The Avengers Weakness

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Tony ran into Wanda's bedroom, where five of the six teens were studying for their upcoming exams. MidTown often spent March and April assigning packets every week for exam reviews; during April and the first few weeks of May, the weeks were spent reviewing, as one of the top schools of New York, the school took the end of the year exams were taken extremely seriously. Tony noticed that Wanda 's bedroom windows were all open, letting the cool March breeze filter through the room. While it was slightly chilly on the outside, the compound felt comfortable inside thanks to how he'd designed the place. He stopped in the doorway and looked around the room, relief filling him when he saw how they were all safe and sound.

"JARVIS has been calling you kids for ten minutes," he announced, crossing his arms over his chest.

They all looked up from their work.

Wanda looked over at him, her powers picking up on his anxious energy. "We put him on mute so we could study...." she paused and looked at him, "What's wrong?" she asked, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Mission downtown, everyone's needed." he replied.

Pietro looked up, "What's going on?" he asked, already shutting his laptop.

"Chitauri were spotted downtown. Suit up." the billionaire announced.

The teens started shutting their textbook and notebooks that they were using. Pietro was pushing his computer back into his backpack; he found it easier to type what the teacher was saying with his dyslexia than to write it. Kate was grabbing her highlighters and putting them haphazardly back into her pencil case while Yelena scowled at her for being disorganized. Wanda used her powers to effectively put everything away in her usual, neat and organized fashioned way. Penny followed suit of the older teens, watching them as they started running from the room. A red mist enveloped Wanda as her red suit appeared over her clothes, replacing the red and black sweater she'd been wearing mere seconds ago. Penny looked at the redhead in bewilderment, the older girl's hair was now curlier and more red looking, her deep red suit held intricate designs, and the topaz flecks in her eyes looked like they were vibrantly glowing. Tony handed her a delicate-looking mask; Penny quickly recognized it as a nano mask, one that she helped Peter design so they worked better. Wanda's features seemed to change and the thirteen year old could no longer recognize her. The older teen's nose appeared slightly wider, her cheekbones more prominent along with her jawline. Tony gently touched Penny's arm, pulling her attention from the situation in front of her.

"Kiddo, stay in the compound," he replied; he hoped she listened better than her brother did when he told him to stay put, "Do you understand me? Stay. here." he repeated.

She nodded, "Yes sir...where's Pete?" she asked, slightly looking around him for the sixteen year old.

Tony quickly threw out a response, knowing the teen was currently swinging his way downtown to help Natasha and Clint fight a group of aliens. "Don't worry about your brother, kiddo, he's somewhere safe. He'll be back once everything's clear. Stay in the compound," he repeated.

She nodded, "Yes sir."

He pulled her into a quick hug, "We'll all be fine," he promised, "love you kiddo."

As he pulled back, she softly replied, "I love you too, dad."

His heart soared, she'd never called him dad before; sure he'd heard her start slipping on occasion, almost using it, but she'd never done it before. He pulled her into a hug again and gently kissed her temple, "You called me dad kiddo..." he whispered.