal to another universe. Another dimension? Sure. That was easy, there had been plenty of times where he himself had gone dimension-hopping in a spell of boredom, but complete and total universes?

Viewing those things was one thing.

Traveling though...that was a whole other beast. 

There was no telling what that would do to the kid's atoms, not to mention his magic. The balance of wherever he'd been thrust into would probably be tipped and there was no way the kid was just gonna stay low and not interfere with anything.

No, this was Billy sodding Batson, of course, if he saw a bloody kitten in a tree, he was gonna get it out. 

Damn that kid's bleeding heart.

The Hellblazer shook the thoughts from his head and tried to think of something else- anything else.

The kid had been gone for four days by this point, and John had been running himself ragged trying to find some kind of spell to either get the boy back or find some deity or sorcerer that could.

His best option was probably the Lord of Order himself, that bloody sod Doctor Fate, but if John was honest with himself- he feared what would happen if he asked the sorcerer and...and he couldn't. He'd put off going to speak to the man, not for fear of going up to the Watchtower (though he did dislike the place), but because he wasn't sure what he'd do if the man told him it was beyond his capabilities.

The blonde sighed and took a seat at the desk, the same one where he'd gone through spellbook after spellbook trying to find some way to bring Billy Batson home. 

"I'll figure out somethin' kid...just hold on a little longer."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"I'll figure out somethin' kid...just hold on a little longer."

- - -

Billy swung his legs idly as he watched Clint and Natasha go back and forth in the ring, wincing for the archer when Natasha gracefully flipped through the air, sailing over his head and landing on her feet in a crouch before managing to sweep Clint's legs out from under him. 

"That's four to nothing, Clint," Natasha said with a smirk, offering her hand to the man as he grumbled about the fight being unfair since he didn't have his bow on him. 

"Quit your whining," she replied before tossing a towel in the blonde's face. Clint chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as Billy snickered from the sidelines. 

"Better watch it pipsqueak, or you'll be making up covered in feathers and glue," Clint said, rubbing his face down with the towel before tossing it towards the 13-year-old. Billy caught it with a laugh, shaking his head at the man in response.

"Your turn, kid," Natasha said with a grin, motioning him forth with her hand and causing clint to coo at him. 

"Oooohhhh..... Billy's gonna get his ass kicked," he teased, hoisting himself up onto one of the corner poles of the ring. 

"Ignore him- I noticed your punches are really messy," she said, tilting her head at the boy as he came closer. "Has no one ever showed you how to punch right?'

Billy shrugged, giving the redhead a lop-sided grin. "I mean, there's not much use if every punch can knock a bad guy out cold," he replied, tossing the towel towards Clint. She gave him an unimpressed look in response, and he could tell where this was leading.

"It may not make a difference when you Captain Marvel, but you should know how to throw a punch for when you're Billy Batson," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Come on, on the mat," she continued, and the boy obeyed.

"Natasha, it's fi-"

"Hold your hand like this," she said, making a fist and setting her arm up to guard her face. He sighed and mimicked her movements, positioning himself with a pointed look. She adjusted his arm and sunk back into her own pose. "Widen your stance- wide enough to ground yourself, but not so wide that you feel unbalanced, okay?"

Again, he did as he was told, spreading his feet slightly and sinking down into a guarded pose. 

"Good- now when you're punching, you have to follow through and make sure not to twist your wrist too much," she said before throwing a punch into the air. "Try it out."

The boy followed through with a swift punch and grinned when Clint started clapping for him. "Nice one kid! He's a natural, Nat!"

"Yep," the redhead said with a grin, clapping the boy on the back. "If you practice using that form your punches should be fine. Even with your size, it'll work for you." Billy chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Hope so," he replied, only to have Clint hop down from the pole he was perched on and hoist him up and over his shoulder.

"Alright, now that that's done, why don't we go grab lunch? I'm starving."

"You're always starving, Clint," Natasha said with a smirk.

"And? I'm a growing boy," the blonde replied with a smirk of his own. "Besides, I'm sure Billy's starving. Aren't ya kid?" He asked, allowing the boy to heave himself up and twist around so he was sitting on the archer's shoulders. 

"I could eat," he said as they made their way up the stairs and towards the common area. They passed Sam and Bruce on the couch on their way to the kitchen, with the 13-year-old giving them a small wave before he had to duck to fit under the doorway of the kitchen. 

"What're you in the mood for, pipsqueak?" Clint asked as he picked the boy off his shoulders and sat him down at the counter. "We got-"

The archer was cut off by Tony's voice coming over the speakers. "Guys, come to hulk's time-out room. I just finished setting up the BARF," he said, causing the heroes to furrow their brows. 

"I really wish he wouldn't call the cage that..." Billy heard Bruce say to Sam as he slid off the stool he was sitting at. Clint groaned and closed the fridge with a huff, getting a sympathetic pat on the back from Natasha as everyone made their way towards the elevator.

"Is the BARF that memory illusion thing Tony was talking about?" Billy asked as the metallic doors closed. 

"Yea. Tony has a thing for acronyms," Bruce replied, leaning against the wall. "It stands for 'Binarily Augmented Retro Framing' I think," he continued as the elevator moved down and finally came to a stop.

The doors slid open and allowed the group into the large room, where Tony, Steve, and Bucky were waiting. Steve was wringing his wrists nervously, glancing between the genius in front of him and the silent man behind 2-inch thick glass. "You're sure this is safe, Tony?" 

"Of course, Capsicle- I wouldn't put your buddy under it if it wasn't," Tony replied, standing up with a helmet in hand. "The only thing we gotta figure out now is how to get this on him without him either breaking it or breaking out."

"You got it running?" Bruce asked as the group came closer and gathered around. 

"Yep," Tony replied with a smirk, holding a clunky-looking helmet up for all to see. "I was gonna try to make it more streamlined, maybe some glasses or something, but Steve-o here insisted that this be used asap."

"It doesn't need to look pretty to work right, Tony," Steve replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "As long as it's safe, that's all that matters."

"Whatever you say, Cap, We just gotta find a way to get it on him."

"Oh, I can do it!" Billy said, raising his hand with a grin. The group looked at him like he'd grown a second head. Oh, right...no one had known that he'd been sneaking down here. Forgot about that. 

"Yeah...not gonna happen, pipsqueak," Clint replied with a grin, turning his attention back towards the heads of their team. 

"Let me, he's my best friend," Steve said, holding out a hand for the helmet. 

"Steve, I don't think that's such a good idea- he was sent after you specifically, remember?" Sam said, putting a hand out towards them. "We have no idea what could set him off."

"Okay, I'll go grab an armor and I'll do it. Simple," Tony said, setting the helmet down on the work table he'd brought into the room. Natasha shook her head in response. 

"No- absolutely not," she said, her tone firm. 

"What? Why Natashalie? I can have a nurse's loving touch when I need to," Tony replied with a grin and a furrowed brow. 

"No, I agree with Natasha, you shouldn't- you shouldn't go in there, Tony," Steve said, worry present in his eyes. 

"I'll be fine, Capsicle, what's the big deal?" he asked, glancing between the two. "I get that's he's an assassin, but my armor can handle a few punches," he said, reaching back to grab the helmet he'd set down, only to grasp air. The brunet furrowed his brow and glanced back to find the helmet gone. 

"What the-"

"Billy!"

The group glanced towards the cage to find the thick, metallic door sliding shut with Billy on the other side of the glass, helmet hanging from one hand. 

"Kid, what are you doing!?" Tony said, pressing up against the glass with wide eyes. "Get out of there!"

"Open the door, Tony- we have no idea what he'll do to him," Bruce said, his voice strained with panic. "He could die in there!"

Billy ignored the commotion outside and continued his measured, even pace towards Bucky. The man was staring at him blankly, his shoulders tense. He didn't move from his spot on the other side of the bed, sitting in a metallic chair, and didn't spare the heroes on the outside of the cage banging their fists against the glass a passing glance. His eyes were focused solely on Billy and the helmet in his hand.

The raven-haired boy stopped a few feet away from the bed, giving James a bubble that he wouldn't cross. "This helmet thing can help," he said, lifting up the metallic object in order to offer it to the man. "Tony's a smart guy. I'm sure he can break whatever brainwashing they did to you," he continued, taking a step forward to place the object down on the bed. 

"But I'm not gonna force you to put it on. I could, but I'm not gonna. It's your choice, Mr. Barnes. This isn't something you have to do if you don't want to, but please know that we- we just wanna help you. We're not gonna hurt you," Billy continued, before remembering something.

He reached into his hoodie pocket and dug out a folded-up piece of paper, setting that down alongside the helmet. "I made something for you," he said, giving the man a grin. 

The soldier glanced down at the items on the bed before shifting in his seat slightly. He reached his silver, metallic arm out for the piece of paper, and Billy caught sight of the red star that had once been bright and clear on the metal. It had scratches covering it- like someone had dragged their nails over the paint in a desperate attempt to scrub the color away.

Bucky moved back to sit in his seat once more, looking between the paper and Billy. He unfolded it slowly, blinking at it before lifting his head to stare at the boy. The 13-year-old gave him a smile in response. "I promise... I don' wanna hurt you," he said softly, his hands folded in front of him.

The brunet folded the paper up slowly, his hands moving carefully before he set the object down on the bed. He then moved his hand over the helmet and picked it up. Bucky let out a breath and swallowed thickly before turning the helmet around and putting it on his head. 

Billy glanced back towards the heroes, finding a myriad of confusion and worry on their faces. "Boot it up, Tony," he said with a smile, turning his attention back towards Bucky and moving into the space he hadn't yet crossed. 

The boy took a seat on the edge of the bed, kicking his feet back and forth casually as the Winter Soldier moved like water to sit beside him- though his posture was stiff and the tension never left his shoulders, Billy could tell he was trying. He smiled, reaching out and taking hold of the man's metallic hand.

"It'll be okay, Mr. Barnes. I promise."

- - -

The metallic doors of the meeting room swept open as Batman came into the room, causing the room of heroes to quiet down in response. He walked around the table to the end where Diana and Clark were already seated and watching him, and he let out a short breath.

"Alright, is everyone here?" he asked, glancing around the room. He furrowed his brow at the sight of an empty chair beside Cyborg, glancing at the man in question as he gave the chair a worried glance.

"Where's Captain Marvel?" he asked. The man hadn't shown up for his scheduled monitor duty the day previous, which was a rarity from the demigod.

"I uh, I don't know, Batman," Cyborg said, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. "I haven't heard anything from him in a few days." 

"How many days?" the Dark Knight asked, eyes narrowing in thought. 

Cyborg shook his head. "Uh, not sure. Four? Maybe five?"

So Captain Marvel hadn't been seen in nearly a week. "Any reports from Fawcett? Is he active at least?" he asked, and the man brought up a hologram from his wrist. 

"Looks like Fawcett's been quiet... but no one's seen him," Cyborg replied, dropping the hologram. "Maybe he went on vacation or something?"

"Vacation? Cap? Yeah, have you met the guy Cyborg? Those two things don't really mix," Green Lantern replied with a chuckle, leaning back in his chair. "The man's a workaholic. He's probably either off-world or battling some baddie in the jungle or in the arctic or something."

"Didn't you say he missed monitor duty yesterday, Batman?" Superman piped up, raising a brow at the man. "Did he call you to check in?"

Bruce shook his head. It was like the man had up and disappeared- and knowing what he knew about Captain Marvel, about his other half- the man couldn't help but begin to worry. Billy was a good kid, a strong kid- but he was still just a kid. What if something had happened to him?

Surely he'd have reached out if he was in trouble... right?

Batman was pulled out of his thoughts by a remark from Flash. "Well, why don't we just call him? If he picks up, he can tell us where he's been and if he's okay, and if not, we can trace the signal and go find him."

"Flash you're a genius," Batman said, turning his attention to his communicator. He dialed Captain Marvel's number and waited, a cold sense of dread washing over him as he waited for the man to pick up- hoping, praying that he would. 

The group waited with bated breath as the call rang, the air growing tense when the sudden, distinct sound of a communicator out of range sounded out through the room. 

"What...?" Superman questioned, his brow furrowing in confusion. "That- I thought that wasn't possible, Batman. We have satellites at every Lantern outpost I thought, in every sector, there shouldn't-"

"It shouldn't be possible for his comm to be out of range," Batman finished for him, setting his communicator down and trying not to let his pounding heart get the better of him. Superman furrowed his brow at him, and damn the man's super hearing- He let out a shaky breath. 

"I have to look into this. Reschedule this meeting for next week," he said, standing up straight and allowing his cape to envelop his now tense body. He knew Billy could do magic, but this- it simply wasn't possible for him to be out of range. He'd even enchanted his communicator so that Batman could reach him at the Rock of Eternity, so it didn't make any sense. 

"Batman?" Superman said, hanging back as the other heroes left the room. "Your heart's pounding."

"Astute observation, Clark," Batman snapped, hands curling into fists.

"You're really worried about Captain Marvel, aren't you?" Superman asked slowly, tilting his head with a furrowed brow. "He's a strong guy, Bruce, he can handle himself... wherever he is. I'm sure he's alright, don't you think?" he said, setting a hand on the Dark Knight's shoulder.

Yeah, Captain Marvel could handle himself. He was a demigod that could rival Superman in terms of power.  But it wasn't Captain Marvel Bruce was worried about. 

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

Yeah, Captain Marvel could handle himself. He was a demigod that could rival Superman... but it wasn't Captain Marvel Bruce was worried about. 

- - -

"How's he doing?" Billy asked as he came into the room, his eyes glued to Bucky as he walked alongside Tony. The brunet was tapping away on his tablet as he walked, brow furrowed in thought. He'd been sunk into trying to get Arsenal working lately, and kept saying he was close to a breakthrough.

He looked tired. 

"Better- much better, actually. He let the therapist inside the uh...chamber... with him today," Tony replied, running a hand through his hair before tapping some more things into the tablet. "His brain waves are normal from what Brucie bear's told me, so I mean... I think he's on track, by the looks of it."

Billy nodded and split off from the exhausted billionaire, jogging over to where Steve was standing, outside of the glass cell with his hands balled in his pockets. He was watching James talk softly to the therapist a few feet away from him, though there wasn't any sound. 

It'd been a stipulation of the therapist's that everything remain confidential between him and his patient, so of course, the Avengers had agreed. Still, if the look on Steve's face was anything to go by, he didn't like it.

"You okay, Steve?" Billy asked as he came to stand beside him, giving the assassin inside a small wave when the man lifted his silver arm in greeting.

"I guess..." the blonde replied, his eyes glued to Bucky. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him one on one..." he continued, dropping his gaze to the floor. "No one's been allowed inside since the Doc arrived to help him, so..." 

"He's fine, Steve- he's getting better, isn't he? I mean, he gives sorta smiles now and frowns when he doesn't like something- there's life in his eyes, isn't that what you wanted?" Billy asked, looking up at the super-soldier.

"Of course, I'm glad he's making progress, I just..." he trailed off, letting out a sigh. He shook his head. "It's stupid."

"What is?"

"I can't..." the blonde brought up a hand to rub the back of his neck. "I can't help but wonder...what if this guy is some- some undercover Hydra agent? What he's just going this to get close to Bucky and set him off again? What if he does irreversible damage to him?" 

Steve was tense- he was trembling as he spoke. Billy swallowed thickly, glancing towards Tony. The man chose that moment to glance up from his tablet absently and glance towards the cage, only to find Billy looking worriedly towards him. The billionaire furrowed his brow and set down the device, coming closer to the pair when Billy looked back up at Steve.

"Everything okay over here?" Tony asked, setting a hand on Steve's shoulder and squeezing it as he came to stand beside the taller man. "He looks good- he's making good progress," he said, glancing towards the blonde. "So what's wrong?" 

Billy took a step back, giving the pair some space to talk. The therapist had been at the tower for nearly two weeks now, and Mr. Barnes had started making really good progress ever since he showed up- Sam had brought him in himself, so why didn't Steve think the man had good intentions?

The guy didn't give off any menacing or sadistic auras... maybe it was just the fear talking. This was the man's best friend after all. Billy didn't know what he'd do if he and Freddy were in Steve and Bucky's place. 

Maybe he should give them some more space. 

Billy turned on his heel and headed for the exit, hands in his hoodie pocket as he made his way to the elevator. "Common floor, please, Jarvis," he said, the silver doors sliding closed with a ding. The boy's eyes dropped to the floor as he thought about Bucky. He was making great progress- he should have been happy for the man. 

And, sure, he supposed he was, but there was also this gnawing feeling in his gut that told him as soon as the man was better, as soon as they were able to patch his mind back together, that would be it. Billy had told Bucky that he'd help him before he left...

He didn't wanna think about it. 

The boy stepped out of the elevator with his eyes to the floor and ended up running face-first into Peter, knocking both of them onto their asses.

"Ow..." Billy muttered, rubbing his head and sitting up to find the teenager giving him a worried look.

"Ohhh, a massive pile-up on highway nine! Somebody call an ambulance!" Clint chuckled from the couch, only to get an unimpressed look from both Loki and Natasha. 

"You okay, Billy?" Peter asked, tilting his head in question as he clambered up. Billy followed suit, accepting the outstretched hand of the 16-year-old with a weak grin. "You looked... lost," Peter said, worry in his eyes as he ignored the archer's jeers from across the room.

"I'm- I'm fine," Billy replied, shoving his hands back into his hoodie pockets. "Just thinking."

"A dangerous hobby for you," Peter said with a grin, getting a chuckle out of the 13-year-old. 

"Yeah, sure."

"Oh, hey I forgot- I was walking by your room earlier and heard this weird chiming sound- not sure what it was, but it was really weird. Did you forget your phone in there or something?" Peter asked, watching as the raven before he furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Weird chiming sound? No, my phone's right he-" he froze, eyes widening in shock. His heart skipped a beat, causing a knot in his chest to form. "My-" Billy took off down the hall, causing the people left in the living room to share a look of confusion.

Clint blinked before standing up. "Wait for us, kid!" he yelled, taking off after the boy with Natasha, Peter, and Loki in tow.

- - -

It may have taken him two and a half days of nonstop searching and calling in just about every favor he had with every magician he knew, but Bruce had finally managed to make some (albeit minuscule) ground when it came to figuring out where Captain Marvel could be.

In that time he and John Constantine had managed to cross paths, and wouldn't you know it, he was looking for the demigod as well. 

Bruce could cross the Rock of Eternity off his list since John told him that he'd been there and the boy was nowhere to be found, which only caused the rock in his stomach to get heavier. He ran a hand through his hair and leaned back in his chair, trying to make some kind of connection between the various articles and books pulled up on his computer screen.

"Bats," John said from behind him, sitting on the couch Jason and Dick had long since hauled down into the Batcave for some reason. "Listen, there's somethin' you should probably know," he said before taking a deep breath from the cigarette between his fingers. 

"I had this...dream, I guess you could call it, about the kid. Maybe it was more of a vision, I'm not sure- either way, I was... I was in this field and I could hear the tike's voice," he said, dropping his eyes to the cold ground of the cave in thought. "I could feel him tugging on my trenchcoat at one point... he sounded..." the blonde shook his head.

"The kid said he was in another universe. I don't know how that'd be possible, but I'm inclined to believe him from what you said about him goin' missin' everywhere..." he muttered. 

Another...universe? That shouldn't have been possible. Yes, they knew that there were other universes out there, it'd been proven by the Justice League themselves, but no one had figured out a way to actually travel to those other universes. 

No one had even tried, really, since the science said that should you go to one your molecules would rip themselves apart piece by piece. 

Did that mean-

Bruce felt his chest tighten at the thought. Billy- he could be suffering. There was no telling what universe he ended up in, no telling how time flowed in that place, how long he'd really been gone, if he was even still ali- 

The billionaire let out a shaky breath. 

"He..." Bruce breathed, bringing a hand up to rub at his face tiredly. He straightened his back and set his jaw- No. No, he wasn't going to give up on his kid.

Not yet.

"Then we can narrow our search to multiversal theories and means of travel," he said, closing some of the articles he'd opened. John stared at the back of his head for a long moment, his eyes searching for something- what, Bruce didn't know. 

He heard the magician sigh and snuff out his cigarette before leaning back on the couch. The sound of pages being flipped through caused his heart to twist. 

"Not givin' up then, huh?" John asked, causing the raven to look back at him. The man was smirking, a fire dancing behind his eyes. When Bruce didn't respond, John simply grinned wider. "Good on ya. Thought I was gonna have to look for him alone." 

Bruce turned back to the massive computer in front of him and pulled up the contacts of people that might be able to help. 

"The cosmic treadmill's been used to travel dimensions," he said, and he could hear John getting up from the couch behind him. The taller man came up behind him and stood, a dusty tome still in his hand as Bruce brought up the specs for the machine. 

"That's dimensions, mate. This is whole universes we're talkin' about," John replied, glancing back down at his book and turning the page. "Not even Flash has enough stamina and power-output to do that."

Bruce narrowed his eyes at the specs in thought. 

"What if we supplemented it with magic?" the billionaire asked, turning to glance back at the blonde. John looked up from his book, brow furrowed in thought as he glanced between Bruce and the monitor. "Have Flash run it... and add some magic into the mix that gives it a push over the edge," Bruce continued.

He could see the cogs behind John's eyes turning in thought. He pursed his lips before shrugging and closing the tome in his hand. "Worth a shot... but we need an anchor. We can't just go opening a multiversal rift with reckless abandon. There's no telling what universe we'll pop into if we do that, not to mention we'll have no way of getting back ourselves."

Bruce brought a hand up to rub at his chin for a moment before sitting up in his chair. "You said you had a dream or something about Billy. That you spoke to him," he said, and the Hellblazer nodded in response. "If you're sure that was really him... then perhaps you could act as an anchor, John."

The blonde sighed. "That'd take a lot of magic. We'd need multiple sorcerers in addition to myself. Plus we'd have to test it to see if it's even a viable option, Bats. How on Earth do you suppose we do all that?"

The raven turned his gaze back on the computer for a moment, mulling it over before getting an idea. He stood up and grabbed the League communicator laying on the desk in front of him before turning on his heel and showing it to John. "It'd be less magic to make this work, right? You think you can connect it to Billy's?" he asked, eyes full of trepidation and hope as he looked at the blonde. 

"That's not how this-"

"John."

The magician sighed, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Bloody Hell..." he muttered before swiping the communicator from the Dark Knight. "I'll try. No promises though," he grumbled, turning the device over in his hands. 

John let out a breath and closed his eyes, clasping his hands over the device and widening his stance. "Alright kid..." he breathed, rolling his neck. "Hear me out."

His hands began to glow with warm yellow light, his eyebrows bunching together in concentration. "Ngh- come on you..." he muttered, more light coming from his palms as wind began to stir his hair.

" Amiqui meus puer, manifesto Deus est magicae!" 

John winced, light flaring outward as he clenched his eyes shut even tighter. :"c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!" he growled, baring his teeth as the wind kicked up, whipping the tails of his trenchcoat. His eyes suddenly snapped open, glowing with ethereal light as the wind ceased.

The Hellblazer trembled slightly as he gripped the communicator as if his life depended on it.

"...Kid?" 

"John?!"

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"John?!"

- - -

Billy took off down the long, carpeted hallway, bare feet carrying him in a panic around the corner as he shoved off the wall to maintain his momentum. He threw open his bedroom door and scanned the room frantically, trying desperately to remember where he left the device. He spotted it tossed half-hazardly on top of a pile of clothes at the foot of his bed and felt his heart skip a beat.

His communicator- the small, circular device that he hadn't managed to get working once since he arrived in this universe- was buzzing. More than that, it was glowing, and Billy could see from the doorway that it was Batman calling him.

The 13-year-old felt warmth bloom in his chest at the sight- of course, of course, Bruce would somehow figure out a way to get into contact with him. He'd probably been working meticulously on it for weeks, and a way to get him home for even longer.

He ignored the pang of guilt that tried crawling up his spine in favor of snatching the device off of the pile with trembling hands. The raven stared down at the communicator with wide eyes, his heart pounding in his chest at the sight.

"Kid, why'd you run off like that? What's going-" Clint was the first in the doorway, brow furrowed in confusion at the sight of the 13-year-old staring shakily at the device in his hands like it held the secrets to the universe. 

Loki, Natasha, and Peter weren't far behind, coming up behind the archer and meandering around him to get a look. "Billy," Natasha said, glancing between the boy in question and the object in his hands, "Are you okay?"

He blinked, shaking himself out of the stupor he was quickly descending into as he stared at the bat symbol on the screen. He glanced back at Natasha, giving her a frazzled smile. "Yeah I- I- I'm fine, I just- this shouldn't be possible."

"What is it?" Peter asked, tilting his head slightly in question.

"Batman's calling."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Answer it!" Clint said with a grin, crossing his arms over his chest. Billy smiled and answered the call, letting out a shaky breath as static filled the line. He heard shuffling and a small intake of breath before a wide smile spread across his face.

"Kid?" the voice over the line was not Bruce's, which threw him a loop for a moment before he realized just who that voice actually belonged to. 

"John?!" He asked, excitement getting the better of him as he held the communicator with both hands, gripping it like it'd vanish if he let up at all. "John, you- I- how?!" he asked, looking for some kind of answer on the small screen.

"Bloody Hell it's good to hear your voice, kid," John replied, and Billy could hear the smile in his voice. "And uh- as for how...it's complicated. Not really sure how this is- ngh- workin' myself," he said, his voice getting strained for a moment before static shrieked out through the line. 

"Wait, where's- where's Batman?" Billy asked, running a hand through his hair. The group that was watching with rapt attention he was sure was confused, but he could answer any questions they had after- he hadn't realized how much he needed to hear a familiar voice. 

"I'm here," Bruce said, his voice low and interrupted momentarily by static. "Are you okay?" he asked, causing the boy to roll his eyes at the man. 

"I'm fine, all things considered," Billy replied, glancing towards the others in the room with him. "I uh, I- I found something to keep me busy," he said, getting a snort from John on the other end of the line. 

"Let me guess- heroics." 

When Billy didn't answer, he could almost see John's deadpan through the line. "Bleedin' heart, I swear," the blonde muttered. 

"I can't believe you guys managed to figure out a way to get this to work- I mean, I- I was beginning to think that maybe I should just throw my communicator away," Billy said off-handedly, more jokingly than anything. 

"Well cut us some slack, half-pint, we've been workin' non-stop the past three days to find ya," John replied with a chuckle, causing the boy to pause. His smile faded, replaced with a brow furrowed in confusion.

"W- what?" he asked, the static peaking again as he stared at the device. He- He had to have heard that wrong. 

"Yeah, mate, ever since we realized you were missin' we started workin' our arses off to find ya," John replied with what Billy could only assume was a grin. "The League hasn't noticed your absence yet, so ya don't have to worry about that, and Fawcett's been surprisingly quiet for what it's worth," he continued, unaware that the boy he was talking to was struggling with a knot forming in his chest.

They hadn't even noticed he was gone...until three or four days ago. He'd been gone for seven months, and it hadn't even registered to the people in his life back home. Sure, John and Bruce had started looking for him the moment they knew but- 

It had taken them half a year to even notice his absence.

Part of him was glad they'd taken so long to find him, glad he'd gotten to spend this time with the Avengers and see how a dysfunctional, super-powered family functioned. He'd found a team that actually cared for one another, and yeah, they had their flaws, but who didn't? The Avengers had taken the time to get to know him, they'd welcomed him with open arms. 

The League didn't even realize he was gone.

John had said that Fawcett had been quiet, and somehow that hurt just as much. His town- his home- they didn't need him. They didn't need Captain Marvel to patrol the skies and keep him safe, they were doing just fine on their own... 

...maybe it was him that attracted the lunatics, the giant robots, the maniacal space worms. 

Maybe they were better off without him.

Billy felt like someone had shoved a 2-ton weight into his rib cage, crushing his lungs and squeezing his heart. "I... I..." he breathed, his voice weak as the communicator slipped from his fingers. He felt hot tears beading in the corners of his eyes and resisted the urge to cry- it'd do him no good to lose his cool like this.

He felt dizzy- the room was spinning- since when did his room become such a messy blur of colors? 

One moment, he was swaying on his feet, and the next he was on the floor in someone's lap- the dark green sweater brushing against his cheek told him it was Loki. He trembled in the god's grip, staring blankly as the much taller raven hushed him gently.

"Billy..." Peter said, sitting beside him with a worried expression on his face. He took hold of the boy's hand and rubbed it with his thumb, squeezing it gently in an attempt at reassurance. 

Clint and Natasha must have picked up on just what the Brit's words had meant because there was murder in their eyes- at least, it looked that way from where Billy was on the floor. 

The boy felt a tear slip down his cheek as the words sunk in, causing his face to crumple as he buried it into Loki's chest. The god placed a hand on the back of his head and pet him gently, continuing to gently hush him as he cried. 

Natasha picked the device up off the floor, a cold glare set on it as she glanced in Clint's direction. 

"Kid?" John's voice came through the line, but Billy didn't want to hear him anymore. He didn't want to think about them, about home- about how he wasn't needed.

"Listen," Clint said as soon as Natasha handed him the device, the venom in his voice evident to the entire room. "I don't know who you two think you are, or where you get off telling a kid something like that, but it's sick," he growled, getting shuffling over the line in return.

"Who is this?" Bruce- no, Batman, that gruffness in his voice meant he was in Batman mode now- asked in return. 

"Hawkeye, bitch," Clint spat, glaring down at the device. "And you better hope we ever meet face to face buddy, cause trust me when I say it won't end well for you."

"What's with the sudden hostility? Where's the kid?" John asked, anger in his voice as static overtook some of his words.

"Don't worry about him," Natasha jutted in, cold gaze locked onto the device.

"Yeah, I don't think you two have the right to worry about him after the bullshit you just pulled," Hawkeye said, the corner of his mouth pulling upward in a sneer. "Three days... bullshit," he muttered, handing the device back to Natasha and heading towards the kid sitting in Loki's lap. 

"I don't think-" 

Bruce was interrupted by Natasha, an action that honestly, Billy wasn't sure anyone else could pull off quite so effectively. 

"Obviously not. Look, I don't know who you are or what kind of relationship you have with Billy, but seven months is a long time for a child to be missing. For you to only realize that he was gone in the past three days is sickening," she said, the room silent as she spoke.

"As Tony would say; piss off."

"Wait-"

The redhead hung up without another word, tossing the now slightly smoldering device onto the floor and turning her attention towards the group huddled on the floor. "Come on- let's go watch a movie or something. Get your mind off this," she said, holding out a hand for the boy to grab.

Billy sniffled, bringing his hands up to wipe half-hazardly at his eyes. He nodded, clambering up and out of Loki's lap and taking hold of the assassin's hand. He followed her lead out of the bedroom with Peter hot on their heels, making their way to the living room.

"Uh, Natasha, Clint and Loki-"

"Leave them to whatever it is they're doing, Peter. Trust me, you don't want to be part of whatever they're gonna do," Natasha replied, leading the boys into the living room.

There, they found Tony and Steve stepping out of the elevator, chatting idly as they walked out. "Hey, boys- whoa, what happened?" Tony asked, eyebrows knitting together at the sight of Billy's puffy red eyes and the salty wet tracks running down his cheeks.

Natasha led the pair to the couch and Billy clambered up onto the soft cushions, Peter following his lead and scooting up next to him. "A call from home went south," Natasha said, standing up fully. "Steve, mind helping me make some cocoa?" she asked, giving him a pointed look.

The super soldier was tense, his hands curled protectively into fists as he stared at Billy worriedly. Tony pat the man's shoulder, pulling him out of whatever he'd been thinking. "Uh- yeah, sure. Sorry," he said, following the redhead into the kitchen. 

Tony watched them leave before turning his attention on his boys, tilting his head slightly as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He maneuvered around a recliner to get a better look at the two. "Call from home, huh? How'd they manage that?" he asked, pulling his hands from his pockets and sitting down on Billy's other side. 

The boy shifted in his seat in order to lean against the billionaire, Peter resting his own head against the 13-year-old's shoulder. "I dunno... probably magic or somethin'..." Billy mumbled, his gaze cast downward. 

"Why don't we watch a movie like Natasha said? Get your mind off what they said," Peter offered, standing up and moving to grab the remote. "You like Lion King?" he asked, plopping back down on the couch, this time on Tony's other side, and tugging the blanket that had been half-hazardly thrown over the back on his way. 

"Never seen it..." Billy mumbled, snuggling closer to Tony's chest. The older man brought an arm down to give the boy a side hug, leaving his arm there and bringing the other down to mirror the movement to Peter. "What's it about?"

"Hamlet with lions," Tony said with a smirk, getting an unimpressed look from Peter. 

"You say that every time we watch it," Peter said with a grin, getting a shrug from the old man. 

"Hey, not my fault that it's true."

"Cocoa time," Natasha said, standing in the doorway with a can of whipped cream in her hand as Steve carried a tray of mugs in behind her. The blonde set the tray down on the coffee table and Natasha topped the mugs off with whipped cream, handing each of the members of the couch a mug of their own.

"Aww, for me Natashalie? I didn't know you cared," Tony said with a shit-eating grin, maneuvering his mug around Peter's head to take a sip. "Needs more caffeine."

Natasha rolled her eyes with a soft grin before shaking her head at the man. "You're just lucky I don't want to listen to you whine about not getting your own mug, Stark," she said before taking one of her own. 

"Hand me that can, will ya Pete?" Tony asked as Steve squeezed himself between the other end of the couch and Billy, setting his own mug on the end table and furrowing his brow at the TV screen. Peter handed Tony the can of whipped cream and the man proceeded to spray it directly into his mouth, getting a chuckle out of the boys on either side of him. 

"Unsanitary, Tony," Steve chided before taking a sip of his mug with a grin. 

"You're unsanitary," the brunet snipped back, smirking as he took a sip of his own mug.

"Sssh! I haven't seen this one Tony," Billy said from his side, glaring mockingly up at him. 

"Yes sir, Captain sir." 

"Stark, you're a menace," Natasha said with a grin, settling into her own chair.

"I try my best."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"I try my best."

- - -

John collapsed to his knees when the transmission gave out, dropping the communicator on the floor and breathing heavily. Sweat ran down his brow as he sat down on the cave floor, swallowing thickly and glancing in Batman's direction with wide eyes.

"The Hell...was that...?" he asked between breaths, looking towards the now smoldering device on the floor. Those people- he'd heard the anger, the rage in their voices, but what didn't make sense was why it was there in the first place. 

It had been hard to make out through the static, but John was almost positive that the people talking back at him, the people that had taken the conversation away from Billy, had said months. Billy had only been gone a few days, a week at most, and these people were saying that he'd been there for half a year?

It made his head spin. 

"I need a drink..." John breathed, taking Bruce's outstretched hand and allowing the man to help him to his feet.

"You heard what they said about how long he's been there, right?" Bruce asked, turning his attention towards his computer. At John's nod, the Dark Knight continued. "There must be a time difference. A day here could be who knows how long over there. Judging by the fact that they said seven months, though, it's safe to assume that for every day we've experienced without BiIly..."

"...He's experienced a month of it over there," John finished for him, looking up at the large screen in thought. 

"What now, Bats, I can't exactly try that spell again. Look what it did to your bloody communicator- there's no tellin' if the same thing happened to the kid's," he said, fishing a box of cigarette out of his coat pocket. "Fuckin' Hell, no wonder the tyke shut down..." he muttered, angrier with himself more than anything as he pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips. 

"Must'a thought we fuckin' forgot about him," he breathed, lighting the cigarette and running a hand through his hair. He drew in a shaky breath, unwilling to think about what Billy must be feeling right then, the dread and betrayal that must be rushing through his head.

He'd drive himself mad with guilt if he allowed that train of thought to go any further.

"So..." he breathed, straightening his back and taking a very long rag of the cigarette before blowing it out through his nose. "What's the plan?" 

Bruce had sat down by this point and was staring at the computer screen with a thoughtful look, his eyebrows drawn together and hands clasped in front of him. He was the spitting image of a classic detective- all he needed was a deerstalker and he'd be good to go.

He was stonily silent, eyes narrowed in thought as John took another drag of his cigarette. "We'll look into the cosmic treadmill, see if that's a viable option first. If not, we'll come up with something else," Bruce said after a moment, his tone telling the Brit the man would find a way to get the kid back, one way or another.

"Alright then- I'll start looking into bloody anchoring spells." 

- - -

A week later and Billy still couldn't get the interaction out of his head. He'd never felt so betrayed before, and despite the Avengers' best efforts to take his mind off it, his brain was clouded with thoughts that wouldn't go away.

He'd been wandering around the tower for the better portion of an hour, moving from the kitchen where he'd been hanging out with Clint to Tony's lab, where the man had been too enveloped in his work with Arsenal to pay much attention to the boy, and finally to the elevator, where he was now. 

He wasn't sure where Jarvis was taking him- he'd told the Ai to just go wherever, that he needed somewhere to pace, and the elevator had set off. 

When the doors opened, Billy found himself down in what he'd started to call the Winter Soldier's room- the hulk-proof containment unit that James Barnes was still confined to. He took a few steps out of the elevator to find one of the computers glowing to his left. He glanced towards it to find that there was a BARF simulation currently running, causing him to furrow his brow in confusion.

Billy glanced towards the glorified cage with another step forward, finding James sitting on the edge of the bed with the helmet on, a soft smile on his face as he watched a scrawny blonde man get the daylights kicked out of him in an alley.

Why that would make him smile was beyond Billy, but he was smiling, so...

Billy took another couple of steps forward and caught sight of a larger man in a military uniform yelling at the man currently beating up the blonde, yanking him backward and shoving him away with a threat. James's smile widened a fraction as he shook his head gently.

The bully swung wildly at the soldier but he dodged it easily, landing a mean right hook on the bully and causing him to stumble. The uniformed man kicked him in the ass and sent him stumbling away, vanishing into particles as the soldier turned his attention back towards the blonde.

Billy hadn't realized he'd gotten so close until the scene suddenly froze, flickering in and out of assistance before vanishing completely. The boy glanced towards their resident captive assassin and found him staring at him with wide eyes.

"Was that you?" Billy asked, pressing his hands up against the glass. "Who's the little guy?"

James blinked, glancing back towards where the figures had been standing before looking back at Billy. He stayed quiet, assessing the boy before clearing his throat and dropping his gaze.

He must have struck a nerve.

Billy rubbed the back of his neck, glancing towards where the scene had been before moving towards the door. "Sorry... I didn't mean to interrupt. I was looking for a place to think about stuff and when I saw that the BARF was on I..." he trailed off, swallowing thickly as he watched the man. 

"...Can I come in?" he asked after a moment, tilting his head in question. James hesitated, lifting his eyes to look at the boy before nodding quietly. Billy opened the metallic door with the press of a button and closed it behind him, padding over to the bed and sitting down beside the former assassin. 

"Am I too close?" he asked, scooting a bit away from the man before he shook his head in response. "Oh, ok. Um...sorry if I, uh, if I struck a nerve with my questions..." he trailed off, kicking his feet lazily back and forth. "...that was you though, right? With short hair?" 

The corner of James' mouth turned up in a wry grin, his eyes soft as he looked at the kid beside him. "Yeah," he breathed, looking back towards where the scene had been. The image suddenly flickered back into being, still frozen on the pair conversing at the end of an alley. "That's..." he cleared his throat.

"That was me."

"And who's that? Your brother of something?" Billy asked, pointing towards the skinny blonde guy. He looked familiar in the face- those eyes Billy felt like he'd seen before- but maybe that was because he looked like James and he was just associating the little guy with the Winter Soldier?

The man beside him breathed a laugh, shaking his head as he looked at the blonde. "That's..." he let out a shaky breath. "That's Steve. Before Captain America." 

Billy's eyes widened as he jumped up from the bed, making a beeline towards the skinny figure and walking around him with a wide grin. Now that he saw him up close, of course that was Steve- he was tiny and looked like a strong breeze could blow him over, sure, but that face was unmistakable. The raven let out a bark of laughter, glancing back towards Barnes giddily. 

"He's barely bigger than I am!" he laughed, circling the man once more. He was about a head taller than Billy, as opposed to the twice his size he was used to. "How'd he get so big? Musta eaten a lot of veggies," he joked, coming back to sit beside the super-soldier once more.

"Science," James replied simply, the image in front of them shifting, particles scattering before reassembling themselves into a new image. 

This one was a stark contrast to the last one; instead of an alley there was what looked like a doctor's room- but it felt more sinister than that. It felt like the kind of room you'd see in a horror movie. There were vials of liquid sitting on the counters, surgical tools hanging from the walls, papers scattered around the floor. The room was dark and void of anyone- almost anyone.

James stiffened beside him, his grip on the edge of the bed tightening and causing the metal frame to groan.

Among the three metal tables in the room, only one was occupied- Billy's eyes widened at the sight of James strapped to the table, muttering incoherently as sickly green light washed over his face from a machine nearby. The boy resisted the urge to run towards him, knowing that this was just a memory, a hologram- but it still made his heart twist.

Particles at the far end of the room materialized into the form of a Steve he was much more familiar with, clad in a leather jacket and helmet, running into the room with a worried expression on his face. Upon seeing the table he scrambled towards James, tearing the straps from the metal and releasing the brunet with a grunt. 

Billy bit down on his lip as Steve helped James up, allowing him to lean on him as he slowly came back into wakefulness. They bolted from the room and the image shifted again, this time to the pair standing amongst a raging fire erupting from underneath the metal rafters they stood on. The building looked like it was coming down around them- it probably was- as James made a break for the other side. 

The wobbly rafter he'd been stumbling across gave way as he made it to the other side, heaving himself over the railing as Steve urged him to go on without him. Billy watched the pair argue, James insisting that he wasn't going anywhere without Steve. The blonde took a few steps back before making a break for it, leaping over the horde of flamed below him and towards James. 

He wasn't going to make it- he was a foot away from the railing, arms flailing outward as panic sparked in his eyes.

James leaned over the railing and grabbed into his forearm, locking his fingers around it as Steve did the same. He struggled to heave Steve up but managed to finally pull him closer after a moment, yanking him over the railing by his jacket sleeve and leaving them breathing heavily and grinning before clambering up and taking off in another direction. 

The particles scattered again, this time for good, leaving the pair alone in the chamber once more. James let out a short breath, bringing his hand up to take the helmet off shakily and set it on his other side, resting against the mattress.

Billy looked up at the man and he could see the gears turning in his head. "He's your best friend, isn't he?" he asked after a moment.

James dropped his eyes to the floor, lacing his hands together as he leaned forward. "He was."

The raven furrowed his brow, tilting his head in confusion at his words. "You're...you're not anymore? Does Steve know that?" he asked with a quirk of a smile in the man's direction. "You seemed like best friends just there," he said, gesturing towards where the pair had been moments earlier.

"He..." James breathed, and Billy could see moisture gathering in the corners of his eyes. "I..." He shook his head, sitting up and drawing in a shaky breath. "What I've done can't be forgiven."

"Says who?"

"I've kil-"

"I know that... but why don't you think you're worthy of being forgiven?" Billy asked, looking up at the man in concern. "Everyone deserves a second chance, Mr. Barnes. Including you."

"Kid-"

"Steve still calls you his best friend. He still thinks there's good in you... and I agree with him. I'm sure Tony does too- he wouldn't work so hard to find a way to help you if he didn't," he said, kicking his legs back and forth slowly. 

Billy reached a hand out and placed it on top of James', skin touching metal and causing the man to look at him. He gave him a smile, trying to show him that he knew he could do good. 

"Do good, and good will follow. That's something my parents taught me, and it's something I live by. You just gotta do good, and good'll come your way... I promise," he said, sliding off the edge of the bed and landing on the floor. 

"And hey, looks like I'm not going home anytime soon, so I'll be right here to help you remember that," he said, his smile turning sad. He was unable to stop the burning he felt in his eyes, struggling to push back the tears forming in his eyes.

"I-"

He clenched his hands in an attempt to keep his voice from shaking.

"I should go," he said, turning on his heel and leaving the chamber.

He didn't see the worry bloom in the man's eyes or see his hand falter, twitching and moving outward instinctively before James brought it back down. 

Though, maybe that was because of the tears currently running down his cheeks.

- - -

Billy found himself sitting at the top of a skyscraper as the sun sunk over the horizon, hugging his knees as he sat on the edge of a radio tower platform. He brought a hand up to wipe at his eyes, pawing the salty tracks running down his cheeks as he hiccuped. 

James had been a good distraction, and he wanted to help the man more than ever, but he couldn't get his own situation out of his mind. He just wanted a place to belong, a place that he could call home. He'd thought that had been in Fawcett, with the League, but now... now he was more unsure than ever. 

He winced at a sudden tingling from his wrist, rolling his sleeve up to look down at the golden band encircling his wrist. The skin around the band was red, the magic Loki had embued it with rolling outward in gentle waves as Billy looked at it. Sure, the enchantment kept him whole, kept his atoms from scattering into oblivion- but it wasn't a permanent solution.

Billy was still living on borrowed time in this place. He brought his other hand up to wipe at his nose, staring at the intricate details engraved into the metal before dropping his hand and hugging his legs once more. 

The sudden sensation of magic washed over him, causing him to glance around in confusion before a gilded, sparking portal opened up in front of him, revealing Doctor Strange on the other side. The boy blinked at him, hastily wiping away his tears as the man stared at him.

"We need to chat," he said, reaching a hand out and pulling BIlly into the portal with a yelp from the boy, the portal closing behind him.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"We need to chat," he said, reaching a hand out and pulling Billy into the portal with a yelp from the boy, the portal closing behind him.

- - -

Billy stumbled onto the other side of the portal Doctor Strange yanked him through, getting his balance back with a wave of his arms and glancing up towards the sorcerer. "What- what was that about?" he asked, his voice still shaky as he stared at the man.

"I was kinda busy, you know it's rude to just p-pull people through portals-" he was still rubbing at his eyes, trying to get rid of the remnants of his tears as Doctor Strange took off through the weird house he was suddenly in.

"Follow me."

Billy sniffled and obeyed, following the man into the next room and glancing around at his surroundings as he walked. "What is this place anyway?" he asked, raising a brow at the sight of a shield and pair of spears hung on the wall.

"We're in the Sanctum Sanctorum- its the back of the house, though."

"Oh right, you brought me here to give me the bracelet," Billy said, continuing to follow the man into another room.

The pair came into what looked like a study of some kind and Strange paused, glancing back at the boy and studying him for a moment. "I've located the Siege Perilous," he said, causing the boy's eyes to widen. No- no no no, there was no way he could go home right now, not after what John and Bruce had said, not after how the Avengers had reacted-

"You look like you're going to burst a blood vessel."

The raven blinked, shaking the thoughts from his head as he tried to push the panic from his mind. "You- I- w-where was it?" he asked, panic still evident in his eyes as he looked up at the man. Strange studied him for a moment longer, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly before he turned towards the desk.

"The X-Men had it."

Had.

That meant Doctor Strange had it now.

"Plans have changed, though."

What?

Billy furrowed his brow, confused by the man's words. "W-what?" he asked slowly as Strange turned around. He was holding a green gem encased in a golden frame, and Billy felt his heart leap into his throat at the sight of what had to be the Siege Perilous.

"It needs a power source. And that source has to be strong," Strange said, tossing the item in Billy's direction. He fumbled over himself in an attempt to catch it, turning it over in his hands and running his fingers over the gemstone's smooth surface. "That means we'd need the kind of energy that a lightning strike gives off," he said pointedly, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the desk. 

Billy looked up from the gemstone, starting the sorcerer in the eyes.

"I-"

Strange didn't let him finish though, as he pushed off the desk and walked towards one of the bookshelves in the room. "That doesn't mean it'll send you back home, though. The Siege perilous can open a rift in universes, yes, but it can't zero in on one in particular. There's no telling where you'd end up without a beacon."

"A beacon?"

"Something to tell the stone that that's the universe you want to go to. Without one you'll be sent hurdling through a myriad of universes, and who knows if you'd survive what they have there."

Billy swallowed thickly, glancing back down at the object in his hands as Strange lazily flipped through what Billy could only assume was some kind of spellbook. "I can tell you don't really care about that though... at least not right now," he said, glancing back towards the boy. 

"What? No, I-"

"Kid, I could see the panic in your eyes when I brought up the Siege Perilous as clear as day. I don't care what reason you have for not wanting to go home. You can't get there anyways without someone on the other end giving you a beacon to lock onto."

The raven's grip tightened on the gem in his hands, watching as Dr. Strange snapped the book shut and slid it back onto the bookshelf. "I will tell you this, though," he said after a moment, glancing back towards the boy with a serious look. "That magic band won't last forever. Eventually, you're gonna have to make a choice. If your friends back home can get you a beacon and you can go home, great."

"If not, or if, for some reason, you decide that you want to stay here..."

Billy furrowed his brow. Where was this leading?

"There's a spell I can do to acclimate your body and soul to this universe. It'll rewrite your atoms and slot you in like a puzzle piece here, but your home wouldn't be your home anymore. It'd be the reverse of what it is now, and I'm unsure of what it would do to your magic."

The 13-year-old felt his heart skip a beat. That- that was possible? He could stay here, he could be an Avenger, he could- he could call this place home?

"Think on it. Get some sleep and really think about it. Don't make a decision based on how you feel right now," Strange said, interrupting his musings. "You understand?" he asked slowly, crossing his arms over his chest once more. 

Billy nodded, glancing back down at the gemstone.

"Good. Now go. I have to deal with a summoning in New Jersey."

- - -

Billy stepped through a portal and into the living room with his brow furrowed in thought, sneakers hitting the carpet as he ran his thumb over the gemstone sitting in his pocket. Strange had told him to take it with him, to think things over and get back to him when he had some kind of an answer- the Siege Perilous was heavy against his leg.

"Where have you been?" Clint asked from his spot on the couch, bowl of popcorn on his lap as he paused the movie he and Natasha were in the middle of. "Loki's been threatening me and Stark for the past half hour."

"I'm fine, I was just-" Billy shook his head. "Dr. Strange wanted to talk to me, that's all," he said, walking past the couch and towards the kitchen. "Who's cooking tonight?" asked, poking his head into the room and glancing around.

"I think Bruce? Might be Steve though. I can never remember who does it on Sundays..." Clint replied from the couch. 

"It rotates for a reason," Natasha replied to the archer.

"As long as I don't have to do it, it can rotate like a top for all I care."

"Clint, it looks like this Sunday is actually your night," Billy said as he brought up the hologram from the tablet sitting on the counter, staring at the archer's name being displayed on the cooking night chart. 

"Shit."

Natasha sighed and stood up, stretching and heading into the kitchen herself. "I'll get the usual from Romano's..." she muttered, grabbing the tablet when BIlly offered it to her and sitting down at the dining table. 

Billy shook his head at the thought and left her to it, bypassing the living room and a now whining archer in favor of heading down the hall towards his bedroom. He needed to put this gemstone away and get his mind off the conversation he'd had with Strange- live in the moment, as it were. 

Billy shoved the thing into the top drawer of his dresser, pushing it closed and heading out with the hopes that Peter would swing by sometime soon. He made it about halfway down the hall before he heard the sound of Tony and Steve talking.

"Then we'll just have to hit 'em hard and hit 'em fast."

"We're not even entertaining the idea of stealth now?"

"The armor doesn't exactly have a stealth mode, Steve, and neither do Hulk or Thor. Besides, who cares if they know we're there? We bust down the door, and if they have it, great. If they don't, oh well, that's just another Hydra base to cross off the list and we keep looking." 

"Sokovia is still locked in a civil war, Tony. I think you're forgetting that SHIELD is still scattered to the four winds and if things go south, we have no backup."

"Uh, wrong. We have the Iron Legion."

"I thought the Iron Legion was still being tested."

"Well..."

"Tony."

"It's fine. Trust me, okay? Let me worry about the Legion and you can worry about leading us fearlessly into battle, alright? The legion will take care of the civilians and we can go to work with a full-frontal assault of the base. We'll be in and out, no problem."

Steve sighed, and Billy could almost picture him pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Fine. I'll tell the team and we'll head out first thing tomorrow."

"Does it have to be first thing tomorrow? Can it wait until I've at least had a cup of coffee?"

Steve must have given the billionaire some kind of look because he was quickly backtracking. "Kidding, kidding!" 

Billy took a couple of steps back from the door and took off down the hall, rounding the corner and coming into the living room to find Clint still splayed out on the couch. The man lifted his head when the boy entered the room, looking at him for a moment before laying it back once more. "You think pineapple belongs on pizza?" he asked the ceiling.

"What kind of a question is th-"

Billy was interrupted by the sound of Steve's voice coming through the speakers. "Avengers, assemble in the living room. We need to have a meeting," he said, causing Clint to bolt upright. 

"He knows I didn't cook anything!"

"I don't think-"

"What's Clint yelling about now?" Tony asked as he sauntered into the room, eyebrow raised as Steve trailed in behind him. "Get up, Barton, meeting time. Time to act like an Avenger."

"And just what is this meeting about?" Natasha asked from the doorway to the kitchen, leaning on the doorframe and watching as the heroes slowly trickled into the room. Bruce came out of the elevator with a tablet still in his hand, glasses over his face as he continued reading while he walked. 

"There a situation or something?" he asked, glancing up from the device to glance around the room. 

"Once everyone gets here you'll find out, Brucie bear," Tony said with a wink as the brunet turned his attention back towards the tablet and took a set beside Clint. Sam and Thor were the next and last to come into the room, exiting the elevator still in discussion about something Billy could only wonder the context to.

"And she said that was it, so what else could I do?" 

"You could have set her metal steed ablaze for wishing you ill will."

"...What?" 

"Guys, meeting," Steve said, standing beside Tony at the front of the group. The billionaire flicked his wrist and brought up a glowing hologram of what looked like a castle amongst snowy mountains, gaining the interest of the heroes gathered.

"We have a job to do- This is a base in Sokovia, and right now it's our best lead in trying to find Loki's scepter," Steve explained as the hologram spun slowly. 

"Wait, we're looking for that now?" Clint asked, raising a brow. "I thought SHIELD had it in the vaults."

"When SHIELD's data got leaked, Tony figured out that SHIELD lied. They were running experiments on the scepter but it was stolen out from under them. It went down before it could be recovered," the super-soldier replied with an unimpressed look. 

"Point is we're going to Sokovia to see if it's there. I've already sent drones out to the two other possible places it could be at and this one came back with the most information," Tony explained as the hologram expanded, showing a more detailed view of the area. "We're going go in hot and heavy, bust down the door, and take the scepter."

"What's the catch?" Clint asked, leaning back in the couch.

"The what?" Tony replied, eyebrows knit together in confusion. 

"It's a Hydra base, Stark, they're gonna have some kind of defense that isn't on the books. Do we have any idea what that is? A mega tank? Zombie soldiers? A time-traveling goblin that only speaks in rhymes?"

"I have whispers of human experimentation, but nothing concrete," Tony said, crossing his arms over his chest. Steve glanced at him, staring at the billionaire like this was the first time he was hearing this.

"You didn't tell me that."

"Cause they're just rumors. Locals whispering about the evil twisted things Hydra does, spooky bedtime stories to get the kids to behave, no evidence that it's real," Tony replied with an unimpressed look. "Besides, if these rumors have any feet to stand on, we can handle it."

Steve sighed, choosing to move on rather than argue with the billionaire. "We're heading out tomorrow, so be ready to move first thing in the morning," he concluded as the hologram of the base flickered out. "Jarvis, if you could send a copy of the information we have to everyone?" he asked, glancing up towards the ceiling.

"The details have been sent, Captain," the AI replied.

"Good- get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow," Steve glanced around the group. "Clint, isn't it your night to cook?"

The archer groaned.

- - -

Captain Marvel flew alongside Iron Man and Thor as the Quinjet rocketed ahead of them, the rest of the group's voices wavering over the comm line as they got closer to Sokovia. The air was slowly growing more frigid, which was to be expected with the mountainous country, but the demigod relished in it nonetheless.

It wasn't often he got to experience snow, and this place looked like it was going to be chock full of it.

"Alright, turning on stealth reflectors and going in low. We'll land about a mile out and take it on the bikes from there. Natasha, you ride with Clint, Bruce you're with me," Steve said over the comm, getting an affirmative from the people on the jet. 

"Jarvis, can you find us a place to land?" the super-soldier asked as the jet got closer to the sprawling forest below. The group flew over a small town cut out of a clearing in the forest and moved on, Marvel casting a glance back at Tony as they flew.

"Don't worry about it, Sparky. The legion can handle the civilians," Tony replied with what Captain Marvel could only assume was a grin by the tone of his voice. The jet started to descend into the trees, touching down in a small clearing, and the men flying behind the jet followed suit.

The jet opened up and allowed Steve and Clint to drive out on a motorcycle and an ATV respectively, Sam, Natasha and Bruce following the pair on foot. "Let's go full chameleon mode J," Tony said with a glance towards the jet, watching as the landing ramp closed up and the camouflage panels activated, causing the jet to vanish from view. "Alright, we ready?" the billionaire asked with a glance around the group.

"Let's do it- I'm already itching for some cocoa," Clint said, fiddling with the tip of an arrow before sheathing it in the bag hung over his shoulder. 

Iron Man and Captain America made eye contact, sharing a single nod before Tony spoke again. "Alright then. Let's move out," he said before taking off. Thor quickly followed, joined by Captain Marvel and Falcon- a volley of heroes taking to the air while Steve's group revved their engines. 

They had some work to do.

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

They had some work to do.

- - -

The forest exploded with noise as the Avengers erupted out of the woodwork, blasting their way through the goons that dared to try and stand in their way. 

Natasha jumped the ATV she and Clint were driving over a snowdrift as Clint shot a Hydra agent's propulsion pack, sending him plummeting out of the air and into the snow below before twisting to shoot another two down as well. They veered to the left to avoid a blast from a group of agents, only for the goons to suddenly scatter as Mjolnir flew between them.

Thor followed suit, crashing into the agents and ripping their packs from their backs before throwing them through the air as if they were rag dolls. He then took off towards a tower where a trio of men was shooting at Steve as he rode through the trees, ripping the railing from the tower and using it as a bat to smack the goons around.

Steve swerved out of the way of the energy blasts, Shield slung over his arm as agents shot at him. He veered around Thor's miniature baseball game and grabbed one of the agents by the leg, dragging him through the dirt before chucking him into another and sending both crashing to the ground in a groaning heap. 

Tony stayed up high, taking down towers at the legs and beating back agents that got too close to any of the Avengers that were alone. He launched himself forward to tackle as grunt out of the air that was on his way toward Natasha and Clint, ripping his pack from his back and letting him fall to the ground below with a scream. 

Sam flew over Steve, giving the man cover as he hurled his shield through the trees and rebounded it off their trunks, causing the disc to crash into men before he managed to catch it and keep riding. Sam picked off the ones the shield missed, taking them down with well-placed energy blasts and old-fashioned punches to the jaw. 

"Shit shit shit shit shit!" Clint's voice came over the comm as one of the grunts got a blast in on his and Natasha's ATV, causing them to abandon ship as the vehicle exploded into flames. The twisted metal heap hurled forward over a snowbank and fell right into Hulk's waiting arms, the giant roaring before he hurled the flaming ATV at another tower and took it down. 

He took off through the trees with the others in tow, tearing through the flying grunts that surrounded them and separating them from their packs with a deafening roar. Clint caught a ride with Steve, climbing onto the back of his motorcycle as Natasha took off on foot and started taking down the stragglers around them.

Captain Marvel followed the same logic as Thor, going after the towers and frying the machinery on top of them or taking them out completely, knocking the goons down and tearing apart their propulsion packs in the process. He laughed when one of them tried to shoot him, hurling the man off of the tower and into a snowbank below before forcing his lightning through the wooden structure and causing it to collapse beneath him.

Marvel caught sight of Tony backing away from a grunt, a repulsor finishing the man off before the billionaire rocketed ahead of everyone, blasting through the trees and leaving the rest of the team to finish the goons. The demigod took off after him, weaving between pine trees as he flew after the man.

The goons had been phase one, and this, now, was phase two. 

Iron Man circled the castle-like structure with Captain Marvel on his tail, his eyes widening when blasts started coming from the castle itself. He weaved out of the way of the energy beams, maneuvering through the air and tensing when one of them caught Tony's left leg.

The billionaire didn't seem to notice, however, seemingly intent on busting through the roof itself and forcing his way into the base. As he got closer though, a field of energy came up over the base, forcing Iron Man back and into the air with a grunt.

"Shit!" Tony griped, getting a grin from Captain Marvel as the billionaire glanced back at him.

"Language," Steve said over the comms, the engine of his motorcycle loud over his mic. "Jarvis, what's going on up there?"

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield," the AI replied through the comms as Marvel followed Tony in another loop around the castle. "This base is far more advanced than any others we've taken," the AI continued. 

"Considering we've only taken down like, 2, that doesn't mean much," Clint replied with a grunt.

There was a boom of thunder in the forest before someone spoke again. "Loki's scepter must be here- these defenses would not be so advanced without it," Thor said, his comm crackling as the God's residual lightning interfered with the sound.

"How're we getting in, Tony?" Captain Marvel asked as the pair made another lap around the castle- the billionaire must have been scanning it, looking for some kind of weak spot or something.

"Working on it," the man replied, weaving between blasts of energy as the demigod followed suit. The pair got in closer, testing the boundaries of just how far out this force field went- they could get closer to the base, they just couldn't touch the central building it seemed. 

Tony shot down a barrage of men currently scrambling up a stone staircase, sending them tumbling back down in an unconscious heap as Marvel followed. "Also, are we not gonna talk about the fact that Cap just said language?" he asked with what Marvel could only assume was a grin.

"It's just slipped out," Steve replied over the line before an explosion came from within the forest. "To be fair, there are children present," he said between heavy breaths. 

"Don't you even go there, Steve," Captain Marvel replied with a laugh, causing Tony to snort. 

The soldiers surrounding the center building were upping their game- they brought out the big guns, heaving light cannons up and pointing them towards Iron Man and Captain Marvel as they tried to get closer. The pair split off in the air, dodging and maneuvering around even bigger blasts of energy as they sailed through the air towards the heroes. 

"The city is taking fire," Jarvis said with concern lacing his mechanical voice, causing Marvel to glance at the billionaire with concern of his own. 

"Right, of course, cause Hyrda doesn't care about civilian casualties," Tony replied in an annoyed tone as he narrowly missed being shot out of the air by a bright blue beam of light. "Send in the Iron Legion, J- keep the civilians back."

"Right away, sir."

"Tony there's-" Captain Marvel paused in the air, furrowing his brow when the sudden sensation of magic tugged at his core. He glanced around in confusion, looking for the source of this aura- it was new, and it wasn't like anything he'd sensed before here. The demigod narrowed his eyes as he scanned the area below him, narrowly dodging a blast of energy as he continued to search for the sorcerer the magic must belong to.

"What is it, Marvel?" Tony grunted as he started circling the base once more. "You find us a way in?" 

"No, I- there's..." the aura was faint, but chaotic, ebbing in and out like someone squeezing a stress ball, so close to bursting and the same time cold and flickering like the embers of an untouched fire. "There's a sorcerer somewhere around here..." 

"Great, Hydra with a magic user on their side, just what we needed," Clint grunted through the comms in response. 

It was making the raven's head spin that he couldn't find the source- he knew it was here somewhere, but where exactly? Was that force field disrupting their aura, making it so he couldn't place the sorcerer? 

A faint voice came over the lines, causing Marvel to pause before a last could be heard and Clint cried out in pain. 

"Clint!" Natasha yelled, followed by a grunt from Steve, not moments later. 

"We have an enhanced in the field," the super-soldier said after a moment, causing Marvel to glance back towards the clearing.

"Clint's hit," Natasha replied, causing a knot to form in Captain Marvel's chest. "Sam, give us some cover- and somebody deal with that bunker!"

The sound of energy blasts hitting titanium and hard light sounded over the comms and Marvel nearly shot back towards the forest before Iron Man managed to grab hold of his arm. "They can handle it. Don't get distracted," he said, staring him in his eyes before taking off back towards the castle. 

"Tony, we really need to get inside so we can get outta here," Steve said over the line, causing Marvel to shake the thoughts from his mind and follow Tony back towards the central base. 

"Closin' in, Cap," Tony replied as they got closer to the central building, coming in for a landing as goons continued to shoot at them. Iron Man fired a barrage of repulsor blasts at them, knocking them over the edge of the railing while Captain Marvel heaved another pair up by their uniforms and tossed them over as well. 

"J, I am closin' in, right?" Tony asked not two seconds later, causing the demigod behind him to grin and shake his head at the billionaire. They took out some more guards as Hulk roared over the comms, Tony taking off into the air again and flying low to the ground, Marvel in close pursit. 

"See any power sources for that shield or anything?"

"There's a particle-wave above the north tower, sir," Jarvis replied as Marvel managed to wrap a horde of goons up in golden tendrils of magic and toss them over the edge of a staircase and onto the cobblestone 6 feet below. 

"Great, let's go poke it with something, Marvel," Tony said with a glance back, the demigod in question nodding once and launching a barrage of lightning towards the remaining goons in the area before the pair shot upward towards the tower. 

"Looks like there's something underneath," Tony said from up high, Marvel following him up into the air above the base as he shot a missile into the side of the mountain the base had been built on. "Bingo," the brunet said with a smirk. "The drawbridge is down, people."

Thor and Steve started talking about the enhanced person they had out in the forest with them, and Marvel's ears started burning at their words. 

"We've never faced something like this- he's a blur, I can't touch him," Steve said.

"...a speedster..." the demigod breathed with wide eyes, glancing back towards the forest as Natasha spoke up. 

"Clint's hit pretty bad guys, we're gonna need evac," she said, causing the knot in Marvel's chest to tighten. 

"He's losing blood fast," Sam added.

"This way," Tony said, flying towards the base. Marvel hesitated for a moment before following suit- Clint would be fine, he had plenty of people watching over him for the moment. 

"On my way, boys," Steve said after a moment, causing the billionaire to tsk at him.

"Just watch your language if you're coming over here, Capsicle- there are precious minds around," he teased, getting a shake of the head from Captain Marvel. "Ooh, a window- time to relive my college days," Tony said, rocketing towards it and busting his way through.

Captain Marvel couldn't help but laugh, following the brunet into the room and watching as the goon inside trained their guns on the pair and immediately began firing. Marvel crossed his arms over his chest, glancing towards Tony as the man hovered in the air in front of them.

"Guys, c'mon, we gotta talk this through," he said before firing a barrage of electrical ammunition into the men and causing them to drop to the floor in groans of pain. "Good talk."

The man touched down and Marvel followed his lead, stepping over the groaning men on the floor in favor of following Iron Man through the makeshift command center. They rounded the corner and Tony threw out his hand towards a man very obviously trying to wipe the computer in front of him, blasting him as soon as he looked up.

"Alright, time to go to work," Tony said as he stepped out of the armor, walking towards the computer and pulling out a thumb drive as Captain Marvel stepped around the empty Iron Man suit. "Copy everything and upload it to the main computer at the tower, J, I want it all- every dirty little secret," he said, jamming the thumb drive into the side of the computer before turning towards Captain Marvel.

The demigod by this point had taken to looking around once more, furrowing his brow as that aura of magic returned in full swing. He narrowed his eyes as he glanced around the room, sensing the unstable, chaotic energy floating around them and filling the room in gentle wisps. "Tony, there's magic in the air," he said, to which the genius glanced back towards the computer.

"You sure about that? It might just be residuals from the force field."

"I know magic when I sense it, Tony," Marvel replied, glancing around the room. The sorcerer had to be around here somewhere- it was growing stronger by the second, the spiky, unstable energy that came from someone who didn't know how to control their gifts, didn't know how to pull their punches just yet. 

"Then let's look around, maybe we'll find your magician and my secrets. I know this can't be all Hydra's got," Tony replied, glancing around the room himself. "J, IR scan of the room if you please," he said, the empty armor behind them emitting a plate red scan that circled the room before the AI spoke up. 

"That wall over there, Sir."

Tony and Marvel glanced towards the old blank wall beside the computers before sharing a look. "I'm getting readings of steel-reinforced walls," the AI continued. "...and an air current."

"What would I do without ya, J?" Tony asked with a grin, shaking his head and moving towards the wall. "Please be a secret door, please be a secret door, please be a secret door-" Tony pushed on the wall and it gave way, sliding to the side and causing the billionaire to let out a little "yay!" in response. 

Captain Marvel snorted, shaking his head and following the billionaire down the dark stairwell. The magic that hit him made his hackles raise, the hair on his neck standing on end as his eyes narrowed at the darkness. Tony continued on like it was nothing, and Marvel followed because no way was he going to let the man go down there alone. 

The pair descended into the darkness as Steve's voice came over the line. 

"We have a second enhanced. Female. Do not engage."

the demigod and the billionaire glanced at one another before continuing downward. They came through a metallic tunnel that opened up into what had to be a hangar, Tony moving underneath heavy machinery as Marvel followed behind him. The pair glanced up and Captain Marvel furrowed his brow in confusion at the sight of a massive, alien-looking, metallic worm creature hooked up and suspended from the ceiling, blinking at it before glancing at Tony.

"Yeah, that thing's from the battle of New York," the brunet replied with a finger pointing towards the creature before he continued walking. Marvel followed him and looked around, still unnerved by the magic that seemed to pulsate through the room, even stronger than it had been in the previous room. 

"Is that-" the Captain furrowed his brow again at the sight of what looked like a dismantled member of the Iron Legion, laying across a metal table with wires and twisted metal strewn about the place. Tony sighed and nodded before glancing around the place. He paused at the sight of something in the corner, moving around the dismantled bot and towards a glowing blue scepter.

That must have been Loki's scepter- sure looked the part. It radiated energy, crashing into the magic that permeated the room and engulfing it, drawing it into itself and swallowing it whole. Tony walked towards the scepter as Marvel hung back, hands on his hips as he once again tried to pinpoint the magic.

The sudden appearance of a young woman standing behind Tony and watching him caused the demigod's eyes to bug out of his head, panic gripping him for a split second.

"You!" Marvel said, moving to grab hold of the woman's wrist, only for her to turn on her heel and look him in the eyes, fingers dancing with red light before she touched his temples and his vision went black. 

- - -

Chapter Text

- - - 

"You!" Marvel said, moving to grab hold of the woman's wrist, only for her to turn on her heel and look him in the eyes, fingers dancing with red light before she touched his temples and his vision went black. 

- - -

Billy woke with a gasp, sitting up in bed with his heart attempting to leap out of his chest. The boy stared wide-eyed into the darkness that surrounded him, breathing heavily as sweat bead the corner of his brow. He blinked away the tears that had begun to bead in the corners of his eyes- it was just a nightmare, he was fine. He was safe.

The boy let out a breath and glanced around his ratty apartment, slowly furrowing his brow in confusion.

Wait… something wasn’t right. 

How…?

How did he get here? 

How had he gotten home? 

The last thing he remembered was—

The boy threw off his tattered blanket and scrambled up from the mattress on the floor, tripping over his own legs and crashing face-first into something solid, rather than the floor he’d been expecting. He glanced up to find Batman of all people, standing in front of him with a stern look on his face.

“Br- B- Batman,” Bill said shakily, clambering up from the floor and staring in awe of the man before the Dark Knight suddenly snapped his hand outward and grabbed hold of Billy’s wrist tightly. 

He twisted it painfully, causing the boy to move with it as he growled out his words.

“You shouldn’t have come back.” He said, his voice low and angry as he continued to twist the boy’s arm and cause him to wince in pain as he quickly lost his balance and wound up back on the old wooden floor, clutching his wrist and looking up at Batman with fear in his eyes.

“Didn’t you understand what we told you before? We don’t need a brat like you running around trying to play hero,” Batman continued, narrowing his eyes on the boy. “Everyone’s better off without you. You’re just a street rat anyways…so why don’t you do what street rats do best and keel over already?”

Billy couldn’t help the tremble that ran through him at the man’s words. 

Something warm ignited behind him, casting long shadows across the room as Billy glanced behind him to find Constantine with a ball of flames resting in his palm. The sandy blonde tossed it into the air lazily and Billy felt fear spike in his heart once more at the sight of the man’s cold blue eyes.

“J-John?“ he managed to get out, pain throbbing in his wrist as he glanced back to look at Batman- only to find the man gone from where he’d been standing. Billy looked around him in a panic, eyes catching sight of Constantine watching him coldly, fire still dancing around in his hand.

“You, kid… you’ve been a thorn in my side for a while now,” he said, tossing the flame into the air and catching it with ease. “The Bat’s right. You’re no use to us anymore. You abandoned this place, abandoned the League, Fawcett City— and now, they don’t need you.”

Billy swallowed thickly, tears beginning to brim in his eyes as John spoke. “None of us do,” the man said conversationally, tossing the ball of flames into the air once more before catching it. “I took pity in you, you know. Thought if I taught you some magic that you’d leave me alone, but of course, you couldn’t get the bloody hint, now could you,” John continued, his grip tightening on the flames and causing them to flare outward. 

“Do us all a favor, kid,” he said, narrowing his eyes on the boy. “And stay the hell out of our way.”

The Hellblazer reared back and threw the flaming sphere in Billy’s direction, and all the boy could hope to do was lift his arms in some meager kind of defense. He shut his eyes tight and waited for the sizzling of skin, the intense heat and pain of scorching flesh— but nothing came.

He slowly cracked an eye open, tension easing up ever so slightly when he found himself somewhere new. He wasn’t in his abandoned apartment, and Bruce and John weren’t there to torment him with their words—

He swallowed thickly, untangling himself and standing shakily as he glanced around. Something in the back of his mind told him that he knew this place- it- it was the tower. He was back in the tower, but—

The boy took an uneasy step backward, away from the living room that somehow just felt wrong, only to bump into a solid material with his back. He glanced up to find the Winter Soldier coming over him, his eyes dark as he stared down at the boy. 

“M-Mr. B-Barnes?” The raven stammered out, moving to turn around and look at the man properly, only for the super soldier to move quicker than the boy could react and wrap him up in a chokehold with one arm, brandishing a knife to the boy’s face with the other. 

Billy gagged, bringing his hands up in a panic to scratch at the man’s metallic forearm. “N-no-“ he stammered, wincing in pain as the man tightened his grip. 

“Tsk, no class,” a familiar voice said, causing Billy to pause and the soldier’s grip to loosen ever so slightly. The boy glanced towards the source of the sound to find Loki leaning against a wall, looking as bored as could be and cal in golden and ivy green armor. 

“L-Loki-“ 

“None of that, you insolent brat,” Loki said, forcing Billy’s mouth shut with a wave of his hand. “Better,” he said, a wicked gleam in his eyes as he grinned towards the child. “Now…what to do with you…?” 

“Mm-mmpfph-” Billy couldn’t get his mouth to open, his lips sealed shut as he struggled against the winter Soldier’s grip and got his skin sliced open in the process. The god sighed and flicked his wrist again, rolling his eyes as Billy gasped.

“W-what’s happening?!” The boy cried out, fear filling his eyes as he watched the God pace back and forth.

“What’s happening, boy, is that I’m trying to figure out the most entertaining way to kill you.”

Billy felt his heart leap into his throat, trembling as the Winter Soldier still holding onto him adjusted his grip. “N-no-Loki, w-why? No, why are you doing this? Why are e-either of you doing this?!” He asked, glancing between James and Loki, tears beading in his eyes at the sight of their cold, dark eyes looking down at him in dismissal. 

“No! P-PLEASE!” The boy yelled, shutting his eyes tightly before the arms holding him went slack and the Winter Soldier’s body slumped to the floor. Billy fell out of his grasp and onto the floor as well, scrambling away from the man before turning to look back at him with wide eyes.

His body- it was smoking. There were tendrils of dark smoke wiping upwards from blackened, burnt eye sockets, the darkened, crisp flesh tendraling outwards down the man’s now tottered uniform and out into blackened fingertips. 

Billy shook his head in fear- it was like lightning had struck him, frying his body from the inside out. 

“Loki-“ he glanced back towards the god to find the sam, grizzly sight as the Winter Soldier, the god’s eyes blackened and marred, burnt to a crisp with blackened, gnarled skin spiraling outward towards the rest of this body. 

“N-no…” Billy breathed, tears slipping down the boy’s cheeks as he glanced down at his hands. They were buzzing, small, electrical arcs jumping between his fingers as he stared at them in fear, slowly shaking his head at them.

“No- no I didn’t- I couldn't h-have-“

Moisture blurred the boy’s vision as he fell to his knees, trembling violently as he curled in on himself, touching his forehead to the floor and shutting his eyes tightly against the tears. He took in a shaky, sob-riddled gasp, opening his eyes to find himself in the middle of a street. He sat up, small sobs causing his breath to hitch as he glanced around in confusion.

Billy brought a hand up to rub at his face, only to find that his palms were smeared with crimson. He paused, staring down at his fingertips smeared with blood with wide eyes. He swallowed thickly and instead pushed himself up off the unstable, pothole-ridden street, standing shakily and attempting to get his bearings.

He tried to ignore the blood dripping from his fingertips, but the wind that blew past him caused him to lift a hand in an attempt to block dust from his eyes. "W-where-" he started to say, only to have something his past his ear and embed itself into the bakery beside him. He glanced back to find that it was an arrow, furrowing his brow in confusion at the sight.

It exploded into a cloud of dust and shards of glass and brick, throwing the raven backward and onto the pavement with a grunt of pain as heat slammed against his skin. He winced at the road burns now covering his arms, blood trailing downward to mix with the liquid that stained his palms. 

"How could you do this to us?!" He heard a familiar voice shout, causing the boy to look up and find Clint, about a car's length away from him, his bow pulled tautly and arrow pointed directly at Billy's face as he stood over the body of Natasha. The man looked furious- his eyes were full of rage and his body was in tatters, covered in cruises and cuts alike. 

"Clint-?"

"Don't try to pull that innocent act with me, kid. I've seen the monster you really fucking are!" Cint yelled back, his bow being pulled back ever so slightly more. There were tears brimming in the man's eyes- what- what was happening?

"Clint, what's going on?!"

"We never should have trusted you..." the man growled back. 

Billy was trembling, attempting to scramble backward against the pavement before bumping into someone else- he glanced up to find the Iron Man armor staring down at him coldly, an arc reactor pointed at his face. "T-Tony?" the boy squeaked.

"Tony Stark is dead," the billionaire's voice came back through the speakers, the helmet flipping up to reveal a rotting, bloody corpse. The eyes were sunken and blackened, charred flesh spiraling outward much like with Loki and James.

Billy screamed, fumbling over himself to get away from it, glancing back down the street towards Clint, only to find the man slumped over in the middle of the street, a pool of blood coalescing around his body. "Clint!" the boy yelled, running towards the man, only to pause a few feet away from him. He trembled as the man's form turned to dust before his eyes, leaving a red stain on the ground in its wake and the aura of his own magic in the air.

"No- no no no- what's happening, I didn't- I never meant t-to-"

"You killed them, Billy..." Steve's voice came from behind where he stood, causing the boy to glance up at him in fear. The soldier was standing in front of him in uniform, his shield at his side and disappointment in his eyes. "You...you killed my friends...my family." 

"N-no- no I- I didn't-"

"The Avengers are dead because of you, Billy..." Steve's voice was shaky, and Billy's eyes widened as blackened spirals began to crawl up the soldier's neck. The blonde gasped for breath as he continued to speak. "We- hh- never should have- hh- l-let you in," he was struggling now, the darkened skin crawling up to his eyes. 

"Steve!"

The man fell to his knees, shield slipping from his grasp and clanging against the street uselessly as the skin around his face burned from the inside out. "You're just....hh- just like Hyperion..." the man breathed before slumping over dead.

"NO!" Billy screamed, bringing his hands up to clutch at his temples. "No, this isn't happening, I didn't- I d-didn;t kill the Avengers-" His eyes burned with unshed tears as he took a step back, tripping over another body in the process. 

It was Thor. He stared at the god uselessly as tears trailed down his face, flinching violently when another body slammed against the ground to his side- Bruce. Billy got to his feet, glancing down at his hands to find that they weren't his- they weren't Billy Batson's hands.

He let out a shuttering breath and glanced down at his body, finding himself staring down at Captain Marvel's instead. "No- No, I didn't k-kill them- I didn't-" he gasped, tears flowing down his face as he stared at his blood-stained hands. "I- I would never- th-they-"

Something dark and twisted whispered in the back of his mind, sending shudders down his spine. 

"It changes you...does it not? The power..."

"The ability to crush these feeble mortals beneath your heel, it is intoxicating..."

"You will not understand what power you truly possess, boy...until you give in to its full potential."

Captain Marvel shut his eyes tightly, trying desperately to block out that damn Egyptian voice- he wouldn't let Back Adam's words get to him, he hadn't then and he couldn't now- he- he hadn't done this, he couldn't have- these were his friends, his- his-

The blood dripping from his fingertips told a different story.

- - -

Captain Marvel gasped, eyes snapping open as electricity arched around his muscular form. His hands were balled into fists, knuckles white as sweat trailed down his temple. He felt dizzy- the room was swaying ever so slightly as he tried to pull himself from the nightmare he'd just been unwillingly thrown into.

The demigod blinked, bringing a hand to his head as he tried to calm his racing heart, only to realize Tony was standing in front of him, concern in his eyes as he studied Marvel's face worriedly. The raven swallowed, letting out a shaky breath as he dropped his hand.

"What was that...?" Tony breathed, and it was only then that Marvel realized the man had an iron-tight grip on his forearm. Had it been possible, he'd likely have been drawing blood with how hard his nails were pressing into his skin. The billionaire was looking for something in his eyes, some kind of answer, some solution- but to what, he wasn't sure. 

"W-what?" Marvel asked shakily.

"You locked up on me, kid. You just froze and started muttering to yourself, then lightning started bouncing around you and- and-" Tony let go, concern still etched into his face as he stared up at the demigod. "Your eyes turned red, Cap..."

Captain Marvel wasn't sure himself. "I- I'm fine," he muttered softly, getting a doubting look from the billionaire in response. 

The demigod glanced around the room slowly and found that the wisps of magic he'd sensed earlier were gone, fading from the air and leaving the scepter on the pedastal the only source of energy in the room. 

Wait, the magic-

"That lady-" Marvel glanced around tensely, brow furrowed in confusion as he looked for the woman with the glowing hands. The sorcerer. "She- she was just here," he said, spinning to look around the room completely, only to find himself and Tony completely alone. 

"What lady, kid?" Tony asked, brow furrowed in confusion much like Marvel's. "Look, let's grab the scepter and go home...I think we all could use a rest," he said, turning his attention towards the staff and calling one of the suit's repulsor gloves to his aid.

Tony grabbed the scepter from the stand and turned it over in his hand before glancing towards the still shaken up demigod. "C'mon, that's enough excitement for one day," he said, walking back towards the tunnel they'd come through. "I'll send the legion in to clean this place up later," he said, likely more to himself or Jarvis than to Captain Marvel.

"Let's go home."

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"Let's Go Home."

- - -

The ride home was quiet, the heroes exhausted as the quinjet flew them back to New York. Captain Marvel leaned back against the wall of the jet from where he sat, hands clasped together tightly in thought as he bounced his leg anxiously. He had a million thoughts running through his head, and almost none of them were good.

Bruce sat beside him with headphones on, and the man looked almost as shaken up as him. He was trying to calm himself down completely, but Cap could tell that the Hulk was weighing on Bruce's mind.

Part of him wanted to say something to the man, but the image of him laying on the ground of the Rock of Eternity, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth as glassy, dead eyes stared up at him sprang to his mind, causing the demigod to tense and drop his gaze to the metallic floor of the jet. 

He barely registered Natasha coming over to Bruce and kneeling down in front of the man- he should give them some space. The demigod stood and maneuvered around the assassin shakily, heading towards one of the corners near the storage before sitting down on the floor up against the wall. The others started talking about Hulk, getting a groan from Bruce at Thor's comment of just how much damage Hulk had caused.

Marvel glanced towards Clint, the man's breathing shallow and quick as he laid on the cot nearby. He stood up and took a step towards the man, grabbing onto the metal frame at his feet and looking down at him worriedly. His side was soaked in blood, seeping into his uniform.

Almost like-

Marvel sucked in a breath and averted his eyes from the archer, trembling as he let go of the now crumpled metal frame at the man's feet. He sat back down, drawing in his legs and burying his face in his knees. He was left alone for all of two seconds before he sensed someone take a seat beside him. 

"You looked like you're on the verge of a panic attack, kid," Sam said from his side, causing the man to glance up and stare at the man. He blinked owlishly at the soldier, furrowing his brow in confusion. How could he possibly have noticed that? 

"I've seen that haunted look on plenty of soldiers' faces...did something happen in the bunker?" he asked slowly, tilting his head and looking the demigod in the eyes. Captain Marvel dropped his gaze, staring at the floor ahead of him tiredly. His grip tightened ever so slightly on his legs, but he had Achilles backing him up, he could push back the tears that threatened to bead in the corners of his eyes. 

"Cap..." Sam said, pulling the man from his staring and getting him to look at him once more. "Talk to me."

"C-can we talk later? After we know Clint's okay?" he asked, glancing up at the medical bed with their resident archer currently strapped to it. He wanted desperately to heal the man, but he couldn't bring himself to get close to him. 

Sam set a gentle hand on the man's shoulder, and it was all the man could do not to flinch. "Sure. Later then," Sam replied with a nod. "You mind if I sit here though? My back is killing me and no way am I sitting upfront by Tony and listening to him boast about how good he is at flying."

Marvel snorted, nodding before leaning back against the wall. His grip loosened around his legs ever so slightly and he let out a shaky breath, shutting his eyes and listening to the rumble of the engine as they flew home.

- - -

When the jet touched down, the group was met by a man in a suit standing beside Loki, the latter of which looked unimpressed with the man, if the arms crossed over his chest were anything to go by. The shorter man started walking towards the jet once it opened up, a grin on his face as the group came down the ramp.

"Coulson- good to see you," Steve said, grinning at the man as he pushed the medical bed into the tower. 

"You too, Captain- Loki and I have already set up a room for him- Maria's waiting to clean him up," the man in the suit replied, to which Steve nodded and pushed Clint down the hall. 

Captain marvel furrowed his brow at the man, confused as to who he was and why he was here. Obviously, the Avengers knew him, as none of them were surprised by his presence, but one glance towards Sam told him that the man didn't know who he was either. 

Tony patted his shoulder as he passed, coming to a stop just before the man. "Agent- you haven't met Sparky and Bird Brain 2.0, have you?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at the pair. They came closer as the man turned his attention towards them.

"No, I'm afraid I haven't had the pleasure. I'm Agent Phil Coulson of SHIELD," he said, holding out a hand for Sam to shake before holding it out for Cap. "...and the Avengers' babysitter when the need arises," he added with a grin, only to get a roll of the eyes from Tony.

"I'm gonna go check on Bird Brain classic edition- you three play nice," he said, heading off after Natasha down the hall. 

"Well, Mr. Coulson, I'm kinda surprised you're here- I thought SHIELD was done for," Sam said, turning his attention away from the billionaire and back towards the man in the suit. 

"Please, call me Phil- and yeah, but there's still work to be done, loose ends to tie up... a SHIELD agent's work is never done, even if the agency itself crashes and burns," the man replied with a grin. Marvel couldn't help but smile at the man, opening his mouth to speak before his wrist was suddenly grabbed and lifted up for inspection, causing the raven to tense immediately.

"You have residuals of magic clinging to your suit, William," Loki said, his eyes narrowed in suspicion at the demigod's skin. He dropped the wrist and looked up at him, staring at him fully. "Did something happen?" he asked, suspicion lurking behind his emerald eyes. 

"I-" Marvel forced a laugh, something that only made the God's eyes narrow further. "I'm fine, Loki- it's nothing," he said, trying to glance back towards Coulson and away from those eyes- they held suspicion and concern now but he couldn't look at them for long. He didn't want to see the hatred and anger bloom there. 

The agent was watching their interaction with interest, an eyebrow raised as his gaze flicked between the pair. Loki wasn't giving up, though, because he stepped in front of Coulson to stand in Marvel's field of view. 

"William. What happened." he urged.

Captain Marvel shook his head, maneuvering around the God and avoiding his gaze. "I- I'm gonna go check on Clint," he said nervously, slipping away from the men and booking it down the hall.

He was trembling- his mind was working a million miles a minute and it felt like someone had injected lightning into his veins. He let out a shaky breath and let his feet move on their own, carrying him to the medical wing as he tried not to lose his cool.

He found Tony, Bruce, and Natasha, along with a woman most likely from SHIELD crowded around Clint in the medical bay. The room already looked somewhat crowded without Marvel taking up more space, and upon catching sight of Steve leaning against the wall, chose to join the man there.

"H-how's he doing?" Cap asked as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned up against the wall beside the super-soldier. The blonde glanced towards him with a grin.

"He'll pull through. He always does."

"I hope you're right-" he said, looking towards the man only to find him standing up straight and fishing something out of his pocket.

"Oh, sorry Captain- I need to take this," he said, putting the flip phone to his ear and walking down the hall.

Captain Marvel let out a soft sigh, shifting his arms so that he was holding himself loosely. He slid down the wall and sat down on the floor, staring at his knees and wishing the thoughts that were chipping away at his brain would just go away.

"You know you can come inside, right? We have chairs in here," Bruce said from the medical bay doorway, a grin on his face as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Captain Marvel glanced up at the man and blinked, letting out a shaky breath and clambering up from the floor.

"I-I'm fine," he said quickly- probably too quickly if the slight pinch in Bruce's eyebrow was anything to go by.

"Well, why don't you change back and let me check you over for injuries?" Bruce pressed onward.

"Oh, uh- s-sure," Cap replied, really wishing he could get a hold of that tremor in his voice. 

One lightning bolt later and Billy Batson was being led to an examination table and clambering up onto it. Besides Tony, Bruce, and Clint, there was another person in the room- a woman in a catsuit that billy could have sworn he'd seen before. He furrowed his brow at the sight of her, watching as she checked over the archer's vitals.

"Maria," Bruce supplied quietly, giving the boy a soft grin when he jumped. "She was there in DC to help you and Steve, that's probably where you remember her from," he said, glancing down at a clipboard before setting it down and walking around the table Billy was sitting atop of. 

"I'm off to tinker with the staff- we only have it for two days," Tony said as he left the room in a hurry, hanging onto the door frame for a moment longer. "Buzz me if the bird brain wakes up anytime soon, 'kay?" he said, vanishing before getting a verbal reply.

The pair watched him leave before looking at one another. Bruce sighed and shook his head, grabbing BIlly's arm gently and lifting it up in order to look at his ribs. The boy had to resist the urge to flinch but could feel his muscles tense at the contact- something Bruce must have noticed as well since he locked eyes with the raven.

"Everything okay?" he asked gently. 

"Y-yeah- injuries Cap gets don't really affect me... maybe a bruise or something if I get hit really hard but..." Bruce gave him an unimpressed look. "...not what you were asking."

"Nope."

Billy hugged himself, glancing to the side and lowering his head as Bruce came back around to face him. He didn't want to talk bout it- about the things he'd seen, the things he'd d- no, no. No matter what Sam said, talking about this could only make it worse, it would- it would make it real somehow. 

But still...

A part of him wanted to tell Bruce about it, to ask him how he managed it- managed to feel that fear and anguish bottled up when he knew he was capable of terrifying acts of violence, how he managed to control himself when he was the Hulk. 

Sure, Billy had never seen the Hulk harm a civilian, but surely that cage that currently held Mr. Barnes was made for a reason, right?

So how did he do it?

How did he make it look so easy?

...Would the Hulk be able to stop him before he hurt someone?

The plastic strap wrapped around Billy's wrist and leading to a machine started beeping faster, causing both the boy and the doctor to glance up at it. Bruce looked back down at Billy and let out a breath before heaving himself up onto the examination table with him. 

"Maria?" Bruce said with a glance towards the woman now scrolling through a tablet while she stood guard beside the archer's bed. "Give us a minute, will you? I'm sure you're starving," he continued, getting a knowing nod from the woman before she left the room wordlessly. 

"Alright," the brunet said, setting down his clipboard and taking off his glasses in order to clean them with the edge of his shirt. "What's bothering you, Billy?" 

Wasn't that just the question of the day?

But...maybe Bruce would- maybe he'd understand. Maybe he'd- he'd be able to assure Billy that something could be done to stop him from- from-

The beeping started picking up again, and Bruce set a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Billy," he said, concern blooming in his hazel eyes as he looked at the boy. He shook the thought from his head and swallowed thickly, something that caused the doctor's eyebrows to pinch together further. 

The raven dropped his gaze to the floor and gripped the edge of the bed, cursing the tremble in his arms as he tried to get the words out. "I, um..." he sniffled, chewing on his bottom lip as Bruce tilted his head at the boy. 

How was he supposed to put this feeling into words? How was he supposed to explain what he saw without going back there? 

Bruce scooted a bit closer, close enough that his knee was touching Billy's knuckles. "It's alright, Billy. I'm here to help, remember? We're friends. You can tell me anything."

The 13-year-old nodded in return and let out a breath. "Um...h-how-" he cut himself off and shook his head. "The Hulk...how- how do you control him? How do you know he's not gonna-" he bit down hard on his bottom lip, his grip tightening on the edge of the table and turning his knuckles white.

"I- I had a bad dream," he explained, unsure if he could really talk about what happened without feeling the blood trail down his fingers again.

Bruce stayed quiet, so Billy took that as an invitation to continue. "I-in the dream I w-was-" he adjusted his grip on the table, the blunt metal edge digging into his palms. "I hurt...some people... th-that I really care about-" He glanced up at Bruce momentarily, finding concern in his eyes and immediately dropping his gaze back towards the tile floor. 

"I was a monster... I hurt-" he brought a hand up to rub at his eye as it stung, tears coalescing in the corners. "I killed th-the Avengers, a-and I- I- I was like Hyperion an-and-" he hiccuped, bringing his other hand up to rub at the other eye angrily as the tears began to come to his eyes in full force. 

"Y-you and T-tony and N-Nat and Clint-" He hiccuped again. "A-and Steve w-was talking a-about how you never sh-should'a trusted me a-and how I was ju-just like Hyperion-" His voice was broken by a sudden sob, snot trailing down his face as he tried desperately to wipe away the tears flowing down his bright red cheeks. 

"I don' wanna be like H-H-Hyperion!" he suddenly yelled, heaving forward and crying into his hands. He would have fallen off the table with that stunt had Bruce not grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back slightly. 

He sighed and shifted his position on the table before pulling the boy into his lap and holding him close. He let the raven bury his face against his chest, sobbing into his shirt as Bruce rested his cheek against the boy's head. He rubbed a hand across Billy's back in an attempt to soothe him, letting him get all his tears out.

After a bit of sniffling, Bruce glanced down and pulled back slightly- his shirt was covered in tears and snot, but he couldn't be bothered to worry about it right now. He tilted his head and looked at the boy in his lap in earnest, at the 13-year-old that looked more like a skinny 11-year-old, at the boy that held so much power in such an unassuming package. 

He supposed they were similar, in that regard. 

"Billy," he said, causing the boy to glance up at him with glassy, red-rimmed eyes as he sniffled and hiccuped. Bruce ran a thumb over his cheek in the same way his mother had done to him when he was a boy, wiping away the salty tracks with a warm gaze. 

"You asked me how I control the Hulk," he said, shifting in place and lacing his fingers together behind Billy's back. "The truth is, I don't control him. He's..." he shook his head.

"I'm not entirely sure what he is, but...for all my worrying over if he might hurt someone, at the end of the day I know he's just another facet of myself. The big guy may be powerful and scary sometimes, but..." he sighed, unlacing his fingers to scratch at the back of his head. "I know that when the cards are down that we're on the same team. He's a hero, as destructive as he may be."

Billy sniffled again and wiped at his eyes.

"This dream of yours- it isn't true. You're a hero, Billy. You would never kill the Avengers, and neither would Captain Marvel- I know that for certain, kid," Bruce said with a grin. "Look, we all have our demons- some of us have big ugly green ones, and others have spandex-clad demigod ones," he continued, getting a slight grin from the boy. 

"But I can say with a hundred percent certainty kid, that you- you are stronger than any demon. You've already proven that to me."

"You- you really think that?"

The doctor smiled, ruffling the boy's hair. "Of course, Billy. Now come on- let's go give Clint some more meds," he said, shifting on the table as Billy clambered out of his lap and slipped off the edge of it. Bruce followed suit, watching the boy wipe his nose on his sleeve before trailing off in the archer's direction. 

Bruce picked up a clipboard on his way towards the sandy blonde, skimming over the information Maria had put down before she'd left. "He's stable, at least- we might have to take him to a real hospital though for surgery," he said, setting the clipboard down on the end table next to the cot.

"Oh, I can heal him! Watch this," Billy said with a wide grin- if not for the redness ringing his eyes, you'd have never known the boy had been sobbing his heart out two minutes ago. Bruce smiled and crossed his arms over his chest. 

"By all means, show me whatcha got." 

- - -

Chapter Text

- - -

"By all means, show me whatcha got." 

- - -

Later on that evening, Billy found himself down in what he'd begun to refer to as Bucky's room, trailing in from the main doorway with Peter in tow. While the adults in the penthouse held their veteran's party, the kids had gone off on their own- and Billy had suggested they go see Bucky.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Peter asked worriedly, glancing back towards the door they'd come through before looking towards Billy. 

"It's fine, Pete- but if you're uncomfy you can always go back upstairs," Billy replied, walking up to the chamber and lighting up at the sight of Bucky standing up from his bed and coming over to greet him. "Hey, Mr. Barnes!" he said happily, getting the smallest quirk of a smile from the former assassin in return.

It was a blink and you'll miss it kind of movement, but Billy worked with Batman- he knew what to look for in that department. "How's your arm? Still sore?" he asked, moving towards the door to input the code to open it. 

Bucky nodded, touching his fingers to the place where skin met metal. "Yeah." 

Peter's eyes widened, watching as Billy walked into the chamber like it wasn't stepping into the metaphorical tiger's pen. "Billy wait for me-" 

"Relax, Peter- Mr. Barnes is a good guy like us," Billy replied, only for the man to rub the back of his neck and give the kid an uneasy look.

"Wouldn't say that."

"Well, you should! You're getting better and maybe once your head is all better you can even be an Avenger with us," Billy continued, ignoring Peter's frantic code typing on the other side and the door whooshing open in favor of plopping down on the edge of the bed. 

Bucky glanced back towards Peter, giving him a wide girth by taking a step back and standing on the other side of the bed. He then glanced down towards Billy with a furrowed brow. "Why're you here?"

Billy grinned and laid down on the bed, billowing his head on his arms. "Everyone's having a grown-up party upstairs and they sent us away like the naughty children we are, so I thought we'd come to see you and keep you company," Billy said with a grin, sitting up on the bed and crossing his legs.

"It's a veterans' party, and you're a veteran too, so boom! Here we are."