"Come in!"
At Doreen's call, Ted opened the door and looked around the small suite that Doreen had been given for her use. It was just like Teddy's – a moderate size sitting area with a small kitchenette against one wall, a table that could barely accommodate four people in front of it.
Doreen herself emerged from one of the two doors off to the right, from the look of it, the bedroom as opposed to the bathroom.
"Hey, Ted," she greeted before she paused and began to frown. "That's what you're wearing?"
Ted automatically looked down at himself. He couldn't see anything wrong with the jeans and black shirt that he was wearing, but then, as he'd been told numerous times by his grandmother, he was a boy and boys tended to have an atrocious fashion sense.
"What's wrong with it?" he asked cautiously.
Doreen finished shrugging on her old bomber jacket and pulled her fingerless gloves from her pocket before standing with one hand on her cocked hip and her head tilted slightly.
"Well, it's not exactly gonna do anything to hide your identity, is it?" she asked before quickly ploughing on. "Unless that's what you're going for? Like Clint and Thor and Nat. Steve, too, really, although he does wear a helmet when he's out."
Ted shook his head. He was sure that he'd walked into the wrong half of a conversation somewhere and was currently having to play catch up.
"I should be hiding my identity?" he asked slowly.
And then he noticed Doreen's dark brown domino mask sitting on the table as though it was waiting for her.
"Hang on! Are you going out fighting crime?" he asked.
"Sure," Doreen grinned. "Me and Peter. We figured that you'd want to come, too."
"But what about Uncle Harry?" Ted asked.
"What about him?" Doreen shrugged. "We've been out plenty of times without him. Although usually Matt shadows us when we do."
"Matt? Is he going with you?" Ted asked.
Once again Doreen shrugged. "Who knows. We never tell him when we are, he just usually shows up. Peter's the one who normally senses him first, lurking about on the rooftops. So, you are coming with, aren't you?"
"I'd love to, but I, ah, I don't have a suit," Ted replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I'm not allowed to do magic anywhere but in Uncle Harry's basement because it's warded so that the magic can't be detected by anyone, including MACUSA."
"No magic at all?" a despondent-sounding Doreen asked.
Ted shook his head. "Nothing with my wand at all."
"Nothing with your wand," Doreen repeated, her eyes narrowed and a mischievous grin on her face. "We can work around that. I've seen Harry use plenty of things on crooks that he doesn't need his wand for."
"You mean his Weasley products?" Ted asked, his voice gaining in excitement as he realised what she meant. "I know where Uncle Harry keeps them and I can definitely use those without using my wand. Well, most of them. I couldn't activate the swamp, but the rest, I could."
"Right. That's that part sorted. Now you just need a suit. Do you own anything made from the same stuff as Harry uses?" Doreen asked. "That stuff is wicked!"
"Dragon hide," Ted informed her. "And no, unfortunately not. I've never been allowed to buy anything made from it."
"Where can you buy it?" Doreen asked.
Ted shrugged. "Most magical districts have at least one store that carries dragon hide clothing. But I don't know where any of them are here in the States. And I don't have enough gold to pay for it anyway."
Doreen waved that objection away.
"Tony's set us all up with accounts," she told him. "I'm sure that we can get some of your magic gold money from one of your banks if we can get to one. All we'll need is someone to take us."
"But the only witch here is Madam Greengrass and I can't see her taking us shopping," Ted stated.
"You're half right," Doreen grinned. "She's too prim and proper for this. What we need is a witch who's a bit more fun and knows something about shopping. You've met Lavender, right?"
ooo00ooo
Doreen's eyes were plastered wide and there was a matching grin that refused to leave her face as she, Ted and Lavender walked down the steps from the white marble bank called Gringotts. She'd just seen the most bizarre creatures ... people ... goblins for the second time in her life. Not to mention getting to go on a rollercoaster under the earth to visit a bank vault of all things.
"We've got to do that again!" she exclaimed.
"The only way we'd be doing that again anytime soon is if we spent all the gold that we'd just withdrawn," Teddy laughed, "and that's not likely to happen anytime soon."
"I knew that Harry was rich ..." Lavender breathed, as wide-eyed as Doreen herself, but supposedly for a slightly different reason.
"That was a Black vault," Ted shrugged.
"You're just lucky that he'd added you to the 'approved' list so that you could access it," Lavender replied. "Not to mention that the goblins realised who you were when you said your name."
"I'm guessing that Harry's super rich or something?" Doreen asked. "Probably not as rich as Tony, though, hey?"
Lavender gave her a dubious look.
"He's probably richer," she said. "Not that he's ever flaunted it or thrown that fact around. Look. You saw the pile of gold back there?" At Doreen's nod, she continued. "Well, as Ted said, that was just one of Harry's vaults. And those gold coins, the galleons, each one of them is equal to about seven US dollars. And there was a mound of coins in it taller than me!"
"So, you're saying that he won't even miss this little bit that we took to spend on outfitting Ted," Doreen grinned.
"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," Ted grinned back at her.
"I've heard that before," Lavender said, her head whipping to stare at him. "I've heard Harry say it. And the Weasleys. Usually just before some big prank."
Doreen and Ted shared a look.
"Is that a problem?" Ted asked uncertainly.
"Nope," Lavender replied. "At least this time, I'm in on it. Now, what are we looking for here?"
"A suit," Doreen stated emphatically. "For Ted to wear when he's Avenger-ing."
Lavender stared at the pair.
"So, the prank's on Harry? I can work with that. Especially if it means that I get to do something that I wanted to do years and years ago," Lavender stated.
"What was that?" Doreen asked curiously.
"Fix a Lupin's sense of fashion," Lavender said as the three began walking towards the store that Lavender seemed to have identified for them. "When your dad was teaching us back in my third year at Hogwarts, he always wore the shabbiest, out-of-date clothes imaginable, including his horrid-looking cardigan. I wanted to steal the thing and burn it for its effrontery to fashion."
Lavender's near-tirade had quickened her steps, forcing the two teens to a near-jog in order to keep up. She only slowed down once they'd reached the doors to Franklin's Wizard Wear.
As Lavender held the door open for them, Doreen entered a world of yesterday. At least, that was the first impression that she got from the multitude of racks full of robes that she'd seen witches and wizards wear when she'd visited Britain. Her second glance had her breathing a sigh of relief – most of the store was actually comprised of much more modern styles of clothing, albeit with a slightly odd twist.
"This way," Lavender said, interrupting her and pointing over her head towards a sign near the back of the store that proclaimed that clothing made from dragon-hide could be found.
"So, what sort of look were you going for?" Lavender asked as her hands seemed to automatically sift through the closest racks.
"I was thinking something similar to Uncle Harry's," Ted replied. "That way I'll fit in better as a magic user to the world without breaking the Statute. Assuming that I can get the same clearance that Uncle Harry has."
Doreen stared at her friend when he added that last part. Now that he'd mentioned it, she remembered Harry telling her that it took an alien invasion for him to be given permission to use magic as an Avenger in front of people who didn't know about it.
"Don't worry about that," Lavender waved off the fear. "Harry's said that you could eventually be an Avenger and I've never known him to break a promise. If he says you will be one, then you can be sure that he's got something in the works to take care of the Statute."
Suddenly, Lavender pulled a cloak from the rack. Doreen had no idea what sort of dragon that it came from – to be honest, she hadn't even known that there were different types until the night before when she and Ted had spent hours talking together and the subject of dragons had come up.
This cloak, unlike Harry's blue-grey one, was red, flame-red, with small golden flecks embedded throughout it.
Ted immediately screwed up his nose at it.
"A Chinese fireball?" he asked.
"Yep. You know I saw one once. At the TriWizard Tournament," Lavender said, staring at the cloak. "Victor Krum had to get past it to get his golden egg."
"It's very ... Gryffindor-looking," Ted stated.
Lavender's head came up so sharply that Doreen somewhat expected to hear her neck crack.
"And what's wrong with that?" Lavender asked.
"Nothing," Ted replied quickly, his hands coming up to wave away any objections. "It's just ... I'm a Ravenclaw."
"Hmph. A Ravenclaw with Gryffindor tendencies, I'd say," Lavender huffed.
Almost viciously, Lavender thrust the cloak back onto the rack before pulling out another.
This one seemed to have come from a Chinese Fireball as well, at least that was Doreen's guess. The difference, though, was that in place of the golden flecks, the flecks were pure jet black. The flecks were sparser at the hood before gradually increasing in frequency until, by the hem of the cloak, it appeared to be a black cloak with only the occasional red fleck embedded in it.
"And before you say anything," Lavender said, cutting Ted off as he opened his mouth, "it's either this or the Gryffindor one, there aren't any others your size to choose from."
"In that case, this one," Ted decided instantly.
"I like it," Doreen said, reaching out to tough to surprisingly supple material. "The black and red is very cool."
"Good. That's settled," Lavender said, folding the cloak over her arm. "What else?"
"Shirt, pants and boots, all dragon-hide," Ted stated.
"Black, I think," Lavender stated, glancing at the cloak.
"And a belt," Doreen added. "Like Harry's, with all of those wickedly deep pockets."
"I think Uncle Harry made that himself," Ted frowned. "But while we're here, I could do with a new broom. And a few more prank items until I can use magic myself."
Doreen glanced at the price tag on the cloak and frowned. She might not know a lot about wizarding money, but it sure seemed to cost a lot.
"Do you have enough to buy all of that?" she asked.
Ted patted his money pouch and grinned at her.
"Reckon so," he said. "And if not, I guess that means that we'll just have to head back to Gringotts to get some more."
Doreen's eyes instantly lit up to match Ted's.
"In that case, let's get shopping!' she grinned.
ooo00ooo
Skye's fingers drummed on the tabletop as the phone in her ear rang. While she waited for the guy on the other end to pick up, she reached out and tapped a new command into her laptop.
This hiding out thing was a real buzzkill, she decided. While technically she had more room to stretch out here in the motel than what was available on the Bus, the lack of resources and especially a decent internet connection was annoying as hell. This database search should have been finished ten or fifteen minutes ago; instead, she estimated that she was barely three quarters through combing the various agencies and government databases that she needed to in order to find the information that she and the team were looking for.
"Hello? Skye?" Harry's voice sounded suddenly in her ear.
"Hey, Harry. Didn't think you were going to answer there for a minute," Skye admonished.
"Sorry about that," Harry replied sounding suitable sheepish. "I was inside the Greek Ministry of Magic with the ICW – reception in there is terrible."
"That sounds like you're in Greece," Skye guessed. "What are you doing there? And it better not be for a holiday to see a bunch of cool magical animals."
Harry laughed before answering.
"I promised that I wouldn't do that without you; and I always keep my promises. No, I was there cleaning up a mess," Harry replied vaguely. "And you can tell Coulson that Kratos Base has been cleared of all HYDRA agents as well."
"Cool. Avengers' mission?" Skye asked.
"Something like that," Harry replied. "I'll tell you all about it next time I see you. Which will be when, by the way?"
Skye sighed and let her eyes rove around the cheap hotel room.
"Not soon enough," she stated. "We're hiding out from HYDRA, the Army, everyone really. Would you believe that we're staying in a motel of all places in ..."
A serious throat-clearing had Skye looking up at Coulson as she effortlessly changed what she was about to say.
"... an undisclosable location. We're closing in on a HYDRA cell using Cybertek and something called the Centipede Program. As soon as this program that I'm running finishes doing its thing, we'll know where we're going next."
"Need any assistance?" Harry asked. "Say the word and the Avengers will be there."
Skye moved the phone so that the mouthpiece was against her shoulder as she pinned A.C. with a look.
"Harry's asking if we'd like the Avengers to help us take on Garrett and Ward and everything," she stated.
A momentary frown marred Coulson's face before he slowly shook his head.
"We're good for now," he finally said.
"Coulson says he'll keep your offer in mind," Skye interpreted for Harry.
"Make sure that you do," Harry insisted.
"Will do," Skye replied before getting distracted by the fact that her computer finally finished compiling the records that she'd been searching for.
"If I'm reading this right," she said to both Harry and to the others in the room with her, "looks like HYDRA's operating out of Cuba?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. had a base there," May stated.
"Cuba's a bit further away from Greece than New York," Harry said. "I'll be back in America within the next day if you need me."
"Thanks, Harry. Listen, I gotta go, sounds like we're on the move," Skye said.
"Stay safe," Harry said.
"You, too," she smiled before punching the button to hang up.
ooo00ooo
Natasha resisted the urge to glance at her companion for the third time in as many minutes. She didn't need to, anyway; it was obvious by the slight frown-lines on his face that something was up with Clint. And really, it'd taken a lot less than that to work that out. For one, the two of them were currently alone, well, as alone as anyone could be while meandering along one of the dozens of paths that criss-crossed Central Park in New York City.
Being out here, in the open, walking as though neither of them had a care in the world, was an almost foreign sensation. Neither of them did things like this. Especially not where there were far too many vantage points for potential assassins to have them covered. As it was, Natasha's eyes and senses were on heightened alert as she tested the area for hostiles. Clint's eyes, too, despite his preoccupation with whatever was bothering him, were also constantly on the swivel.
When Clint had suggested that the two of them go for a walk, alone, she'd guessed that there was something that he wanted to talk to her about without anyone being the wiser. And while Avengers Tower was great and there were plenty of places inside its multitude of floors for people to talk, nothing said there could ever be trusted to be held in the strictest of confidences.
Especially with that AI of Tony's having access to everything. Really, Natasha trusted Jarvis' discretion only about as far as she could throw Tony, which was actually further than Stark would care to admit.
Once again, her eyes darted to her companion and Natasha had to consciously ensure that her face didn't betray her annoyance that he was taking his time in talking to her. Perhaps, she decided, he needed a little nudge. And with the right question or comment, she was sure that she could work out what was bothering him long before he actually got around to voicing it.
"This was a nice idea," she commented idly. "You and I don't get much of a chance to spend time together without someone shooting at us."
"Yeah, we've had some great times," Clint beamed at her. "Remember Morocco?"
"I'd rather not," Natasha deadpanned.
"Oh, come on; three weeks laying about in the sand working on our tans," Clint reminded her.
"And being bored out of our brains while we waited for our mark to show his face," Natasha shot back. "I can think of much better places to go if I want a holiday."
The smallest of twitches around Clint's eyes told Natasha that she'd just hit the bullseye.
"Is something wrong with Laura and the kids?" Natasha asked flatly.
"What? No!" a startled Clint replied. "Why'd you ask that?"
Natasha didn't even bother answering such a dumb question.
The two walked on in silence for the next few minutes before Clint sighed and glanced at her, an action that Natasha noted but ignored.
"You're right," he said. "I did want to talk about them."
"What about them?" Natasha asked. "Their identities and location are still secret, aren't they?"
"Yeah. That's just it, though. I'm starting to wonder ..." Clint replied before trailing off, shaking his head slightly and finally plunging in with what he was going to say. "You know that Fury set up the farm for Laura and I when I first joined S.H.I.E.L.D., kept it completely off the books, too. No records anywhere. It was only known to him and us."
"Before you eventually told me," Natasha added.
"Right," Clint nodded. "But you're the only one that we've told. No one else even knows that I'm married, let alone about Cooper and Lila or the third one on the way."
"Natasha. You promised," Natasha stated with a smile.
"We did," Clint smiled back.
"You're thinking of telling the others?" Natasha asked.
"I don't know. Maybe," Clint hedged. "This feels ... different. It's better than S.H.I.E.L.D. I feel as though I can trust them, that we're friends, family almost."
"What does Laura say?" Natasha asked.
"She says it's my call," Clint stated sounding nonplussed about having the decision on his shoulders.
"I'm guessing you're looking for my advice?" Natasha asked and he nodded. "Look, you're right. The Avengers does feel different. I think we can trust them in a way that we never could with any of our fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. But it's still a big thing, to trust them like that, especially after so many years as spies where we have to keep everything so close to our chests. If you want my advice, give it a bit more time; give them a bit more time. Let's make sure that what we're starting to feel is real before we go telling them something that we can't take back."
Clint's hand motioned about them.
"Why do you think we're having this conversation out here," he smirked. "Thanks, Nat. I guess I was just needing to hear that what I've been thinking and feeling isn't just in my own head. I want to tell them, but I don't want to rush into it either. Maybe after the baby's born we can take the team to the Farm to meet her."
"I get first cuddles," Natasha stated, eyeing him to make sure he understood exactly how important that was.
Clint's smile was wide even as he held up both hands in front of him.
"We wouldn't have it any other way," he replied.
ooo00ooo
Daredevil's head was tilted to the side as he listened, focussing in one particular direction. When he finally heard what he'd been waiting for, he wasn't sure whether to smile or grimace. To be honest, he was more surprised that this hadn't happened the night before.
Staying in his crouch atop the building, he followed the trio's progress.
Spider-man's progress down the street was in continuous arcs, the particular fwap of each webline being shot from his webshooters to catch on buildings being unmistakeable. Below him, sticking to one side of the road, came Squirrel Girl. Her progress was steady, a jog, really, in order to save energy – after all, there was no point in her tiring herself out before any sort of encounter with the 'bad guys' happened.
And then there was the third. If Daredevil hadn't known better, he would initially have thought that it was Mage. Mage, though, was still out of the country, meaning that the person flying the broom couldn't be him. The fact that one needed magic to operate the thing, not to mention their size, told Daredevil exactly who it was.
Daredevil focussed on him, assessing what he was sensing. The boy was wearing clothes made from the same material as Mage, including a hooded cloak. His heartrate was elevated, indicating his excitement. His form on his broom – which also seemed slightly different than Mage's – while good, wasn't quite up to Mage's standard.
Rising from his crouch, Daredevil pulled his billy clubs from their holster and snapped them together. Then, with them in hand, he began running along the rooftop, following the trio. From up here, he could keep an 'eye' on them. If something untoward actually happened, he'd be close enough to assist – not that he had to all that often when he'd tailed Spider-man and Squirrel Girl in the past. But with a new player in the mix, he wasn't taking any chances.
For the next hour or so, Daredevil's night consisted of running, leaping, sliding, scaling and some acrobatics. Occasionally, the three below would pause and rest and talk and he made sure to listen in, if nothing else, it gave him an idea of their state of mind and their plans.
"You sure you know how to fly that thing?" Spider-man asked the wizard on the broom during their latest break. "Only, you've barely done anything but fly it in a straight line all night."
"Hey, I'm a good flyer!" the protest came back. "Just because I don't play quidditch or do stupid death-defying stunts every other minute doesn't mean that I don't know what I'm doing."
"Have you decided on your name yet?" Squirrel Girl asked hopefully.
"Yeah. Yeah," the wizard replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "I want to be 'Marauder'."
"Like the Den?" Spider-man asked.
"Exactly like the Den," the newly-maned Marauder replied. "At the moment, I can't use magic ..."
That was information that made Daredevil start. If the kid was limited in what he could actually do, then his job making sure that the three stayed safe might have just been made harder.
"... so, I'm limited to magical prank products," Marauder continued. "My dad was part of a group that loved to pull pranks and Uncle Harry and I are the only ones left of them. I thought it'd be nice to honour them, to remember them."
Squirrel Girl put one arm around Marauder's shoulder and gave him a side hug.
"I think your Dad would be proud," she said. "It's a good choice. I like it, Marauder."
Suddenly, Daredevil's head snapped to the side. Two voices, male, around the corner and down half a block from the trio below. Unfortunately, they were on the block on the opposite side of the road from where Daredevil himself was perched. From the sounds of it, they were slamming something into an ATM.
Below, Spider-man suddenly froze, his head swivelling towards the direction as well. The other two noticed and he raised a hand for them to stop talking. Taking a leap, Spider-man jumped up the nearby wall and began crawling as fast as he could. Once he was two stories up, he stuck his head out and around the corner. A single look seemed to be enough for him, for he immediately moved back, pushed from the wall and somersaulted to the ground.
"Bad guys. Two of them. Trying to break open an ATM," Spider-man stated.
Squirrel Girl rubbed one fist in front of her.
"Play time, boys," she said.
As soon as the three rounded the corner, Daredevil took off, extending his billy clubs as he ran before leaping for the external fire escape so that he could reach the ground in order to follow the trio.
By the time that he got to where he could 'observe' what was going on, Spider-man had one of the two crooks netted upside down and dangling from a streetlight. The other was on the run, with Squirrel Girl in hot pursuit. Marauder, though, was just ahead on that broom of his.
Suddenly, Marauder flung out a hand and Daredevil noted something small smashing into the ground a step in front of the fleeing, would-be thief. The instant that he stepped in it, the man's foot stuck and he crashed to the ground.
"You're not Mage," the man near-whimpered as he looked back and up.
"No. I'm Marauder," the wizard stated smugly.
"Good night," Squirrel Girl said before hitting the man in the face, instantly knocking him out.
The two kids high fived each other as they stared at their captured prey.
While Marauder may not be able to use magic, Daredevil sighed slightly in relief. At least the kid had some tricks up his sleeve meaning that Daredevil's job might not be quite as nerve-racking as he feared it would be.
Still, he was sure that there were a couple of people who would be quite interested in learning about this little excursion.
ooo00ooo
Ted and Doreen arrived back at the level that their quarters were in Avengers Tower nearly bouncing with adrenaline. It'd been a good night. They'd stopped a pair of men trying to break into an ATM and then scared away a group of four who'd been about to break into a pharmacy. Just their presence had been enough for that one.
"Did you see their faces?" Ted asked as they stepped from the elevator.
"I was sure one of them was about to wet himself," Doreen giggled.
"I never imagined bad guys apologising for 'their stupid thoughts' and swearing that they'd never do it again before they did anything," Ted commented.
"Well, we're getting a bit of a rep; they should know better," Doreen replied.
As they slowly walked down the corridor, their shoulders kept bumping and Ted looked across at her. Seeing Doreen smile at him, he smiled back, a heat in his cheeks where he fervently hoped he wasn't blushing.
The nerves in the fingers of Ted's left hand went into overdrive when he felt Doreen's fingers brush up against them. The second time it happened, he cocked a single finger, managing to 'snag' one of hers.
They'd just paused, beginning to turn in towards each other, when a figure appeared out of nothingness just ahead of them.
The figure leant casually with one shoulder against the wall, his arms crossed and just visible under his blue-grey cloak. His hood and spells hid his face and subsequently his facial expression from them.
Before Ted or Doreen could do more than jump apart, he spoke.
"What mischief have you managed, Marauder?"