The team had gotten back to their headquarters hours ago and each crashed in their own rooms. Everyone of course, except for James and Deirdre. Deirdre was trying to sleep, but her anger had kept her awake. Or else the adrenaline, either way, she couldn't find herself able to sleep. So she got out of bed to try and get a drink of water or something. She'd see that Steve was awake, but busy with something that seemed rather important so she moved on. As she was headed to the kitchen, she'd see a red headed child sitting on the couch, staring at the television that wasn't even on. This honestly made her a little concerned, so she decided to check in on him. "You know, it's important to get sleep." She teased as she sat next to him.
James chuckled at her as he sat more comfortably for him. "You're one to talk." He retorted teasingly while staring at his gauntlet next. "Guessing you can't sleep either?" He then asked without looking at her.
Deirdre nodded, confirming his suspicions on his guess as she stared at the ground. "Aye. I was thinking about that group....this Hydra you speak of. I am starting to understand why your father had such trouble with them back in his days in this .. World War 2." She told him. She was able to tell he stared at her in disbelief that she knew about The second world war. "Uncle Thor had told me stories about the Avengers." She told him answering the question he wasn't asking. "So what's on your mind? Why can't you sleep?" She finally asked, not wanting to talk about her experiences with Hydra....at least not yet.
James sighed while slightly glancing at her. Though he was mostly looking at the blank TV. "It's just.....I wanted to be just like my dad. But I know he was angry and just wanting me out of his way.....I want to show him that I'm capable of helping him and fight just like him.....but he constantly won't let me.....he constantly tries to protect me.....I don't know if I'll ever be able to live up to his expectations." He said feeling down on himself.
Deirdre listened to James speak and understood where he was coming from. She used to feel that same way toward her own father before today. Wanting him to be more proud of her and her abilities, as well as the path she had chosen, but that never happened for her. Sure, she'd get some from her mom, but that was different somehow. She could just tell how vulnerable James felt behind his usually tough guy facade and positive attitude. "Ki-......James, your dad is proud of you. He just wants to be sure you're safe that he let that take control of his actions. He was overprotective, but I truly believe that he'll see how much you've grown into a strong, capable young man." She told him honestly.
James started at Deirdre, listening to what she had to say. He had to be honest though, he wasn't expecting a compliment from her. He genuinely anticipated an insult from her, for her to call him weak for feeling the way he did. "Yeah.....I know he does......I just really want to help him now more than ever because of what's coming ahead for mom, dad and everyone else." He said honestly.
The red headed Asgardian sat a little closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. As she felt it, she could feel how surprisingly solid his shoulder was, especially for a mortal. No wonder he was able to handle himself against the army Hydra had.....but she soon regained her focus and was able to say what she wanted to say to him. "If he doesn't allow us to, we'll do it ourselves anyway to show the world the Avengers are bigger and stronger than ever before. Something we cannot do without you to lead us." She told him honestly while looking into his eyes.
James looked back into hers as well, soon nodding his head in response to her encouraging words. "Alright I'll have your back then....as well as everyone else's." He stated boldly.
Deirdre smiled at the red headed boy while seeing him look ready to take on Hydra. She then rubbed the back of her head with an awkward smile. "James.....I'm sorry.....I misjudged you, and treated you as someone that was disrespectful and hateful, something I immensely regret." She said to him with some shame.
James looked back at her very seriously. "I'm sorry for treating you like you weren't part of the group. You're one of us now, and you should be treated as such." He told her honestly. "Though you were a little sloppy earlier with Hydra when helping Yvonne." He then teased shortly after.
Deirdre lightly pushed him with a smirk. "That was an accident sir." She teased back before extending her hand out to her future ally. "Friends?" She then asked genuinely.
James took a minute before answering. "More than that. We're teammates and a family." He assured her before taking her hand, giving her a surprising firm handshake. It didn't take long before the two decided it was time for them to try and get some sleep, for tomorrow would be an extremely busy day for them.
The next day, at about 10 am, James and Deirdre all walked down the hall to get some breakfast with the others soon following them to get to the eating area. The moment they arrived, the kids were the only ones in the room, nothing set on the table or anything, just a simple note left for them. James picked it up and read it to everyone. It said 'Meet in the meeting room, it's time we had a talk.' In Steve's handwriting. "Wonder what they need to discuss with us?" Torunn asked curiously.
"Maybe they're gonna award us! We did just help them save the world!" Pym guessed with enthusiasm.
"Or we're in serious trouble for disobeying direct orders from Captain Frickin America!" Azuri said lightly smacking Pym in the back of the head.
James could only sigh, ready to talk with the Avengers no matter what. "Well, we're not going to find out just sitting around here right? Let's get back to it." James ordered as he headed toward the meeting room he was told to go to. Soon enough, the rest followed after him, just as curious as he was to see what they needed from them. However, upon going to the meeting room, they saw some gear on the table instead of Steve. What they found were two belts on the table, each one labeled to be picked up. James did so, giving the other one to Yvonne. After that, they looked out the window to see Steve waiting for them along with Tony and the rest of the Avengers available just outside the large dome base. They each take their turn jumping out the window to get to where their parents/mentors were.
Steve wasn't facing any of them, his hands behind his back, shield placed securely on his back and standing at attention with the other members of his team following along with this. The children however, waited for a while before Torunn finally decided to break the silence and walked up to them. "What is this all about Captain? Why did you have us meet you?" She asked to try and get straight to the point.
James sighed at his ally's impatience. However, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't wondering the same thing. So he stepped up to them next to the blonde female Asgardian and inhaled sharply. "Dad I-"
"Son, please, I need to say my peace." Steve interrupted calmly before finally turning around to face the kids. He could see Deirdre start to get a little upset with how he was talking to his own son. but knew Black Widow was about to step in to stop her, relax her and give him the chance to speak. "You all disobeyed a direct order from your superior. You went to find others we had no final conclusion on bringing in, went after dangerous forces you knew nothing about, and worst of all, made yourselves known by the enemy." He started off, with the kids soon looking down in defeat. "But, with that in mind, James......you did as I did when I was starting out in the war years ago. You stuck to what you believed in, you fought despite my orders and you showed everyone here that you have a bigger place than I gave credit for." He told them.
As James listened on, his eyes widened in disbelief. He never anticipated that he'd hear this amount of praise for his actions. "So you....I mean we're okay?" He asked to get confirmation.
Steve placed a hand gently on his son's shoulder to comfort him. "We're better than okay.....I'm sorry I haven't exactly treated you as someone capable of taking care of themselves.....I was overprotective and you didn't deserve that. I intend to make that up to you." He assured them as he pointed to the base, seeing it was expanded even further thanks to some of Tony's armors, along with Hulk and Thor helping them a little.
The kids all look at the construction with amazement, unsure of exactly what they wanted to say. Especially James, who was stammering, struggling to get any coherent words out to ask questions. "But- what is all of this for-"
"I've come to accept two different things the last two days. The first being that Hydra will never truly be gone unless we focus more on them, especially if they continue to expand the way they are. So the Avengers need to grow as well." He explained to him calmly. "The second is that I can't stop the inevitable from happening. You're growing up, all of you are. Which means you'll become what we are, if not better than we are to handle missions. Meaning that...." He paused briefly while getting several ID cards out for them, handing one to each of the children.
As the kids took the cards, they'd see their own faces on them as well as some basic information on the individual person. But these weren't just the kids ones which gives limited access, it was a legit Avengers ID card. "You want us to be Avengers? Like.....full time????" Azuri asked, practically as stunned as James was.
Hawkeye stared at his, pretending not to be interested in this. Inside though, he was freaking out at being something more than what he was currently. "Heh, I suppose I don't mind lending a hand, as long as the kid doesn't mind leading us. After that last mission, he helped pull us out of the fire." He responded with a smirk.
"Yeah, if it wasn't for James, we wouldn't have had a plan to get you guys out in the first place! He's definitely the strategist we need for an effective leader!" Pym agreed with a bright smile.
Azuri smiled as both brought up their points. "I could be next in line to lead a country....or nation. You? You can lead all of us to greater victories." He added on as well.
Slowly but surely, everyone was agreed, including Steve and his team. He soon stepped up to James, holding bag with something round inside of it. "Here.....I was going to give this to you for your birthday, but now's a good a time as any to give it to you." He responded as he watched James open it. Inside of it was a shield of his very own..... the same red and white, but with a more navy blue color at the very center of it. "Try it on."
Upon hearing his father request it, the red headed child slipped his new shield on his right arm, since his left arm had the gauntlet to his energy shield on it. It felt just like holding his dad's. Light weight, but powerful, reliable, a handy weapon to use in combat. It was almost unreal that he now had his very own, and that everyone was unanimously agreeing to his leadership.
Steve watched as his son examined The shield, a small smile on his face from pride in his child. "How does it feel?" He asked his opinion.
James soon looked at his dad, clearly nervous about the future. "Like the weight of the world has suddenly fallen on my shoulders.......and that there's a lot more at stake than before....." He answered as honest as he could.
Deirdre stepped up behind him along with Ekaterina. "You're not alone in this. We have your back." Deirdre said to their future leader, sounding confident in his capabilities.
Ekaterina nodded her head at him. "If you did this well, imagine in the future." She told him next before turning to face Steve and Natasha, slowly walking to them.
Steve looked down at Ekaterina, immediately recognizing who he was looking at. "You've grown up so much...." he told her happily while the red headed girl hugged the super soldier. "You've gotten better than ever I see." He then said before looking at James. "I'll tell you more about this later. But I will tell you this. This is Ekaterina.... she's your older sister." He then explained without pulling any punches which surprised both James and Yvonne. Though everyone else was beyond surprised except for the adults.
Ekaterina simply bowed in respect to her younger siblings. "Hello brother.... hello sister." She introduced herself casually. "I was trained to be like mother, to be of better help one day. They had to fake my death in order to keep me hidden until the time was right." She explained to them quickly.
Thankfully for her, James and Yvonne were able to put two and two together. They started to realize that their parents had talked about them a little, most likely from letters. So James smiled at her gently. "Well, welcome to your new home." He told her with compassion.
Steve soon stands up and walks back up to the kids. "So.....you never really answered my question. Are you all for being an Avenger?" He asked them with a confident smile.
Before James could answer, Deirdre walked up to Steve with a confused expression. "Why me? I get Ekaterina, Iron Heart here and even arrow boy, but....there's a lot of baggage with me, and I haven't been a part of this group nearly as long. So why choose me to be a part of your team?" She asked, wanting to get straight to the point.
The super soldier simply looked down at her with confidence. "I know who you are. The things you do. Thor has told me stories about how you've helped your people with things despite your younger age. It doesn't matter where you come from. No one can decide your destiny but you. I gave you this as an option to join. I'm sure you know what you want though." He answered honestly.
The Red headed goddess stared at her id card before looking at Steve with admiration and respect. "I will not let you down sir." She assured him while standing up for him with respect.
Steve then turned his attention back to James, who was clearly still processing everything that was going on. "So.....?" He asked one final time as he saw James hold the recently acquired shield.
The son of a soldier soon looked back at him with a smile on his face. If he was being honest, he still felt he had much to learn. But he knew he would be able to help his father with this upcoming battle. "Thank you......I promise to try my best." He then promised him gently.
Deirdre soon looked back at James with a little concern. "Do you think we'll be ready for what's to come from these foes? You've seen what they have so far..... perhaps we should be more equipped?" She asked a little nervous.
Tony simply scoffed as he walked up to the goddess. "This is Hydra. Different types of soldiers, same tactics, same goal." He told her with a smirk.
The red headed Asgardian looked back at Tony, his expression slightly turning more serious. "Perhaps. However, they can become more dangerous as time goes on. Especially if they acquire the forces they desire, and obtain the weapons they wish for." She reminded him while folding her arms across her chest.
The red headed boy soon stepped up to the adults very serious about what's to come. "She's right. We may not be enough. With how big Hydra is expanding, we may need to build up more forces to help us. Whether with us or anywhere around the planet." He explained.
Tony sighed softly, knowing that James wasn't wrong. "Alright fair point, I'll be making some more stuff for the battles ahead. Though for now we may have to deal with the bigger parts of the fight." Tony said while preparing to make more schematics. "Meaning free any other places throughout the world that are in trouble, and with that......it means we won't be able to get any rest." He then warned the kids.
Clint and Bobbi watched on to see how the kids would react. More specifically how Clint would react to it. All the parents would see how most of the kids looked concerned, others were having some second thoughts, and the rest all didn't look ready to back down. Pym was the first to sit down, trying to process what could come for them. After all, if Hydra was this big just at one base, imagine how big they'll be throughout the rest of the planet, galaxy and beyond even! "Even if we find the time to go home.....there's just so many of them......" He said quietly.
Hawkeye rolled his eyes with a smirk as he picked up the shortest person on the team, setting him back on his feet with ease. "They just gettin started? Well, so are we. There's an entire organization's worth of soldiers that need a few arrows to the head, or wherever else we can." He told the kid, trying to be the realistic one. "Besides, in this big bad world we live in, there's bound to be other heroes that can fight off these guys to lend us a hand." He added on while shrugging.
Steve nods his head in agreement to the young archer. "Francis is right. We find others to join the Avengers, or previous teams to stop Hydra, we save the world." He tells the team while gripping his shield. "We will need to travel more, but we will find people."
"What if we split up for some missions. Ya know, I lead a team, you lead a team. Divide and conquer." James suggests, immediately showing hos qualifications for strategy. "Just give some locations, one team can distract Hydra, the other gets the recruits. It wouldn't hurt to try." James tells his father.
Natasha looked on at her son, amazed by his intelligence. The more he strategized or fought like Steve, the more she could tell he was going to be an amazing leader. All he needed was more experience on the field, and he would be as good, if not better than his own father. "He's right, there's no other way. Hydra will definitely overwhelm you all and we stand united after all." She pointed out to her son. "Best option is to occasionally switch. One time we split up, other missions we all fight as one." She then added on.
James stood next to the others with a confident smile on his face. He knew that his mother was right about being surrounded by Hydra. However, he also knew that with enough time, they'd be able to grow better, and stronger to stand against Hydra by themselves. "Deal." He told her, knowing that everyone was agreeing with this idea.
Slowly, the kids were all gathered together, showing that they were ready to work together for this. Thankfully, they were able to agree with James leading the team from here on, and Yvonne being second in command should the team need that. While James was hesitant to lead, he accepted the role, keeping his newly earned shield on his right wrist, while his energy shield projector was switched to his left wrist. Steve smiled at his son, crossing his arms across his chest with pride. "Well? Aren't you going to say it?" He asked James, just waiting for him to say the words that he had always wanted to say.
At first, James wasn't going to say it and instead intended to deny it. However, he knew better than to try that with his father. Plus, he couldn't maintain his excitement. After all, he was getting to do exactly what he wanted. "Avengers, ASSEMBLE!" He called out, raising his shield high in the air, just like his father. Yvonne held her shield close to her body, remaining in a defensive stance, Pym shrunk down with his wings helping him remain in the air, Azuri stood as his father would, like a king, while Torunn stood tall, sword leaning over her shoulder, Ekaterina having her hands over her pistol and batons, Riri floating in the air with her suit on, and Hawkeye holding his quiver with an arrow ready. With the parents watching their children, they knew...a new generation of Avengers was forming.....one that could help them keep the world safe, one mission at a time.
(Editor's note: here we are with the final chapter of the first arc being done! But don't you worry, this story is far from over! Plenty more to come! Hope you're enjoying so far! :3)