Chapter Twenty
"Wake up, everybody wake up!"
Phil dragged his bare feet along the hallways of the floor. He went through Maria's room, Pepper's room, Bucky's room and the kids' room. He lingered for a moment on the door frame, smiling slightly at the sight of the Avengers and Loki stacked together in their pillow fort.
Thor was in the middle, arms and legs spread out. Loki was on top of him, his head rested on his brother's stomach. Natasha was rested on one of the big pillows, Clint on the other side of her. Bruce, Steve and Tony were all curled up on the blankets at Thor's foot.
It was amusing how Tony's arms were spread across Steve's waist, snuggling on his chest.
Phil walked closer to them, making sure his movements weren't so loud. He knelt down in front of Tony, gently stirring him awake.
"Come on, now, wake up," Phil said, in his lowest voice.
Tony began to open his eyes, blinking slightly. The moment he woke up, the others began to as well, stirring around and rubbing tired eyes. Thor bolted up, Loki's head falling on the floor.
"Ow!" Loki rubbed his head.
"I am sorry, brother," Thor placed a hand on Loki's head, the big brother he was.
"Nat? Clint?" Phil called. The two master assassins opened their eyes immediately. They always were light sleepers. "Come on, we have to go somewhere." He stood up.
"Huh?" Bruce asked, sitting up, a fist on his eye. "But it's too eawly..."
"I know, Bruce, but we have to go," Phil smiled softly. He truly would miss these little troublemakers. They actually make him want to have kids of his own.
That moment, the other adults started to file in, dressed in pajamas. It seemed like Phil was the only one who has showered and dressed already. He can't blame them, though. After Phil's makeup session last night, everyone was curled around each other on the fort, telling stories and sharing laughter. They fell asleep at around 12MN.
"I guess it's time to dress you up."
+
"Are wou going to weave us?" Steve asked, in a soft tone as Phil was dressing him up in a plaid shirt.
"Huh?" Phil looked up, confusedly.
"We heawd you talk about Doctow Pym and Weed," Steve said. "And that they would cuwe us."
Phil buttoned the last of Steve's button, placing both hands on his tiny shoulders. "We aren't going to leave you. Arrangements are just gonna... change."
Steve pursed his lips. "I don't want to go back to nowmal."
"What do you mean?" Phil furrowed his brows.
"I'm sowwy, but I heawd you talkin' to Miss Hill that we were gonna go back to nowmal, and that nowmal is when we're old. Like, '30 yeaws old' old!"
Phil smiled slightly. He didn't know how much Steve knew, but it was enough for the blond boy to have glassy eyes. "Don't worry. Normal isn't that bad." He placed a thumb across Steve's rosy cheek, catching a single tear.
"I wanna stay hewe," Steve sniffed. "I wike Tony, he's nice now. And Bwuce teaches me about cool science stuff. Thow and Loki fight a lot, but I wike them too. Nat and Clint look mean, but they said they wiked me so I wike them too. I don't wanna go back to nowmal."
Phil paused, his heart clenching at the sight of Steve frown and fight back tears. "You'll like normal. I promise, Steve. Miss Hill and I will still be here. We promise."
Except that maybe you'd forget about this, forget about us...
"You're brave, strong boy, Steve," smiled Phil, tilting Steve's chin up to meet his eyes. "You can go through this."
Steve's eyes glistened. "Wou think so?"
"I know so," Phil grinned, standing up. "Now, let's go with the others. They're probably waiting in the van now."
Steve placed his tiny hands on Phil's palm, the two walking together like father and son. Phil would miss this.
+
"Dr. Pym, Mr. Reed," Maria shook the hands of the scientists. He hasn't seen Dr. Pym in a very long time, seeing he's disconnected himself from SHIELD. Luckily, they were able to convince him for this one project.
They were in the Hellicarrier, at the small lab that Pym and Reed were assigned to work on.
"Are these the Avengers?" Pym looked over to her back, seeing the toddlers play with each other. Tony, as always, was shamelessly flirting with Pepper.
"They are, doc," said Maria.
"Hewwo!" Bruce stood in front of Pym, making the scientist stop. Pym looked down. "My name's Bwuce."
Pym looked up to Reed quizzically, disbelievingly, before ruffling Bruce's hair. "I know who you are, Mr. Banner."
Bruce excitedly ran to Tony, whispering, "Wou heawd that? He called me mistew!"
"I must say," Reed said, a small smile on his aged face. "The Hulk doesn't look as intimidating as a child."
"He isn't the Hulk," defended Maria without second thought. "Bruce is a different person."
Reed rose his brow, but didn't question any further. "My apologies."
Nick Fury entered the room, everyone shutting up, even Thor who was animatedly telling Loki a story about how he killed a beast with his bare hands.
"Are we ready?" Fury looked pointedly at the scientists, who nodded and went to the workstations full of buttons and levers.
"We managed to find a reversible spell from Loki's scepter," Pym explained. "If the Avengers may step inside the room, we can begin the process." He gestured to the door that led to a white room, a big glass making it visible from outside.
Phil and Maria managed to soothe down the nerves of the children, some of them beginning to cry. It was surprising that Thor was the first one to do so.
Maria embraced the children, savoring the last moments she had with them. She must admit, her eyes started to go glassy, but she wouldn't let the tears fall down. She surely will miss them. They may have been little devils, but they were her little devils.
She led everyone inside the room, smiling at them soothingly as they looked back at their shoulders to look at her and Phil. She closed the door, quickly watching the glass as they stood with their hands linked on the center.
"Is this gonna hurt?" Maria asked.
"We made sure it wouldn't," Reed answered. "Don't worry."
"How long is this gonna take?" It was Phil.
"Less than a minute, I assure you."
The two scientists began pulling levers and pressing buttons, moving things on their screens. The rooms started to glow lightning blue, the children shocked and amazed at the same time. Maria was only grateful that none of them were crying anymore.
One by one, they grew to their older selves, passing through puberty, adolescence and their twenties. When they reached their actual age, they began falling to the floor, unconscious.
"What happened?!" demanded Maria, watching everyone drop.
"It's a side-effect," Pym said. "Don't worry. They'll wake up in a few minutes."
Phil was beside Maria, sharing the same thoughts as her. The both of them hadn't had to deal with kids before, and now that they have (especially that it's a bunch of people they work with), they were kinda sad and maybe even nostalgic.
Maria whispered to Phil, not worried anybody else would hear her, "I miss them already."
+
Tony woke up with a massive headache and a desire to consume some milk. It was odd, and he sure as hell didn't even like milk, but somehow he did.
He looked around him, seeing only white walls and a white ceiling and a white floor. This sure is one hell of a hangover...
"Ugh," Tony looked to his right, seeing Steve waking up from unconsciousness. Tony looked around, seeing the other Avengers (and Loki) on the floor, in the same condition as him.
"What the hell happened?" Clint asked, rubbing his head.
"Did any of us go to a party last night?" Tony offered. "Because I feel a bit tipsy."
"A bit is an understatement," Bruce said.
Suddenly, a door at the end opened. Tony whipped his head to see Agent Hill and Agent Coulson approach them. They looked a bit odd, and somehow Tony was starting to feel a sort of motherly/fatherly love towards them.
Weird...
"Loki," Hill said in an authoritative voice. "You're coming with us."
Some guards came in to take Loki away, the god as confused as the rest of them were. Tony stood up from the floor, staring at Hill squarely in the eyes.
"What happened?"
"Loki got out of Asgardian prison and tried to take all of you on," she explained flatly. Tony had the feeling she wasn't telling the entire truth.
"Come on, kids - " Phil stopped. I rose my brows. "... Avengers. I think you'd like to get back home." He smiled slightly, looking longingly at the bunch. Steve and Tony shared a look.
"Does anybody have a sudden desire for toys?" Natasha piped up, a hand on her hip.
"Oddly, yes," Thor said thoughtfully. "I also recall a memory that involves urine and tears..."
Tony frowned in disgust. But somehow, he understood what Thor had meant. He vividly recalled sleeping with Steve and Bruce (not sexually, of course) and playing the bathtub. It was odd, even for him.
Clint suddenly laughed. "Man, I had this crazy dream."
"What is it?" asked Steve seriously.
"I dunno," Clint shrugged. "We were toddlers, you know, and Hill and Coulson took care of us. It's pretty weird."
"It gets weirder," Bruce piped up. "I had the same dream."
"In your dream..." Tony continued. He had a really bad feeling about this. "Did you happen to, I don't know, have Thor choking on a chicken nugget and cursing at McDonald?"
The team looked at each other in awe. They had the same answer in their minds: yes.
"I think it really happened," offered Tony. "Loki didn't just attempt to do something to us; he actually did! And he turned us into toddlers and..." Hill and Coulson were the best parents I've ever had, he finished in his head.
"You think we should thank them?" Clint said. The others shrugged, and as if they were still children, they ran out the room quickly, pushing each other to get to the two agents sooner. Tony shoved Steve playfully, and the supersoldier just shoved him back. Tony laughed.
They found the agents at the end of the hall, talking to each other. Thor, the first one to reach them, jumped and gave them a big hug. Natasha and Clint followed, then Steve, Tony and Bruce.
"Aw, Mawia!" Clint cooed sarcastically. "Cooson!"
"You remember?" Maria asked, shocked.
"Of course we do!" Steve replied from behind Coulson. "How can we forget?"
"I can't believe you managed to put up with us," Tony supported.
"We barely survived," mumbled Maria, her features softer as she buried her head on Thor's shoulder. "You were the most annoying bunch of kids I've ever met."
"Thanks," Natasha said, squeezed between Clint and Steve.
A few seconds later the bunch pulled apart, realizing how weird it was seeing some grown-ass superheroes and high-class agents share an emotional, hugging moment. But really, did it matter? Tony only knew that he loved them both.
"Well, it's been sentimental," Tony said, breaking the silence. "As a form of thank you for not killing us, I would like to personally invite all of you to the Tower at Saturday night. We'll have a formal dinner, or maybe you can whip up some culinary contraption."
Maria rolled her eyes. "I know I'm not the best cook, Stark."
"What happened to 'Tony'?" he rose a brow.
"That was when you were six and not as cocky."
Tony only grinned. He knew she didn't mean it -- her eyes gave it away. Suddenly, every one of them began dispersing, going on missions or needing a cup of tea. Tony was the last one to go. He eyed Maria and Phil before putting on his tinted glasses.
"You know," he said. "You'd make great parents one day."
"I'm not planning on any," said Phil, a polite smile on his face. Phil and Maria didn't see but Tony looked at the both of them, raising his one eyebrow.
"Think about it," Tony said, turning to leave. He halted after a few steps and gave them a sideways glance. "And thank you." With that, he walked away, his heart feeling lighter than usual.
It sure rocked being a kid again, but hey, he's a superhero, and superheroes need an adult body to save the world.
The End
+
A/N:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! I can't believe it's finished!
Thank you sooo much for reading this book, I surely did appreciate it. I didn't expect so many people to appreciate this because it was such an impulsive decision to write it lol.
But still, thank you for your votes and comments. You make my day! <3
I guess all that's left to do is edit out the plotholes and grammatical errors and maybe even add a few scenes? Who knows?
If you want to read more of my work, please check out The Misadventures of the Avengers (High School AU), The Mess We Made (Post-Civil War OneShot) and Ask The Avengers. :)
I can't believe I finished this. I had so much fun and I hope you did too!
Once again, THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU and I hope you have a nice life!
Until next time,
Han x